Jan 4 Arrived yesterday, Schooner “Satellite” Souris to Boston; no ice. (Ex 5 Jan p3#2)
Jan 16 SS “Andrea” off Absecon, NJ., struck heavy field ice on passage from West Indies to New York. The field was 18 miles long and was followed by others. (HB #178 Jan 25)
Jan 16 Port Mulgrave, navigation is closed. A large lot of drift ice is going through the Strait. (HH 17/01/1893 p1#7 )
Jan 19 The “Stanley” left Pictou for Georgetown yesterday afternoon at the usual time, but had to put back to port owing to the ice. (Ex 20 Jan p3#1)
Jan 21 SS “Castle Eden” 36°50’N 75°53’W passed soft field ice. (HB #182 Feb 21)
Jan 22 “City of Augusta” 38°20’N 75°W while bound from Savannah to New York passed through field ice for 7 hours, stretching as far as the eye could see. (HB #179 Feb 1)
Jan 22-30 Several ice reports along US Atlantic coast. (HB #179 Feb 1)
Jan 23 SS “Catania” on the voyage from Hamburg to Philadelphia passed through large fields of ice 40 or 50 miles off the coast. (HB #179 Feb 1)
Jan 26 SS “Rosemorran” met ice 40 miles ENE from Cape Henry. (HB #180 Feb 8)
Feb 2 The Ice Blockade. Great obstruction to navigation has been caused this month [January] by ice along our coast as far south as Hatteras. Heavy field ice has been encountered off shore, from Barnegat to Cape Henry, and Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and their tributaries are still almost blockaded. An experience pilot reports that the ice has been thicker in Chesapeake Bay than for 25 years. (PCNAO February 1993)
Feb 5-7 Newly frozen ice in Long Island Sound and continued ice reports Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Breakwater. (HB #180 Feb 8)
Feb 6 Sydney Light, NS, passed steamer “Havana”, Halifax for Sydney. The harbor is obstructed with ice and with difficulty she got to North Sydney. The ice is moving off outside the light. (HH 07/02/1893 p7 #1)
Feb 7-14 Ice in Castine Harbor, Southwest Ledge – Newhaven, Newcastle, Del., and Delware River. (HB ???]
Feb 13 North Sydney, The schooner “Harry Lake” from St. John’s, NF, arrived to-day and reports passed about ninety miles of ice on the St. Pierre banks. Experienced a heavy gale on the 7th which threw the vessel on her berth ends for three hours, the sea making a clean sweep over the vessel, washing everything off the decks, smashing the hatches and companion way and filling her half full of water. The mate, George Pittiman, was washed overboard and the same sea washed him back and threw him in the forehold bruising him considerably. The captain reports large quantities of ice to the southward of the banks, but the Cape Breton coast is all clear from Cape North to Louisburg and navigation is open. (HH 14/02/1893 p8 #4)
Feb 14-20 Ice along American coast largely gone; harbours of Castine, Belfast, Camden, Rockland clear, Penobscot Bay almost clear; vessel tightly wedge in ice at Norwich. (HB #182 Feb 21)
Mar Issue MWR: Field ice was noted near Cape Breton Is. and eastern Nova Scotia on the 5th, 8th, 19th, 22nd, 24th, and 30th.
