Water Levels on The Great Lakes

The Bay of Quinte is a protected arm of Lake Ontario, the lowest of the five Great Lakes. Lake Ontario is 18,960 square kilometres in size, about 311 kilometres long and 85 kilometres at its widest point. The deepest point is 244 metres while the average depth is 86.25 metres. The lake has a shoreline of 1,566 kilometres, including islands.

Hastings's port facilities at Belleville and Trenton were never highly developed because of the shallowness of the Bay of Quinte and the area's remoteness from the open waters of Lake Ontario. The shallowness of this 97-kilometre-long bay can be exacerbated by water-level fluctuations on Lake Ontario. Water levels are affected primarily by the amount of precipitation in the Great Lakes basin and evaporation during warm weather.

Water levels vary on a seasonal basis as well as over the long term, peaking in early- to mid-summer from the spring runoff, to a low in late fall.

The heights of the Great Lakes are measured from Point Rimouski in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This is considered mean sea level. While the mean water level of Lake Ontario is about 74.75 metres above mean sea level, levels vary from a low of about 74 metres in the 1930s to a high of 75.3 metres in the 1950s. Since the late 1990s, water levels have been in decline.

Official water-level gauges are located around Lake Ontario at Port Weller, Burlington, Toronto, Cobourg and Kingston in Ontario, and at Cape Vincent, Oswego, Rochester and Olcott in New York State.

America's Cup Rule Change

A yacht from the Bay of Quinte actually forced a change in the rules of the famed America's Cup sailing race. The Bay of Quinte Yacht Club in Belleville challenged for the America's Cup in 1881, entering a hastily built rough-hewn boat called Atalanta . Without adequate time to sail to New York via the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean, the 78-foot yacht was towed through the Erie Canal. With its cobbled-together crew and poor outfitting, Atalanta was improperly equipped for the test.  She lost both races to the polished Mischief by a considerable margin. The Americans termed the race a "fiasco challenge" and changed the rules so that all challengers had to arrive under sail, effectively eliminating inland yacht clubs from competing. But because the BQYC participated, to this day it is invited to all America's Cup events.

Bay of Quinte shipwrecks

Although protected from the open waters of Lake Ontario, the Bay of Quinte has had its share of shipwrecks. These are some that have been identified.

Ned Hanlan: Named after Canada's great oarsman, this schooner had been built at Jacob Harris's shipyard in Bath and originally named the Mary Fox . After some economic misfortune, she was burned west of the Belleville bridge in 1894.

Restless: This schooner was well-named, as it survived a number of misadventures before being beached, dragged ashore and cut up for wood at the foot of Church Street in Belleville in 1889. Formerly called the Dream , she was built at Cleveland in 1859, capsized on Lake Michigan, capsized on Lake Erie and ran ashore in Georgian Bay. She smuggled liquor at the close of the American Civil War and hauled grain on the Bay of Quinte.

Red Bird: The schooner sank in the Bay of Quinte east of Belleville in 1888.

Hero: The sidewheel steamer Hero, under the command of Captain Byron Bongard of Cherry Valley, burned at Belleville in June 1901 while in port for the night. It was believed she was struck with lightning. No lives were lost. The steamer had been built in Sorel, Quebec, in 1878. Known as "the big little boat", she was licensed to carry 475 passengers for which she provided staterooms and a good dining-room service. The boat often ran excursions from Trenton to Rednersville, Belleville, Deseronto and Picton for which the round-trip fare was 50 cents. On these outings the Picton Ladies' Brass Band sometimes provided entertainment .

Minnie Blakley: A scow which ran aground off Point Anne in 1882.

C. Gearing: This schooner burned at the Central Ontario Railway dock at the port of Trenton on July 10, 1891, and was a total loss.