To enter Burlington Bay and gain access to both Burlington and Hamilton Harbours one must pass through the Burlington Canal which access through the Burlington Strip to Burlington Bay.

Hamilton Harbour is the south west end of Lake Ontario. This large (2,000 hectares) which is sheltered from Lake Ontario by the Burlington Beach Strip. The average depths in the harbour range from 33 to 75 feet with a clay and mud bottom. Hamilton is a customs reporting station.

The north shores of the harbour are mostly wooded while the south shore has mainly commercial wharfs ( 6 ) and ongoing landfill construction to the SE.

An Anchorage Area is located in the north part of the harbour. Caution is required as there are submerged oil pipeline crossing the SE part of the harbour between Centennial dock and Willow Point, on the NW shore. Anchorage is prohibited in this area.

The main wharfs along the south side of Hamilton Harbour are commercial. Most of the piers have light on the harbor front. The ongoing reclamation project in the SE part of the harbour is marked by lights and buoys.

There is shoal on the south side of the channel 0.2 miles SW of the inner end of the Burlington Canal with a depth of 16 feet. The shoal is marked by Hamilton Harbour Light buoy 1 (537.2) In the south portion of the harbour Randle Reef is marked with a light and a spar buoy.

Hamilton Harbour has a 10 knots and 5 knots within 500 feet of shore. All harbour movement with the exception of small craft are controlled by the Harbour master. The Harbour masters office may be reached with a call sign of VXJF 496 on channel 12 from 07:30 to 23:30 monday to friday or by prior 24 hour notice.

CAUTION Every vessel not engaged in commercial activities in the harbour shall give way to vessels which are doing so. There are private tugs available for assistance.

Small craft facilities are on the NW shore and the west end of the south shore.

Hamilton is 26 miles from Toronto on the south side of Hamilton Harbour, and 32 miles from Niagara-On-The-Lake. This is an industrial city with long established marine roots.

Small Craft Facilities are found at the Hamilton Harbour Commissioners Harbour West Marina Complex. This is on the south shore approximately 3 miles from the lift bridge. The complex encompasses the following marinas and clubs. However you should call in advance for instructions and reservations at (905) 525 4330

Harbour West Marine Dockyard ( 5 ) can be easily identified by the white roofed buildings bearing huge HHC Marine. This is a extremely well equipped dockyard with adjacent supply stores. Facilities are shown below.

The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club ( 4 ) is upscale and the home of many Canada Cup challenges. the club is west of the dockyard and facilities are listed below. Leander Boat Club ( 3) is west of the Yacht club on a small spit of land.

MacDonald Marine Services is located south west of the yacht club and has no assigned transient slips, unless a vacancy exists in a seasonal slip. there are limited supplies available here.

Macassa Bay Yacht Club ( 1 ) is found at the extreme west end of the harbour and identified by the blue and white building, facilities are available for reciprocating clubs.

The southwest end of lake Ontario is marked by a narrow strip of land sheltering the waters of Burlington Bay. The strip of land now know ands the Beach Strip, once known as the Burlington Bar, is occupied by the communities of Burlington Beach and Huntington Beach.

To enter Burlington Bay and gain access to both Burlington and Hamilton Harbours one must pass through the Burlington Canal which access through the Burlington Strip to Burlington Bay.

The canal is entered between two concrete break walls of 0.2 miles in length and have a width apart of 240 feet. the channel depth and is 29 feet. Burlington Canal entrance Light Buoy H 9 is located 0.9 miles offshore to the NE of the piers. this is the reference point to aim for when making any offshore passage terminating with Burlington Bay. Canal Regulations are quoted in Sailing Directions Booklet CEN 300.

There are two high level bridges and a lift bridge crossing the canal. The Burlington Bay Skyway Bridge found 445 feet SW of the lift bridge has a clearance of 125 feet. The Lift Bridge has a clearance mid channel of 10 feet closed and 131 feet open. there is a overhead power line located 83 feet NE of the lift bridge with a clearance of 151 feet.

Burlington Bay Lift Bridge is in operation 24 hours a day, opening on the hour and the half hour for pleasure craft, or request for commercial traffic. Department of Public works maintains a radio facility on the bridge for traffic control purposes. Full details are found in the Radio Aids to Marine Navigation for the Great Lakes and Atlantic.

A submerged pipeline crosses the outer end of the entrance to the Burlington Canal, and is marked by privately maintained buoys.

Burlington Canal South Pier Traffic Light (535) are located on the east end of the south pier, from a square white tower. There are traffic regulating light on the outer ends of the south pier near the outer entrance to the channel. Burlington Canal North Pier Traffic Light (533) is located on the east end of the north pier from a circular white tower with red upper portion and height of 20 feet. the light elevation is 27 feet

Burlington Canal North Pier Inner Light (534) is found on the SW end of the pier in a white circular tower with red upper portion and an elevation of 27 feet. Burlington Canal South Pier Inner Light (537) is found on the west end of the pier in a 20 foot high white circular tower with green upper portion and an elevation of 27 feet. This light is visible from all sectors of Hamilton Harbour.

Hamilton Harbour East Breakwater Light (537.1) is located the west end of the breakwater to the SE of the Burlington Canal South Pier Inner Light. the light is privately maintained and has an elevation of

Hamilton Harbours