Mar 2 Cow Bay, CB, Steamer “Thames”, from Cow Bay for Yarmouth, NS with coal, has returned to Cow Bay, with a hole in the bow below the water line, having struck ice. (HH 06/03/1893 p7 #1)
Mar 5 SS “Numidian” entered soft slushy ice 20 miles SE of Sambro Island, NS. The field was about 9 miles long. (HB #185 Mar 15)
Mar 5 The field ice in which SS “Damara” injured her bows was encountered in 45°N 58°W. (HB #185 Mar 15)
Mar 7 There is a little drift ice reported about Gaspe Basin and Bay of Chaleur. (HB #186 Mar 29)
Mar 8 SS “Stanley” had all her propeller blades broken off short by heavy ice between Pictou and Georgetown. (HB #185 Mar 15)
Mar 14 North Sydney Clear of Ice. The southerly wind of the past few days has driven the drift ice off into the gulf and broken the harbor ice up to the Sydney mine. (HH 15/03/1893 p1 #3)
Mar 19 SS “Minia” 45°27’N 58°30’W met closely packed field ice reaching N and NW as far as the eye could see. Steered ESE and got clear of it in 45°18’N 57.29’W. Encountered closely packed ice again in 46°41’N 57°05’W. On 22nd steamed along its eastern edge to 44°12’N 58°09’W. Some pieces were … and hard. (HB #188 Apr 15)
Mar 24 SS “Baumwall” 44°10’N 57°W passed a great quantity of small pieces of drift ice. (HB #188 Apr 15)
Mar 24 The steamer “Grand Lake” which arrived at St. John’s on March 24th, met with considerable ice on her trip. A large body of ice was met at the Misaine Bank at noon on Wednesday. The “Grand Lake” ran into it about a mile and backed out again. The steamer was afterwards run into a “break,” extending a distance of about forty miles, and steamed in it till 1 o’clock when the solid body was again met, and encountered till midnight. It was a heavy body of ice, and at times the steamer had to be backed and to “butt” it. Water could not be seen inside of it; it reached away up the gulf. The steamer cleared it at the south-east end of St. Pierre Bank. (HH 03/04/1983 p3 #3)
Mar 25 St. Lawrence Winter Navigation. The question of the feasibility of navigation on the St. Lawrence, from sea to this port, is being again seriously mooted here, in view of the open harbor throughout nearly the whole of the present winter and the successful trips made by the schooner “Anna McGee” within the last month to the Gulf. It is naturally argued that what can be successfully done by ordinary schooners should be done with the greatest ease and regularity by iron steamers of powerful construction, and a special committee of the board of trade is to meet to-morrow to consider the subject. (HH 25/03/1893 p1#7)
Mar ~30 Halifax. Arrived. Steamer “Portia,” St. Johns, NF. Left port on Thursday evening, encountered heavy field ice between St. Peter’s Bank and Sable Island Bank. Was obliged to skirt it for three hours, and afterward had to slow down and cut through the ice. Had heavy weather and afterwards thick fog on Saturday night. (HH 01/04/1893 p7 #1)
Mar 31 SS “MacKay-Bennett”: Vessels arriving at Halifax during this month report considerable ice around the coast of Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. (HB #188 Apr 15)
Apr 7 Eggemagin Reach and all the thoroughfares and bays of the coast of Maine are now entirely clear of ice but the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers are still closed to navigation. (HB #189 Apr 12)
Apr 19 SS “Charrington” at Father Point, Quebec reports met ice about 60m SE of Cape Ray to 30m up the Gulf. (NYMR)
Apr 19 Lat 46°20’N, lon 57°10’W, passed fields of heavy ice. (NYMR, p. 10, col. 2)
Apr 20 Sydney Light, NS, today wind NNE, a large field of ice closing in on the land, leaving no passage south. Str “Havana” now at 7 p.m. about two miles off here trying to work through the ice to the eastward. (HH 21/04/1893 p7#1)
Apr 21 Sydney Light, NS, wind south, ice moving off. (HH 22/04/1893 p7#1)
Apr 23 The “Havana” from Newfoundland via North Sydney, before reported in the ice after leaving the latter port, arrived early yesterday morning. Her bow is damaged by ice. (HH 24/04/1893 p8#2)
Apr 25 Sydney Light, NS ,some ice distant to the eastward moving off. Ice clear north. (HH 26/04/1893 p7 #1)
Apr 26 Montreal, April 25- Navigation opened here today. This is 11 days later than last year. (NYMR, p. 9, col. 5)
Apr 26 Father Point, Quebec, April 19- Steamer Charrington (Br.), Dawson, from, Mediterranean [ports for Montreal, passed inward at 7 AM…[?] reports that she met ice about 30 miles 60 [south] east of Cape Ray to thirty miles up the gulf…[?] clear of ice, then she passed about fifty miles…[?] field ice. (NYMR, p. 9, col. 5)
Apr 27 Heavy ice off Louisburg. (NYMR)
Apr 27 SS “Louisburg” from New York to N. Sydney met first ice 8 pm, Louisburg Light bearing N by W and Guyon Light NW by N (magnetic); heavy field ice as far as could be seen from masthead was to the northeastward and eastward; stopped engines and lay to all night. At daylight, 28th, steamed inshore and found an opening with light field of small ice which extended to the eastward as far as could be seen from the masthead and continued to be seen until the vessel got up to Flint Island. Sydney harbour all clear. The large field seemed to be drifting to the southeast. (NYMR 10 May)