Summer

hey,
this summer has been great. Even though most summers you wouldbe hanging out with your friends but my summer wasmore about trying to make my family one peice again closer to sane. I believe that our family could be whole if we all make sacrifices. Not like to Satan or anything lol.
I have been mostly going to BBQs with the family, every day my dad gets off we go out for dinner and a movie or have a dad day, hang out with Katie,read lotslearn lots, design my room and thik about what to sign up for over the school year. Skiing, snowboarding,drum lessons, ringette, dance+ more that i just cant think of at the moment.
Im reading more realistic books now like Disasters of Ontario by RÉNE Biberstein and Coles Notes (Romeo + Juliet)which is one of my fav plays. Im still reading both. I thought so I remember what I actually learned ill write it in here.
Right now I am on Natural Disasters:
A 22-gun battleship had been built to prevent the Americans from gaining naval supremacy over Lake Ontario and to protect Canadian intrests on the northern side of the lake. On a cold Haloween night the ship sunknear Oswego,New York. No survivors or remains of the ship found only a barrel that washed up on shore. between 170 and 350 men drowned . A massive cargo of gold was also lost supposedly worth $500,000 destined to be found. Today, the eastern end of Lake Ontario that meets St. Lawerence River had a bad reputation among sailers during the18th and 19th century. (Ghost stories) This was all between October 31- November 1,1780.
Another ship sinking I read called the Sinking of the Speedy that was sentenced on October the 9th in 1804 also located in Lake Ontario. The government at first owned this small boat (25 metres in length). It had been built in 1798 at Kingston, to defend against an American attack. I also learned that Toronto used to be called York until 1834 when they then named it Toronto. The boat was on a two day voyage on the shore of Lake Ontario from York to the newly formed town of Newcastle. Captain Thomas Paxton had been reluctent to set sail for there was bad weather. A early cold snap followed by heavy snow. It was said that the Speedy was built in such a rush that green timber of poor quality was used which later on soon caused many problems, including dry rot and warping of th ship andtwo men had to constantly bail water out of the ship using bilge pumps in order to keep afloat! No matter the problems Governor Peter Hunter ordered Paxton and the Speedy to set sail under penalty of court martial. On board the Speedy were all men whowere to oversee newcastle as well as the crew of surveyors + local officers for the region. There was also six handwritten copies of Constitution of Upper Canada carried on the boat. The boats passengers were mostly of high profile judges of The Court of Assized, criminal Cases. They had a Ojibway man, ogetonicut- accused of killing John Sharpe for the revenge of his brothers death. The colonys first Solicitor General, RobertIssac Dey Gray was aboard as was MP Angus Macdonnell and York police Cheif John Fisk. (John Fiske would become the first Canadian Police Officer killed in the line of duty. The snow became heavier and heavier the more time passed by .The boat stopped at Oshawa to pick up buisness partners of the murdered Sharpe, who were to stand as witnesses at the trail. But the two men refused to board the ship for it looked unsafe so tey followed in a canoe. By the time the ship approached Newcastle a blizzard was underway . The men in the canoe managed to reach Newcastle, but the Speedy had disappeared. A blast from one of their canons were heard from shore to signal their position. After that point nothing was heard from the speedy and the 40 passengers + crew members were all lost. A chicken coop and compass box was discovered on the beach the next day ( both items used to be on the ship) In 1836, parts of the ship and human remains were found at Presquille bay. Indeed the immediate blame for the sinking of the speedy got blamed on Newcastle itself. It was declared to be to dangerous to pilot ships through and the town was quickly abandoned and the site is now partof the Provincial Park near Brighton. The capital of Newcastle district was moved to Amherst now Coburg, and the districts became broken up into countries of Quinte, Northumberland and Peterbrough.
The latest ship wreck that I have read about is the sinking of General Hamilton and Scourge the event happened on August the 8th in 1813 still in Lake Ontario. The Scourge was built in Niagara on the Lake for a local Loyaltist merchent known as Lord Nelson. It had been captured by the Americans before the war of 1812. The General Hamilton had been the American Merchant ship Diana , but the Us Navy had purchased it and changed its name. When the war began, both boats were converted into warships and put into the service of the Americans under the command of Commodore Issac Chauncy. I learned that the war of 1812 actually lasted 3 years despite the name. On August 8th 1813 (2nd year of war 1813) the two schooners were preparing for an attack on the British fleet at Kingston harbour. At 2AM, a sudden, isolated squall struck the two boats and snk them instantly. Commodor Chauncy reported that a dozen or so sailers escaped on lifeboats and were saved. About 100 men drowned. Ned Myers a sailer on the Scourge who survived the sinking said that it happened so fast that most of the men couldnt even et on the deck in time to jump off and that only one man could climb out at a time.Myer also reported that the Scourge tilted to one side and gained water. As he prepared t jump in the lake he heard a man yelling Dont Jump in the Water. But Myers went ahead and jumped anyway , he founda lifeboat and saved other men who were drowning in the water. The sinking of the two ships proved to be the worst military shipwreck of the war of 1812. The General Hampton and scourge was not found until the late 20th century. A legend in the St. Catherines area holds that on stormy summer nights, the ghostly images of the two sinkin ships can still be seen and the screams of the crews heard.
I also read about Chlorea which was somewhat like a disease that spread. But Im not going to talk about that until next itme beause my fingers just dont agree.
:Dryleejane:D