(803) Supplies.-Water, bunker fuels, provisions, and ships stores are available at Port Colborne.

(804) Repairs.-Several firms at Port Colborne make ship repairs. (For information on these firms, contact the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority. See appendix for address.)

(805) Small-craft facilities.-Marinas in the NE part of Gravelly Bay provide berths with electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, marine supplies, and sewage pump-out. A 12-ton hoist is available for hull and engine repairs.

(806) Communications.-Port Colborne has good highway and rail connections.

(807) Charts *2042, 14822.-The Welland Canal, from Lock 8 to Lake Ontario, is described in chapter 5.

(808) Charts 14822, 14832.-At Cassaday Point, 1.8 miles E of the entrance to Port Colborne, a shoal with numerous submerged rocks extends 1 mile S and is marked by a lighted buoy 2 miles S of the point.

(809) No Anchorage Area.-Due to gas wells and pipelines on the lake floor S and SE of Port Colborne, a prohibited anchorage area has been established, bounded as follows:

(810) 42°51′30′′N., 79°10′30′′W.;

(811) 42°49′40′′N., 79°10′30′′W.;

(812) 42°39′30′′N., 70°23′00′′W.;

(813) 42°45′40′′N., 79°07′00′′W.; (814) 42°49′15′′N., 79°07′00′′W.;

(815) 42°49′15′′N., 79°09′00′′W.;

(816) 42°51′30′′N., 79°09′00′′W.; thence to the point of beginning.

(817) Between Cassaday Point and Point Abino, 6.5 miles E, shallow water extends from 0.5 to 1 mile offshore. Point Abino is the extremity of a peninsula that extends 2 miles S from the mainland. The point attains a height of about 100 feet near the S end, and shoals extend 0.5 mile off the point. Point Abino Light (42°50.1'N., 79°05.8'W.), 83 feet above the water, is shown from a white square tower at the S end of the point. A fog signal is at the light.

(818) Abino Bay is the shallow sandy bight formed on the E side of Point Abino. Anchorage in the bay is good in all but E to S winds, sand bottom. Avoid anchoring near the water intake on the NE side of the bay. Several small-craft facilities are on the W side of the bay. A yacht club here can haul out craft to 41 feet for emergency hull and engine repairs. A seasonal Canadian customs vessel reporting station is on the W side of the bay.

(819) Crystal Beach, Ont., is a summer resort on the N side of Abino Bay. A wharf at the village is not maintained and is barricaded at the shore end.

(820) From Crystal Beach to the head of the Niagara River, the shoreline is a series of small points and recessions. Shoals and submerged rocks extend about 0.6 to 1.5 miles offshore with the greatest extent being SE of Windmill Point, about 5 miles ENE of Point Abino. Two unmarked rocks awash are about 0.4 mile E of Windmill Point.

(1)

Chart Datum, Detroit River.-Depths and vertical clearances under overhead cables and bridges given in this chapter are referred to the sloping surface of the river corresponding to a Lake St. Clair stage of 572.3 feet (174.4 meters) and a Lake Erie stage of 569.2 feet (173.5 meters) above mean water level at Rimouski, Quebec, on International Great Lakes Datum 1985 (IGLD 1985), which elevations are the planes of Low Water Datum for the two lakes. (See Chart Datum, Great Lakes System, indexed as such, chapter 1.)

(2)

General description.-Detroit River is about 32 miles long from Detroit River Light at its mouth in Lake Erie to Windmill Point Light at the head of the river at Lake St. Clair.

(3) The lower part of the river is broad and is filled by many islands and shallow expanses. The river banks in this part are more flatly sloping than those in the upper river. The river bottom is generally earth and boulders, except for a section of bedrock and boulders about 6 miles N of the lower end of Bois Blanc Island. Extensive rock excavation and dredging have been necessary to provide channels for deep-draft vessels.

