Divers searching for lost shipwreck near Toronto discover an even older mystery

A Canadian diving team exploring the centuries-old wreck off Rapid City may have found a very rare prize: an ancient shipwreck that may date back 50 years earlier than expected, offering a rare window into a little understood era of shipbuilding.

The “unidentified object” — which was first spotted as a large anomaly in 2017 during a fiber-optic cable survey on the bottom of Lake Ontario from Buffalo to Toronto — caught the attention of Trent University archaeologist James Connolly, who was hoping to study an undisturbed wreck.

Based on archival records, the ship was initially believed to be Rapid City, a two-masted schooner built in 1884 and used as a sailing ship. stone throwerUntil it was lost in 1917.

The dive team, led by exploration diver and Ontario Underwater Council President Heisen Chuck, examined the site to test Connolly’s theory that the wreck’s 100-metre depth had protected it from human activity.

‘I don’t think anyone has been on it’

Chuck’s dive revealed photographs by photographer Jeff Lindsay that revealed a ship so intact, with its freemast and topmast remaining in place.

“It took us a moment to calm ourselves because it’s very difficult to find an ancient wreck that’s in one piece,” Chuck said. “It’s got its shape. It hasn’t broken both masts. We saw two – both masts were standing, which is very rare.”

“All the pigeons I have have fallen either because boats come across them, anchors break them (or) divers damage them.

“It’s so deep that I don’t think anyone has been to this. I think we’re the first group and that joy was immense.”

Chuck, an experienced diver with more than 20 years of experience at dozens of shipwreck sites in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, said the discovery is the first of his career.

“I have never seen a top mast in any wreck in Ontario or the St. Lawrence River.”

Debris May Be Older Than Estimated

Closer examination revealed that the ship may be much older than originally thought.

“It’s tied with rope,” Connolly said. “Metal rigging is a common feature only after the 1850s. So this puts it immediately, probably, in the first half of the 19th century.”

Connolly noted other features that were unusual, including the absence of a wheel on the aft deck, the lack of a centerboard winch, and an early windlass design – all of which indicate that the ship could be 50 to 100 years older than Rapid City.

“It has no centerboard,” Connolly said, referring to a type of movable keel that was a major advancement for Great Lakes ships, especially during the second canal period, the time associated with the construction of the second Welland Canal in the 1850s. This movable keel helped ships to counteract leeward travel.

If true, this wreck could offer a fascinating glimpse of a poorly understood and largely undocumented chapter of Great Lakes shipbuilding history.

The period 1800-1850 was underestimated.

period was A major economic boom for the regionWhich saw the beginning of the strong trade relationship between Canada and the United States today. Hundreds of ships were built to facilitate that trade.But there were many small-scale shipyards that left few formal records.

Loss rates were also high, ships’ lifespans were shortened due to frequent accidents and storms – all set against a backdrop of major technological change. From sailing ships to steamboatsAs a result, old designs were quickly discarded without keeping complete records.

Charles Beecher is a professor at Indiana University who has devoted his more than 40-year career to research and preservation of Great Lakes shipwrecks. Beaker told CBC News it would be rare to find a Great Lakes ship from before the American Civil War.

He also said, based on the photos CBC News was able to share with them, there was not enough evidence to definitively conclude whether the ship is indeed from the 1800–1850 era and that further research is needed.

“I don’t want to diminish its value,” he said. “They may be able to identify the ship, perhaps identify the shipyard, and it would be useful to see an actual intact ship on the bottom to compare to what we have in terms of drawings, tonnage and information on these ships, and the older you go, the less information we have.”

That said, few of the estimated 6,500 shipwrecks at the bottom of the Great Lakes are as ancient as they appear.

“Its intactness makes it interesting,” he said.

Chuck and Connolly said they plan to return to the wreck next dive season to conduct dimensional surveys and take wood samples to accurately date the shipwreck.

They have been giving public lectures to raise awareness of preserving maritime history, and to document the wreck and secure funding to protect its rare standing masts, including a lecture at the University of Toronto on Monday.