HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-04-19, Page 21h the Goda rich- Elevator and Transit Company and
erich Town eauncll would like to see the Federal Gover-
t get work started on a project to eliminate the
Serous harbor surge locally so that boats moored here
never again damaged as occurred In March when a
struck the harbor tearing boats loose and causing
close to $1,000,000 damage. What the final answer to this
problem will be is still unclear but one suggestion calls for
the replacement of wire gabions at the northeast side of the
harbor with a natural beach. It Is thought on such a beach
the surge could dissipate Itself. (staff photo)
For sometime now the east wall of Goderich harbor has been
failing away and then in March when ships were torn loose
during high winds the wire gabions making up part of the
northeast harbor wall were severely damaged. Shipping
companies using the harbor for winter storage have ex -
pressed concern about entrusting their boats to the local
winter shelter again and now pressure Is being applied to the
Federal Government for a solution that would once again
help Goderich offer safe winter storage for lake boats. (staff
photo)
oderich Town Council
l5 a letter was read
eorge Parsons, president*
Goderich Elevator and
t Company, urging the
athers to help push for
at the local harbor on
that would prevent a
of damage suffered at
al waterfront when gale
inds struck March 18. .
Parsons warned the
1 that many of the ship-
ompanies might not be
to Goderich for winter
and his fears were con -
Thursday when the
ing Division of the
a' Central Railway ad -
in an interview that.
consideration was being
'to finding alternate win-
rts.
One Algoma Central boat,
the. Agawa Canyon, was in
.G.1.d.e.t'fttir`.ttarbbr.its-part the_--..,..
1972-73 winter fleet and suf-
fered an estimated $150,000 in
damage.
In an interview earlier Mr.
Parsons had noted that he did
not expect the Algoma Central
ship to be back.
"It took quite a selling job to
get them in the first place," he
explained, "and even at the last
minute they almost decided to
go elsewhere. With the
$150,000 damage iri mind the
Elevatorpresident had little
doubt the Agawa Canyon and
other Algoma central Railway
boats would find other ports in
the future.
If the winter fleet, which
represented four major ship-
ping companies, were all to find is This grain is loaded on
alternate docking it could cost railway clArs and shipped- to
i . l at�.a.da..d:t�x.ilt ..�.he_titne_
employment. in Goderich, a con. when the.. shipping lanes- are
siderable amount. closed by ice.
"It would represent 2,000,000. A total of five Great Lakes
bushels of -extra busir 'ss .we ships and another four barges
would -not get," Parsons tax- broke loose from their
plained. "This represents about moorings when winds in excess
one fifth of our total business of 50 miles per hour whipped in
for a season." off Lake Huron. The boats
This'in turn would affect the piled up in the extreine south-
jobs of some 28 men to some east corner of the harbor bum -
degree. Two crews of 14 men', ping and grinding' into each
each are employed by the other resulting in damage that.
Goderich Elevator, and Transit is now estimated -in the neigh -
Company; one crew to move the bourhood of $1,000,000.
loaded ships around the harbor "It is hard to understand
for unloading during the winter ' how that much damage
months when regular crews,art' resulted," Mr. Parsons obser-
not on board, and the other to ved, "hut even on our old
do the actual work cl:f barges (used only for storage
unloading the grain. ., and stripped of all their gear
and machinery) the damage is
now estimated at $60,000.
had been unloaded," he noted,
"if they still had their cargos
on, much of, the damage would
have occurred below the water
line and I'm willing to bet.one
or more would have been sit-
ting on the bottom of,the har-
bor."
The high winds pushed extra
water into the harbor in what
is known as "seche action" lif-
ting the very boyant empty
boats to the point where they
snapped their cable mooring
lines. The wind then drove
them across the harbor where
they slammed into the harbor
walls, and each other.
This,"seche" or,surge is the
major problem that must be
corrected to . prevent a
..,x.eLurxau.ce...1f..tkxtm.M.t..h,.?,'.a�l_F .p
up. Goderierh 'Harbor has
always had a surge hut' with
high water levels in the lake,
which show every indication of
rising still more, the problem is
that much worse.
What the final answer will be
is still not known but engineers
with the Elevator Company
feel part of the solution cies in
recreating a beach at the -nor-
theast 'end of the harbor on
which the surge can dissipate.
This beach was replaced some
time ago by a sheer wall of
stone filled gabions.
George Parsons -also notes
that it has been suggested that
tunnels might he opt ned het- Hooch Shipping. «ho ow ne d
ween the harbor and the the Elrrclalt, would only otty
tae.a.rlV'_t1(ILIE11 f-tl` w+r�rH.gh that their company was not
which t he ,surge c o u Id r 1; l l ;t7; .--..I,1,1 ri k'f ,rr..w.t. h..n.*...-«.ttr--rrt7 cltrf..,,_-
The other shipping
panles who pat 1) atm l0
Goderich harbor over the past
winter are not so eincerned as
the Algoma Central Company
but some c.,ricepi is tieing x.. ..
pressed.
The Scott -Mi seller Stearn
Ship company sav that 0 they
have a ship in the (;oriel tell
-area at the end of the 197:3
season they would t,r�,l,ah'tv
dock 4.11 God er1 h The
Royalton, owned by Scott
Misener; was part of the winter
fleet.
Pat r. Stearn Ship
t' -,fl pam, 1• n -t sa'illg one way,
air the ,,the' that
rhf., rdr:1 '. 1 he an,.lf, at
f lilt# i
fico . • ,;'!
Paters. n
They .% ere , _ .:ri: `»o k t_hrough
and hoth 1 '' r (.. ont 0 and the
c�ocleri1 f;lcand Transit
Company ollt to see the
Federal (:o,rrnnlent, who own
;f11 harbors, make the necessary
:r -pairs this slimmer so
(, ,rlerich will he an a positic n
to ,offer safe mooring for a
19737.74 winter fleet.
;ter
.98
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Mrd a
7-1801