Maid of the Mist

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Maid of the Mist I , built in 1885
Maid of the Mist IV (front, built 1976) and Maid of the Mist VII (rear, built 1997)
One of the boats in the water veil

Maid of the Mist is the title of a boat tour of Niagara Falls . The tour, which has existed since 1846, is one of the oldest, continuously existing tourism offers in the world. The tour is offered by a family company based in Canada but owned by a US family. In 2012, the ships Maid of the Mist IV , Maid of the Mist V , Maid of the Mist VI and Maid of the Mist VII sail , each of which can carry 300 to 600 passengers.

The Canadian rival Hornblower Niagara Cruises now runs the same route.

Boats

  • Maid of the Mist IV . Capacity 300 passengers. Casts in the USA.
  • Maid of the Mist V . Capacity 300 passengers. Casts in the USA.
  • Maid of the Mist VI . Capacity 582 passengers. Casts off in Canada.
  • Maid of the Mist VII . Capacity 582 passengers. Casts off in Canada.

history

The tour on the Niagara River , which now takes around 20 minutes , has started a little upstream of the Rainbow Bridge since 1846 , with jetties on both the American and Canadian banks. The maid passes the American Falls and then drives to the center of the Horseshoe Falls . The tour goes so close to the falls that tourists get large amounts of water. As early as the 19th century, travelers were therefore given oil jackets. In the meantime these have been replaced by bag-like disposable films.

Before the Maid of the Mist there was already a cable ferry that crossed the current and shallow Niagara Gorge . Maid of the Mist should replace these. But after the first bridge was built near Niagara Falls in 1848, the ride was no longer profitable. The owners decided to take tourists straight to Horseshoe Falls. The first boat of that name, a wooden steamer, was complemented by another Maid of the Mist, a steel steamer, in 1854. The name goes back to a supposed Native American legend , but it is an invention of the first boat operators.

Web links

Commons : Maid of the Mist  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ https://www.niagaracruises.com/
  2. ↑ Phil Scott: Mal Bunting. Captain of the Maid of the Mist VII. Boating Magazine August 2004 p. 128.
  3. ^ Pierre Berton: Niagara: A History of the Falls , SUNY Press, 2009, p. 85, ISBN 1438429282 .
  4. ↑ a b Pierre Berton: Niagara: A History of the Falls , SUNY Press, 2009, p. 158, ISBN 1438429282 .