This is a small camo'd Lock-n-Lock just large enough for a
logbook and a geocoin or two. There is no pen, so please
bring your own pen to sign the log.
Parking: You can park just a few metres north of the
cache coordinates at the end of Cedardale Rd.
There is was a small but fitting first-to-find
prize. Congratulations to butterfly5 for being FTF.
While you are hunting for this cache, take a few minutes to look
at the lake that spreads out to the south of you. Lake Ontario is a
large "inland sea", one of the five Great Lakes.
Before the era of the automobile, the Great Lakes formed part of
the "highway" of the day, and sailing ships were the lifeblood of
this part of Canada. Many ships passed this way, loaded with all of
the things that people needed to survive, bringing settlers and
supplies, and carrying away the bounty of the land.
Although countless ships have come and gone, several silent ones
still remain: Just off the shore, not far from this cache, lie
several shipwrecks. Slightly to the south-west lies the
Minnie, a wooden, two-masted schooner that sank during a
storm on November 2, 1877. And, slightly to the south-east lies an
unidentified ship called the "Cedardale wreck", whose true name and
history are held secret below the waves. Farther east of here lies
the Ida Walker, another wooden schooner that sank during
another storm on November 18, 1886. Further south, the
Belle Sheridan was grounded during the Great Gale of
November, 1880; thirty-two people died, including the ship's
captain and three of his sons, although a fourth son survived (see
picture below). Even further south, its location still widely
unknown, lies the wreck of the famous H.M.S. Speedy that
sank on October 8, 1804, taking the lives of at least 20 people,
and changing the course of Canada's history.
Truly, the storms of November have wrought havoc on the wooden
ships of the past, and brought disaster to the brave souls that
were swallowed by the waves.
Some people blame this area's danger on the "Sophiasburgh
Triangle", a zone described here as "steeped
in myth and legend since the 1700s for swallowing ships whole. As
many as 100 ships sank here off Presqu'ile."
This cache is placed in honour of the sailing ships of old that
plied the waters of Lake Ontario and played a significant role in
the building of the nation of Canada.
You can learn more about the shipwrecks of Presqu'ile Bay
here:
Great Lakes
Shipwrecks Research
Shipping from
Brighton
Remembering
the Speedy
Read about the
H.M.S. Speedy in Wikipedia
Locating the
H.M.S. Speedy
Mariner's Park
Museum
Capt. McSherry
The loss of the Belle Sheridan