(4) The upper 13 miles of the river is a single deep channel, except at its head where it is divided by Peach Island and Belle Isle. The river banks in this stretch are quite steep, and the bottom is earth.

(6)

Above Detroit River Light, lower Livingstone Channel is a two-way passage to the junction with Amherstburg Channel. From the junction, the two channels extend N to the junction with Ballards Reef Channel, Amherstburg Channel for upbound traffic and Livingstone Channel for downbound traffic. Ballards Reef and Fighting Island Channels lead from the upper junction of Amherstburg and Livingstone Channels to the N end of Fighting Island. From here, natural deep water can be carried to the upper end of Belle Isle, thence a dredged channel leads to Lake St. Clair. (7) The channels through the river are well marked by lights and buoys.

(9)

Fluctuations of water level.-Each year the normal seasonal fluctuations produce a difference of about 2 feet between the highest and lowest monthly mean levels in the river. However, strong E or W winds can raise or lower, respectively, the water levels in the W end of Lake Erie and in the lower Detroit River by as much as 6 feet within 8 hours. Atmospheric pressure changes may cause temporary water level fluctuations of 1 foot or more. (10) On the 5th and 20th of each month the District Engineer, Corps of Engineers, Detroit, publishes a bulletin of the predicted range of water levels. (See appendix for address.)

(11) Water level information for the Gibralter area may be obtained by contacting Detroit Coast Guard Group on VHF-FM channel 16. The information is given in whole inches above or below chart datum. In addition, Detroit Group at the beginning of

the scheduled radio broadcast notice to mariners (see schedule in the appendix) includes this information.

(12)

Currents, Detroit River.-The following currents are based on the averages of water flow through the entire cross section of the river, that is, from bank to bank and from the surface to the bottom during normal water flow conditions. Normal water flow conditions are encountered when there is no wind, Lake St. Clair is at a stage of 573.9 feet (174.9 meters), and the lower Detroit River (Lake Erie) stage is 571.0 feet (174.0 meters) above mean water level at Rimouski, Quebec, on International Great Lakes Datum 1985 (IGLD 1985), that is 1.6 feet (0.5 meter)and 1.8 feet (0.5) meter) above their respective Low Water Datums. The current encountered at midstream is usually about 1.5 times the average velocity. Greater velocities may be expected when the difference between the lake levels is greater, or when lake stages are higher.

(13) Currents for the following locations on the Detroit River are given at high water flow of 210,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), medium water flow of 184,000 cfs, and low water flow of 170,000 cfs, respectively.

(19)

Weather.-Strong winds are most likely during fall and early spring. However, extremes often occur in squall lines or thunderstorms. Detroit has recorded a SW wind at 75 knots and an 83-knot wind from the NW; both occurred in June. At Windsor, the maximum sustained wind was 49 knots in March; an 81-knot gust was once recorded. Winds along the river blow mainly out of the SW and W, but others are common. In spring and summer, N through E winds are frequently encountered as are northwesterlies and southerlies in fall and winter.

(20) Ice.-The lower part of the Detroit River, below Fighting Island, is generally shallow and has the same freezing characteristics as the W end of Lake Erie, forming an average thickness of 7 inches and an average maximum thickness of 11 inches. This ice generally starts to clear by mid-March because of the temperatures and the prevailing W winds. The upper part of the river is generally ice free except for shore ice and occasional drift ice. However, as a track is opened through Lake St. Clair, the broken ice will accumulate in the river above the natural ice cover in the lower part of the river. (See Winter Navigation, chapter 3.)

