ESTUARY HARBOURS, ETC. 163 



entrance to a harbour, or indeed the harbour itself, should be 

 upon a receding or a salient part of the coast. 



It is contended, on the one hand, that the entrance should 

 be placed well back in fact, in the most deeply embayed or 

 leeward portion of a coast so that any vessel, finding itself 

 embayed, would be able to make for the harbour, and probably 

 by so doing avoid being wrecked. 



This argument no doubt holds good for the particular bay 

 or receding portion of the coast where such a harbour may 

 happen to be; and there are many sites the importance of 

 which, commercially considered, would fully warrant this view 

 of the case being taken. But from a refuge point of view, 

 in order to adequately provide for the wants of embayed vessels 

 along a coast, it would obviously be necessary to provide a 

 harbour of refuge in every bay. 



On the other hand, it is argued that in bad weather vessels 

 ought to keep well off a lee shore until driven to seek shelter ; 

 and the construction of harbours at salient points of the coast 

 is advocated on the ground that they could be more easily 

 "made," especially in misty weather or during snowstorms, 

 by vessels in the offing, or by those approaching the coast from 

 over the sea, and that they would be most useful to general 

 passing trade. 



It is further argued that vessels using the harbour for 

 purposes of shelter would be able to get away to sea sooner, 

 as the gale moderated, than they could do from an embayed 

 harbour : and also that, in the event of a vessel in a gale of wind 

 failing to make the entrance of a salient harbour, she would have 

 a chance of beating out again ; whereas, if she failed to fetch 

 the entrance of an embayed harbour, she must inevitably go 

 ashore or be wrecked on the breakwater. 



Therefore, when once a vessel runs for an embayed harbour, 

 she is bound to go in or be wrecked; and she must take her 

 chance of the entrance being blocked or crowded with other 

 ships, and also, in the case of a tidal harbour, of there being 

 water enough to admit her when she arrives. 



The salient position of Holyhead harbour, on the west coast 

 of England, and of the natural roadstead of the Downs on the 

 east coast, is found to be of great advantage for the reasons 

 above named. 



This question, like so many others, is, however, one in regard 



