Location

Murray Harbour from NEMurray Harbour (46°01'N., 62°30'W.) is formed by the junction of five rivers which expand into a partially-drying shallow basin, that contains five wooded islands joined together at LW by drying mud flats. Poverty Beach, a sand spit extending S from Cody Point (Irvings Cape) for over 1.5 miles, closes the basin except for the narrow entrance passage between Sable Point, the S end of Poverty Beach, and Beach Point (Oldstore Point), a projecting spit on the S side of the channel.

A sand bar, with a least depth of 2.4m in the channel through it, extends to seaward for over 1 mile from the entrance. This channel is sometimes impassable in E winds because of the line of breakers which may extend from Cody Point to Murray Head.

Tides—Currents.—The combined tidal and current flow runs at 2 knots at Beach Point.

Aspect.—Inside the bar, the channel contracts to a width of little more than 90m, expanding again inside Beach Point. The depth increases gradually to a maximum of about 7.9m off the steep-to sandy beach of Beach Point.

Range lights, in line bearing 234° at the entrance, lead over the bar and through the channel to within about 0.2 mile of Beach Point. The front light is shown from a white square tower on Beach Point. The rear light is shown from a similar structure on Penny Point.

Murray Harbour from SEThe approach channel is marked with lighted buoys. Inside Beach Point, the main channels are marked by lighted buoys, casks, spar buoys, and numerous stakes.

Murray Harbour village is situated at the head of navigation on the South River, 2 miles above Beach Point. A channel about 30m wide, in two courses, dredged to 2.7m, leads from a point 0.5 mile WSW of Sable Point to the government wharf at the village. The outer course is marked by lighted buoys and range lights to the entrance of the South River; the inner mile of channel is marked by stakes and another set of range lights.

The outer set of lights are shown from the shore near Machons Point. The front light is shown from a red skeleton tower. The rear light is shown from a similar structure. This range is in line bearing 273°.

The inner pair of range lights, in line bearing 233.5°, are shown from the shore near the village at the head of navigation. The front light is shown from a skeleton tower; the rear light is shown from a similar structure. The lights are visible only when in alignment.

Entrance to Murray Harbour from SEDepths—Limitations.—The government wharf at Murray Harbour on the NW side of the channel is composed of four sections paralleling the channel; the sections are 22m, 73m, 55m, and 61m in length. There are depths of 1.8 to 2.4m alongside. The outer part dries at the extreme E end. On the opposite side of the river is a government wharf ,with a face 61m in length and depths of 0.9m at the W end to 2.4m at the E end.

About 0.3 mile SW of Machons Point there is a government wharf extending to a depth of 1.2m.

Murray River Village, at the head of navigation on the Murray River, has a government wharf on the S shore with a berth 64m long and a depth, in the central part of the wharf of 1.8m. The E end dries and the bridge has a depth of 0.6m alongside.

On the Mink River, opposite the mouth of the Greek River, there is a wharf that has an L-shaped berth, 12m long, having a depth of about 2.1m at the outer end. An adjoining wharf has an outer end 11m wide, with depths of 0.3 to 0.9m alongside.
Several private moorings lie off the ends of these wharves. Cahoon Wharf, on the Greek River, is 65m long and 15m across the face of the L-shape, with a depth of 1.5m alongside its head. The shallow channels to these wharves may not always
be marked by buoys or stakes.

The church spire at Murray Harbour North, 0.7 mile WNW of Irvings Cape, is conspicuous.

Penny Point from SWBetween Beach Point and Penny Point, on the S shore inside the harbor entrance, there is a government wharf with a pier head 24m in length. There is a boat slip near the center of the wharf. A staked channel leading to the pier head had a reported depth of 2.1m.

A light is shown from a square skeleton tower on the end of this wharf.

Clay and sandstone cliffs, about 12.2m high, run W from Murray Head toward Beach Point, and to the S toward Cape Bear.

Caution.—Aids to navigation may be moved without advance notice because of the continuous silting. This harbor should not be entered without local assistance and the latest information concerning channel depths, positions of buoys, and range lights.