Reef Light in Lake Huron. (See chapter 3 and the Annual Edition of Canadian Notices to Mariners for complete information.) (23)

Pilotage.-The waters of the Detroit River are Great Lakes designated waters; registered vessels of the United States and foreign vessels are required to have in their service a United States or Canadian registered pilot. Registered pilots for the Detroit River are supplied by Lakes Pilots Association. (See appendix for address.) Pilot exchange points are 1 to 2 miles S of Port Colborne in Lake Erie, just below the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit River, and off Port Huron at the head of St. Clair River in about 43°05′30′′N., 82°24′42′′W. The pilot boat in the Detroit River, J. W. WESTCOTT II, has a black hull encircled by an orange band and a white cabin with the words "U.S. Mail" in black letters. Three pilot boats are at Port Huron: HURON BELLE has an international orange hull with an aluminum cabin, and HURON MAID and HURON LADY each have an international orange hull with a white cabin. (See Pilotage, chapter 3, and 46 CFR 401, chapter 2.) (24) Principal ports.-The principal ports on the Detroit River are at Trenton, Wyandotte, and Detroit, Mich., and Windsor, Ont. Deep-draft facilities have been developed throughout the length of the river.

(25)

Charts 14830, 14848, 14849, 14853, 14854.- The Detroit River flows S from Lake St. Clair and empties into the NW end of Lake Erie.

(26) Detroit River Light (42°00.1′N., 83°08.5′W.), 55 feet above the water, is shown from a white conical tower, upper part black, on a hexagonal pier in 20 feet of water at the mouth of the Detroit River at the junction of East and West Outer Channels. A racon, fog signal, and radiobeacon are at the light. (27)

Channels.-East Outer Channel and West Outer Channel, dredged and well marked, lead northward through the shallows at the upper end of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Detroit River. Immediately N of Detroit River Light, the channels merge to form lower Livingstone Channel. In April-June 1991, East Outer Channel had a controlling depth of 26 feet for a midwidth of 900 feet. In June 1987, West Outer Channel had a controlling depth of 16 feet for a midwidth of 700 feet.

(28) East Outer Channel is a two-way passage. West Outer Channel may be used by downbound vessels whose drafts permit. (See 33 CFR 162.130, through 162.140, chapter 2, for regulations.) East Outer Channel Light 1 is equipped with a racon and a fog signal.

highway bridge with a clearance of 11 feet crosses the river about 1.8 miles above the mouth. An overhead power cable on the W side of the bridge has a clearance of 38 feet. A slow-no wake speed is enforced on the Huron River. A marina on the S side of the river below the highway bridge provides gasoline, water, electricity, sewage pump-out, a launching ramp, and a 6-ton crane.

(33) Charts 14848, 14849, 14853.-In the lower part of the Detroit River, from SW of Bar Point N for about 7 miles, the dredged channel divides into upbound and downbound channels. The upbound channel E of Bois Blanc Island comprises Amherstburg Channel and the lower mile of Ballards Reef Channel. The downbound channel is Livingstone Channel, W of Bois Blanc Island.

(34) Amherstburg Channel comprises three reaches. Hackett Reach extends about 3.7 miles NE from the junction with Livingstone Channel to the lower end of Bois Blanc Island, thence Amherstburg Reach extends about 1 mile to the upper end of Bois Blanc Island, and thence Limekiln Crossing Reach extends about 1.2 miles to the junction with Ballards Reef Channel. (35) The channel through each of the reaches is 600 feet wide. The W half of the channel is the deep-draft channel and is separated from the E or light-draft channel by lighted buoys. The Federal project depth in the W half of the channel is 281⁄2 feet in Hackett Reach and 271⁄2 feet in Amherstburg and Limekiln Crossing Reaches with 21 feet in the E half through the entire channel. In May-June 1993, the controlling depths were 27 feet in the W half, except for shoaling along the edges, and 20 feet in the E half except for shoaling along the edges. Shoaling to 7 feet below project depth is located along the linethat separates the E and W halves.

(36) The channel is well marked by lights and lighted and unlighted buoys. The deep-draft channel is marked by a lighted range in each reach.

(37) Because of current effects, mariners are advised to exercise caution when turning from Hackett Reach into Amherstburg Reach.

