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Maid of the Mist

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For other uses, see Maid of the Mist (disambiguation).
Maid of the Mist

The Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls, New York, USA. (The actual boats used are also named Maid of the Mist, followed by a different Roman numeral in each case.) The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River, near the Rainbow Bridge, and takes its passengers past the American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe Falls, also known as the Canadian Falls. The tour is available starting from the American side of the river, returning to the U.S. landing.

The operation is run by the Maid of the Mist Steamship Company of Niagara Falls, Ontario, which has been owned by the Glynn family of Lewiston, New York, since 1971. The boats are registered in St. Catharines, Ontario.

History

The first Maid of the Mist was launched in 1846 as a ferry service between the Canadian and American sides, pre-dating by two years the construction of the first Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge at the site. The ferry service lost business when the bridge opened, and by 1854 it had become a tourist attraction instead, served by a new and more luxurious boat.

Boats

Maid of the Mist I

  • Years of service: 1846–54
  • Type: double-stack steamboat ferry
  • Engine: 1 sidewheel steam

A second Maid of the Mist I was built in 1854

  • Years of service: 1854–60
  • Length: 72 feet (22 m)
  • Type: single-stack steamer
  • Engine: paddle boat

While on his 1860 tour of Canada, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), rode on the Maid of the Mist.[1] With business dwindling and the resulting financial pressures, the ships were sold. The impending American Civil War contributed to the issue[citation needed] and the final boat was sold to a Montreal firm in 1860. Service was not restored until 1895, when two new boats were constructed and launched under a new partnership, Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company.

Maid of the Mist I, published c. 1901
Stereoscopic view of Maid of the Mist II, c. 1896–1906

Maid of the Mist I, this one sailed closer to Horseshoe Falls than any had previously.

  • Years of service: 1885–1955
  • Type: steam boat
  • Engine: N/A

Maid of the Mist II

  • Years of service: 1892–1955
  • Type: white oak steam boat
  • Length: 89 feet (27 m)
  • Engine: 2 engine steam

These boats sailed the lower river until April 22, 1955, when they burned in a pre-season accident. Later that year, they were replaced by two new ships. The type and style of the boats is still seen today; they were made of steel and powered by diesel engines.

Maid of the Mist I

  • Years of service: 1955–90
  • Length: 66 feet (20 m)
  • Engine: 200 horsepower (150 kW) diesel engines
  • Passengers: 101

Maid of the Mist II

  • Years of service: 1956–83
  • Type: all-steel boat, twin of I
  • Engine: 200 horsepower (150 kW) diesel engines
  • Passengers: 101

The Maid of the Mist is well known for its role in the July 9, 1960, rescue of Roger Woodward, a seven-year-old boy who became the first person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls with nothing but a life jacket. The boat involved in the rescue (known as Maid II) was retired from service in 1983 and relocated to the Amazon River, where it served as a missionary ship for some years.[1]

Access to the river-level attraction on the Canadian side was provided by the Maid of the Mist Incline Railway, a funicular railway, between 1894 and 1990, to travel between street level and the boat dock.[2] As this service proved increasingly inadequate in transporting the growing passenger base of the 1990s, four high-speed elevators replaced the railway by the start of the 1991 tourist season. The same year, The Prince and Princess of Wales, and their two young sons, Princes William and Harry, rode on the Maid of the Mist.[3] On the American side, the dock is reached by four elevators enclosed in the observation tower.[4]

Maid of the Mist boarding dock, 1976
View of Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist
Tourists on the Maid of the Mist wear blue raincoats to protect themselves from the spray.
Maid of Mist IV and Maid of Mist VII

More ships have been added to the fleet.

Maid of the Mist III

  • Years of service: 1972–97
  • Length: 65 feet (20 m)
  • Gross tonnage: 75[5]
  • Engine: single 250 horsepower (190 kW) diesel
  • Passengers: 210

Maid of the Mist IV

  • Years of service: 1976–2013
  • Length: 72 feet (22 m)
  • Gross tonnage: 75[6]
  • Engine: two 250 horsepower (190 kW) diesel
  • Passengers: 300

Maid of the Mist V

  • Years of service: 1983–2013
  • Length: 72 feet (22 m)
  • Gross tonnage: 74[7]
  • Engine: two 355 horsepower (265 kW) diesel
  • Passengers: 300
  • Alexisonfire's 2009 "Young Cardinals" music video was shot on the Maid of the Mist V

Maid of the Mist VI

  • Years of service: 1990–present
  • Length: 74 feet (23 m)
  • Breadth: 30 feet (9.1 m)
  • Depth: 10 feet (3.0 m)
  • Gross tonnage: 155[8]
  • Engine: two 355 horsepower (265 kW) diesel
  • Passengers: 600

Maid of the Mist VII

  • Years of service: 1997–present;
  • Length: 80 feet (24 m)
  • Breadth: 30 feet (9.1 m)
  • Depth: 10 feet (3.0 m)
  • Gross tonnage: 155[9]
  • Engine: two 350 horsepower (260 kW) diesel
  • Passengers: 600

The Little Maid

  • A small tug-like vessel found at the docks on the Canadian side

A partial history of the Maid of the Mist is featured in the IMAX film Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic.[10]

Popular US television mockumentary 'The Office' featured the boat as the scene for the protagonists' wedding

See also

References

  1. ^ "Morden, James Cochenaur; Historic Niagara Falls; Lindsay Press; Niagara Falls; 1932". Ourroots.ca. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  2. ^ "Niagaraparks.com". Niagaraparks.com. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. ^ "Famous Visitors". Niagara Parks. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. ^ "Niagarafallsstatepark.com". Niagarafallsstatepark.com. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  5. ^ Results for Vessel: Maid of the Mist III, United States Coast Guard Maritime Information eXchange (CGMIX)
  6. ^ Results for Vessel: Maid of the Mist IV, United States Coast Guard Maritime Information eXchange (CGMIX)
  7. ^ Results for Vessel: Maid of the Mist V, United States Coast Guard Maritime Information eXchange (CGMIX)
  8. ^ Results for Vessel: Maid of the Mist VI, United States Coast Guard Maritime Information eXchange (CGMIX)
  9. ^ Results for Vessel: Maid of the Mist VII, United States Coast Guard Maritime Information eXchange (CGMIX)
  10. ^ Niagara Falls Daredevils | IMAX Theater, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada[dead link]
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