There were many enthusiastic yachtsman and many fine yachts who considered Hamilton harbor their safe.
These same yachts and yachtsmen frequently
left the relatively protected confines of the bay for trips across Lake Ontario
to Toronto and occasionally to the American shore.
On the night, three sailing
enthusiasts from Hamilton, A. G. Lees, Edward B. Fraser and George Daley had a
little more adventure on the waters of the lake than they would have liked.
Sailing a 35 foot yacht, called the
Canadian, a yacht which had been entered in Canadian Cup challenges, the men
went to Toronto and then intended to go to Western New York state:
“They started on the long trip across
the lake, when 35 miles from the American shore, the boat struck something and
sprang a bad leak.1
1“Hamilton
Men Had Terrible Time on Lake : Battled All Night to Keep Leaking Yacht Afloat
: Craft Finally Went Down Near American Shore : Exhausted Occupants Managed to
Reach Land.
Hamilton Spectator. August 12, 1914.
The yachtsmen knew immediately that
they were in trouble:
“The three men were obliged to work desperately
to keep the craft afloat. Using old pails, they bailed the water out for hours,
while the boat slowly made its way towards the shore. When about 400 feet from
land, the exhausted occupants almost lost their lives when the boat suddenly
sank.
“All three are good swimmers, and this
is the only thing that saved their lives. In their exhausted condition, it was
no easy matter to make shore, and when they finally managed to reach it, they
collapsed.”1
The three
drenched sailors received assistance when they reached land and were taken to a
hotel in Olcott, New York. There they managed to dry out, get some food and
send a telegraph to their families informing them of their location.
The men then slept virtually around
the clock before returning to Hamilton, via train.
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