(38) In May 1992, shoaling to 25 feet was in the channel about 500 feet W of Detroit River Pier Light 30D. (39)

Anchorage.-Care should be exercised when anchoring in Amherstburg Channel between its upper end and the S end of Bois Blanc Island. The current in this area may cause the anchor to drag and overturn rocks, which may then become obstructions. Dragging can probably be lessened or entirely avoided by paying out sufficient length of chain before strain is brought to bear on the anchor.

(40) Canadian regulations specify a speed limit of 8 knots for vessels of 15 gross tons and over in Amherstburg Channel.

(41) The upper part of Livingstone Channel, passing E of the lower half of Grosse Ile and W of Bois Blanc Island, is about 6.7 miles long from its N entrance at Ballards Reef Channel to its S junction with Amherstburg Channel 1.5 miles SW of Bar Point. This section of Livingstone Channel is for downbound vessels except that traffic becomes two-way under certain winter conditions designated by the Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District. (See 33 CFR 162.130, through 162.140, chapter 2, for regulations.) Most of the channel is revetted on both sides with rock excavated from the channel. Most of the revetment is low and wooded.

(42) The channel is well marked with lights and buoys. Ballards Reef Channel Light 77D(42° 08.5′N., 83° 07.5'W.) marks the W side of the downbound turn into the entrance to Livingstone

Channel at its junction with Ballards Reef Channel. Because of the strong E set of the current at the junction of Livingstone and Ballards Reef Channels, mariners are advised to favor the W channel edge. (43) N from its junction with Amherstburg Channel to the junction with Ballards Reef Channel, Livingstone Channel has a Federal project depth of 29 feet in the lower part and 27 feet in the upper part. In May-June 1993, the midchannel controlling depth was 27 feet with severe shoaling along the edges of the channel. (44)

Canadian regulations specify a speed limit of 10 knots in Livingstone Channel for vessels of 500 gross tons and over.

(45) Various forms of submerged and exposed compensating dikes extend to the W from the W channel revetment, connecting with Stony Island in the N part and extending to within about 400 feet of Sugar Island at the midpoint of the channel.

(46) Bois Blanc Island, popularly known as Bob-Lo Island, is in the lower part of the Detroit River, close to the Canadian mainland and separated from it by Amherstburg Channel. The island is a large amusement park. A marina on the W side of the island has water and electricity. Ferries connect the island with Amherstburg, Ont., and Detroit, Mich.

(47) Caution.-Numerous small craft have reported striking two submerged obstructions between the W side of Bois Blanc Island and the Livingstone Channel revetment; caution is advised.

(48) Amherstburg, Ont., a town on the E side of the Detroit River opposite Bois Blanc Island, is a Canadian customs vessel reporting station. The Government wharf at Amherstburg is 250 feet long and has a large warehouse. The Department of Transport wharf close N is 291 feet long. The Amherst Fuel and Supply Limited wharf, 500 feet long, is used for coal. Amherstburg has several other small wharves; water is available. The area between Amherstburg Channel and the dock frontage has been dredged to 15 feet.

(49) Except within the dredged deep-draft channels, a speed limit of 7 knots is enforced within 1,000 feet of the shore within the limits of Amherstburg, E of the International boundary from Lake Erie N to Fighting Island North Light.

(50)

Four radio masts N of Amherstburg in about 42°08.8′N., 83°05.5'W. are prominent. They are reported to be visible from Point Pelee in Lake Erie to Lake St. Clair.

(51) The lower part of the Detroit River W of Livingstone Channel is open and generally shallow with several small islands. Natural channels with depths of about 13 feet and less, marked by buoys, provide access for small craft.

(52) W of the lower end of the revetments in Livingstone Channel, a small-craft channel marked by buoys leads from the open part of the lower Detroit River between Sugar Island and Meso Island, along the Grosse Ile shore, and thence W of Stony Island. In the narrow part of this channel between Stony Island and Grosse Ile, a line of submerged bridge abutments, with least depths of 1⁄2 foot, crosses the channel, and submerged cables follow the same path just to the S and N of the abutments. A buoy marks the W side of the westernmost abutment, and in 1977, the best water was inside the buoy within 150 to 200 feet of the Grosse Ile shore. The W abutment is about 280 feet from shore.

