Over centuries, many a brave sailor mer his maker on rhe sandy back of rhe Cape, or on rhe approaches from norrh and sourh. The naruralisr Henry David Thoreau wrore his seco ndbesr-known book abour Cape Cod. He began his firsr trip ro rhe Cape by noring a shipwreck in Cohasser where hundreds of immigrants fleeing rhe Irish poraro famine had perished wirh rheir desrinarion so close rhey could smell ir. Afrer reaching rhe Cape by land and traversing mosr ofirs lengrh on foor, Thoreau learned how many dreams of safe harbor and rich rewards had vanished in rhe surf along Nauser Beach, Cahoon's Hollow, High Head and Race Poinr. New England wasn'r as fertile as rhe mid-Adantic srares, bur irs foresrs were as rich, rhe marine resources bener. Early on, New Englanders looked seaward for rheir livelihoods, from oceanic u ade ro commercial whaling and fishing, plus the shipbuilding trades ashore that supported rhese efforts. Mid-Adamic cires grew and, wirh rhem, demand for Maine granire and lumber. New England mills required coal and raw conon from rhe Sourh. As rhe young narion and irs corresponding coasral rraffic grew, rhe hope rhar a canal would prove economical grew wirh ir. In rhe 1880s, rhe firsr serious effort ro dig a canal across Cape Cod began. In rhis firsr arrempr, financing was insufficient ro pay labore rs on rime; rhey srruck, and rhe company folded. Nor umil rhe early 1900s, well afrer President Roosevelr had raken over rhe Panama Canal projecr from France, did rhe New York bank, Augusr Belmont & Company, secure adequare funds ro begin rhe Cape Cod Canal in earnesr. Augusr Belmont Jr. had recently scored a major success building and consolidaring rhe New York subway sysrem. Belmont undertook rhe canal projecr wirh confidence. Srarting in 1909, channels were dredged, boulders dynamired, entrance breakwarers builr, millions of cubic yards excavared from land curs, and three drawbridges complered: rwo for roads, one for rrains. The canal opened ro roll traffic in July 1914. Like Panama's, rhe Cape Cod Canal was upsraged by rhe ourbreak of World War I. Toll-paying rraffic fell below expecrarions, maintaining deprhs and dodging currems were more difficulr rhan anticipared, and rhe canal failed ro pay bondholders on schedule. The Unired Srares government boughr ir in 1928 for $11 ,400,000 and rhe Army Corps of Engineers spent anorher $21,000,000 improving ir by 1940. Deprh and widrh were enlarged ro 32 and 460 feer. Two fi xed, arched, highway bridges, and a vertical-lifr railroad bridge were builr ro 135-foor clearance. The combined privare/public efforts ar long lasr creared a passage rhar, free of charge, provides commercial, recrearional, and milirary safer y rhar visionaries firsr dreamed of more rh an rhree hundred yea rs before.
Today's Cape Cod Canal is a sea-Level waterway with a minimum channel width of 480 feet and depth of32 feet at mean Low water. The three bridges that span the canal affow for 135 feet of vertical clearance above mean high tide.
The Cape Cod Canal provides a measure of narural disas rer prorecrion as well. New England hurricanes strike mosr ofren from rhe sourh, and Buzzards Bay is parricularly vulnerable ro srorm su rges because ofirs funnel shape. The large modern canal, if nor a complere lifesaver, provided a spillway for rhe major hurricanes of 1938, 1944, 1954, 1960 and 1991. 2014's centennial celebrarions will commemorare, if norhing else, rhe value of persisrence in consrrucring a warerway borh valuable and picruresque. !, Tom Gelsthorpe has sailed around the Cape and Islands since he was eight years old. Passages include dozens of Cape Cod Canal transits and many occasions to sing, "O hear us when we cry to Thee, for those in peril on the sea." Tom raised cranberries on the Cape for 34 years, has contributed to Cape conservation, serves on three Cape Cod Canal centennial committees, and is a history buffof Long standing, with particular interest in maritime exploration and development.
Cape Cod Canal Centennial Events Cape Codders are celebraring rhe 1OOrh anniversary of rheir canal rhis year, wirh lecrures and presentarions, rours, and new exhibirs. The big evems will rake place during a ren-day period, 25 July ro 3 August 2014, which will mark rhe week rhar rhe canal opened ro ship traffic a century ago. There will be visiring ships (Mysric Seaporr's Charles W Morgan, USCG Barque Eagle, Delaware's rail ship Kalmar Nyckef, Rhode Island's brand new rail ship Oliver Hazard Perry, and orhers), music, seafood and local fare, boar parades and races, and much, much more. All evems and schedules are posred online ar www.capecodcanalcentennial.com. SEA HISTORY 147, SUMMER 2014
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