Editing River Mersey (section)

==Navigation==
[[File:Mersey Ferry - River Mersey - Liverpool - 2005-06-28.jpg|thumb|right|Ferry across the Mersey, June 2005]] [[File:RiverMerseyEggBuoy.jpg|thumb|right|Egg Buoy near [[Egremont, Merseyside|Egremont]], [[Wallasey]]]]
[[William Gill (sea captain)|Capt. William Gill]] of the [[Isle of Man Steam Packet Company]], charted a safe, navigable channel (the Victoria Channel) through the treacherous uncharted waters of the estuary in 1836.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mxman/v04p005.htm| title= Discovering the Channel| publisher=isle-of-man.com | access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref>

Since the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, large commercial vessels do not usually navigate the estuary beyond [[Garston, Merseyside|Garston]] on the north bank, or the locks into the ship canal at [[Eastham, Merseyside|Eastham]]. Deep-water channels are maintained to both. Until the early 20th century, commercial traffic bound for further upstream carried cargo in large flat-bottomed sailing barges known as [[Mersey Flat]]s to Howley Wharf in Warrington and (via the [[Sankey Canal]]) to [[St Helens, Merseyside|St Helens]]. Motor barges delivered to riverside factories at Warrington until at least the 1970s, but nowadays only [[pleasure craft]] and [[yachts]] use the upper estuary and the tidal river where a number of sailing clubs are based. On most high tides, seagoing yachts with masts raised can navigate as far upstream as [[Penketh|Fiddlers Ferry]] – about {{convert|3.1|mi|km|abbr=on}} downstream of Warrington – where there is a small marina accessed via a river lock. Although river craft can continue upstream to Howley Weir, there are no landing or mooring facilities. Before construction of the ship canal, a lock bypassing Howley Weir allowed navigation further upstream via a straight "cut" avoiding a meander around Woolston.