(53) A natural channel marked by buoys leads from open water in the lower part of the Detroit River along the E side of Celeron Island and connects with Trenton Channel at Gibraltar. The least depth in this channel is about 8 feet.

(54) Sugar Island Cut, about 400 feet wide, is an opening between the E side of Sugar Island and a compensating revetment that extends W from the W revetted wall of Livingstone Channel.

(55)

Hole-in-the-Wall, W of the N end of Bois Blanc Island, is a 0.2-mile-wide gap in the revetted walls of Livingstone Channel that allows small craft to cross the main channel to the Canadian side of the Detroit River. A strong SW current flows through Holein-the-Wall; caution is advised.

(56) Protective riprap extends out 30 feet from the base of the light marking the N end of the W revetment on the S side of Holein-the-Wall. The structure should not be passed close aboard, even by vessels of shallow draft.

(57) Ballards Reef Channelis about 3.5 miles long from its lower end junction with Amherstburg Channel to its upper end junction with Fighting Island Channel. Upper Livingstone Channel joins Ballards Reef Channel about 1 mile above the latter's lower end. Below its junction with Livingstone Channel, Ballards Reef Channel is normally used for upbound traffic, and above the junction it is used for upbound and downbound traffic.

(58)

Ballards Reef Channel is well marked by lights, lighted and unlighted buoys, and by a lighted range at each end. The channel has Federal project depths of 27 feet below the junction with Livingston Channel and 28 feet above the junction. In April-May 1993, the controlling depth was 27 feet, except for shoaling along the edges.

(59) An auxilliary channel for light-draft vessels adjoins the E side of Ballards Reef Channel. It is marked by buoys and has depths of about 14 feet.

(60) Fighting Island Channel extends from the upper end of Ballards Reef Channel, about 2 miles below the head of Grosse Ile, along the W side of Fighting Island to the natural deep water N of Fighting Island. The channel has a Federal project depth of 28 feet and is well marked by lights and buoys. In November 1993, the controlling depth was 27 feet except for lesser depths along the edges. Mamajuda Island and Grassy Island, each marked by a light, are close to the W side of the channel.

(61) Anchorage.-A deep-draft anchorage, marked on the W side by buoys, is on the W side of the S end of Fighting Island Channel. The anchorage is used when conditions are unfavorable for proceeding through the confined deep channels leading S into Lake Erie. Vessels using this anchorage should be careful to avoid the long shoal extending 0.6 mile S from Mamajuda Island. A buoy marks the S end of the shoal.

(62) A buoyed natural channel leads N from the NW part of the anchorage between the upper end of Gross Ile and Mamajuda Island Shoal and joins with Trenton Channel at Wyandotte, Mich. The controlling depth in the channel is about 21 feet. (63)

Fighting Island, on the E side of Fighting Island Channel off the Ontario mainland, is about 4 miles long and about 0.5 mile wide. The entire island is either marsh or waste bed fill from various concerns that pump manufacturing residue to the island as waste. Low bluffs are on the W side of the island. A shoal, with a depth of 18 feet at its outer end marked by a lighted buoy, extends 0.5 mile N from the upper end of the island.

(64) From about the midpoint of Ballards Reef Channel, a natural deep channel leads N between Fighting Island and the Canadian mainland. The channel is divided by Turkey Island, Grassy Island, and several shoals, but near the upper end, the channels rejoin before merging with the main channel of the Detroit River at the N end of Fighting Island. The channel, marked by some buoys, has a controlling depth of about 20 feet. La Salle, Ont., on the E side of the channel at the N end, has several small-craft facilities.

(65) Grosse Ile, about 8 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, is the largest island in the Detroit River. It extends along the W side of