The geocache in located within Confederation Park, and placement has been authorized by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. The conservation authority no longer charges admission to this park, so it is free to access and park between dawn and dusk.
This is one of small series related to the Hamilton and Scourge shipwrecks, and the War of 1812 Naval Memorial. Collect clues from the first three caches (listed below) to determine the location of a bonus cache.
#1 - Hamilton & Scourge - 1812 Naval Memorial Garden (Multi-cache)
#2 - Hamilton & Scourge - Ned Myers' Account (Puzzle / Mystery Cache)
#3 - Hamilton & Scourge - Archaeological Treasure Hunt (Letterbox Hybrid)
There are letters and number recorded on the underside of the lid. Be sure to record those details. You will need them to find the bonus cache: GC5TGX0 Hamilton & Scourge - Cleared For Action
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At the posted coordinates, you will find a memorial to the 53 sailors who perished on the Lake Ontario during the war of 1812. A number of geocaches have been placed nearby this memorial.
During the summer of 1813, US naval ships under the command of Commodore Isaac Chauncey played a game of tag on the open water with British ships under the command of Sir James Yeo. Neither fleet held the clear advantage, and historical accounts report an unwillingness of either commander to engage in direct battle. Both fleets instead spent the summer maintaining a safe distance, ready to strike if pressed, but neither taking the first blow.
Such was the case on the evening of August 8, 1813. It had been another long day of inaction for the American fleet. The British ships were a short distance away, but with a complete lack of wind the air stayed hot and humid, and waters remained smooth as glass. Without wind, there was no chance of engaging the enemy. Nightfall came, and the air remained as calm. The sailors settled in to sleep among the cannons, in case a breeze should arise and present an opportunity for battle. By morning, two ships and 53 sailors would be at rest at the bottom of the lake
In reading of this tragedy, I find the account of Ned Myers to be one of the most riveting pieces of first-hand information from that night. Ned was one of the few sailors aboard the Hamilton and Scourge to survive. Unable to swim, and in the total blackness of night, Ned found himself in the cold dark water of Lake Ontario and ….. well, why not read his account for yourself?
To find this geocache, you will need to answer a few simple question based on the account of Ned Myers. The information is freely available online.
The geocache is located at N 43 14.ABC and W 79 44.DEF
To find the values for the variable, correctly answer the following simple or multiple questions
Question A: What ship was Ned Myers on at the time of the disaster?
o If “The Diana”, then A = 6
o If “The Scourge”, then A = 7
o If “The Hamilton”, then A = 8
o If “The Julia”, then A = 9
Question B: as the sun set, what did George Tumblatt want permission to do?
o If “secure the guns”, then B = 6
o If “splice the main-brace”, then B = 7
o If “fire a shot at John Bull”, then B = 8
o If “stow the sails”, then B = 9
Question C: upon leaping from the vessel, Ned claimed to “swim vigorously for the first time in [his] life” until his hand hit something hard. What did he encounter in the water?
o If “the end of the main-boom”, then C = 6
o If “the gang-board”, then C = 7
o If “one of the sweeps”, then C = 8
o If “a clincher-built boat”, then C = 9
Question D: How many men did Ned Myers rescue? Include Tom Goldsmith, who “did not want much help, getting in, pretty much, by himself”. This number is D
Question E: Upon being rescued by the crew of the Julia, Sailing Master James Trant ordered four of his men off in a small boat to look for other survivors. How many men did they find? (hint: these men belonged to the other floundered vessel, and this provided the first indication that a second ship had also gone down that night). This number is E
Question F: The next morning, Lieutenant Tom Brown and Sailing-Master James Trant discuss the number of men rescued by each vessel under their command. What is the total number of men they reported as rescued? Take the last digit as F (for example, if 23 men are rescued, F=3). Note that the number of men reported as saved in Ned’s account may differ from numbers reported elsewhere
You can check your answer here.
