The “Bermuda Triangle” of Lake Ontario
- Richard Crowder
- 28 minutes ago
- 7 min read
You have no doubt heard about the infamous Bermuda Triangle, an area in the South Atlantic ocean generally considered as bounded by Miami, Florida, the Island of Bermuda, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Although not recognized as such by the US Coast Guard or US Navy, within this triangle of open water is said to have occurred more than its share of shipwrecks, aircraft accidents, and disappearances -- mysterious or otherwise.
There wasn’t a recognized or at least named “Bermuda Triangle” in Lake Ontario until 1980, when author Hugh F. Cochrane described an area in the eastern end of Lake Ontario as having peculiarly high numbers of shipwrecks, aircraft accidents, and disappearances, mysterious and otherwise. Cochrane defined this area as being bordered by Point Petre on the eastern tip of Prince Edward County, east of Belleville, Ontario, Wolfe Island in the St Lawrence River just off Kingston, Ontario at the very eastern end of Lake Ontario, and Mexico Bay in Lake Ontario just off Oswego, New York.
In his 1980 book, Gateway to Oblivion: The Great Lakes’ Bermuda Triangle, Cochrane called this triangle of water the Marysburgh Vortex, named after historical Marysburgh Township in Prince Edward County, Ontario – historical as it was settled by Loyalists in 1784 following the American Revolution. The township was officially renamed Marysburgh in 1786 after Princess Mary, the fourth daughter of King George III.
Naming this area of Lake Ontario a “vortex” requires more than a little imagination. After all, a vortex is defined as a spinning mass of water or air around a central axis as found in whirlpools, waterspouts, and tornadoes. There is no known such vortex in the waters of eastern Lake Ontario. However, Cochrane proposed “an unknown invisible vortex of forces of ominous, whirling nature” as being the root of the steady stream of maritime disasters.
And yes, there have been many shipwrecks, and even aircraft mishaps, within this triangle. Some claim a couple hundred, while others claim close to five hundred vessels been been lost, some mysteriously, along with several dozen aircraft, both civilian and military. But why? While the term ”vortex” implies mysterious or perhaps even supernatural effects within the triangle, perhaps there are other less imaginative and more scientific and natural causes for the disappearances.
First, lets take a look at some of the mishaps within the Marysburgh Triangle. One of the most notable was the Bavaria, a three-masted schooner carrying a load of timber with a captain plus a crew of seven, being towed by a steam barge across Lake Ontario along with two other ships in late May, 1889. A vicious storm caused the tow line to snap, sending the Bavaria to drift on its own. The schooner was found upright and aground on Galloo Island with everything in place, undisturbed, and dry, including a set table for a meal and food in the oven. The Captain and crew seemingly abandoned ship, but were never found.
Another of the region's mysteries is of the 100-foot schooner Picton which departed from Rochester in June, 1900 with a load of coal destined for Canada. She held a crew of six, the captain, known only in the archives as Captain Sidley, and the captain’s 12-year old son. Two other ships were closely following her along the way. A storm broke out, which tore the topsail off the Picton, and then the ship vanished from the sight of the two following ships. Very little was found at the location of her last sighting, and no trace of her or its crew was ever found. The ship’s main boom was eventually found some twenty miles from where the Picton had vanished. Months later, a bottle was found washed up off Sackett’s Harbour with a note from Captain Sidley saying he had lashed his son to himself so they would be found together.
In 1917, the 120-foot, three-masted schooner George A. Marsh -- with fourteen men, women, and children on board -- battled a gale with monstrous waves. The storm tore planks from its hull until the pumps could no longer keep up. She sank off Amherst Island, at the very easterly end of Lake Ontario, near Kingston. Only two people survived. To this day, the wreck remains a popular site for diver as the vessel somehow landed upright and almost fully intact in roughly 80 feet of water.
In September, 1919, the 102-foot steamboat T.J. Waffle departed Fair Haven, NY with a captain and crew of six on route to Kingston with a load of coal. Built on the Rideau in 1914, the relatively new vessel was intended for the gentler waters of the river and canal system. As the story goes, a strong north wind on Lake Ontario that evening must have caused overwhelmingly rough seas. The wreckage of the T.J. Waffle was found scattered along the shoreline near Oswego the next morning. The crew was never found.
Hundreds of sailors have lost their lives in the waters of eastern Lake Ontario. The tale of ship disasters within the “vortex” could go on forever. That being said, a couple of aircraft anomalies are worthy of being told.
In 2021, Global News reported on a story about the strange happenings above that same area of Lake Ontario. In their story, experienced amateur pilot Ron Scott departed Picton, Ontario in his Cessna 172 on a clear, calm day in 1975 on a sightseeing mission with no particular destination in mind.
As he cleared the eastern tip of Prince Edward County at about 1000 feet of altitude, the plane -- all on its own -- suddenly banked hard right. Scott was unable to straighten the rudders. Then, after about ten seconds, the plane banked hard left. Scott was finally able to regain control and landed safely, but decades later was still shaken by the experience.
In November, 2016, a Toronto-bound Porter Airlines flight from Ottawa had to suddenly dive below its registered flight path over the Vortex to avoid a collision with what the pilots described as a large unidentified airborne object. Two flight attendants incurred minor injuries. In their report, the Canadian Transportation Safety Board was unable to determine the nature of the object.
In an interview with CFRA shortly after the incident, TSB spokesperson Chris Krepski said: "What we do know is that the description and size of the object does not match any known commercial or consumer unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. The occurrence location, which is 10 miles from the shore at 8,300 feet is beyond the range capabilities of most commercial and consumer level UAVs."
"We weren't able to positively identify the object, so for now it's a closed event," Krepski added.
So, aside from the occult and the supernatural, are there any reasonable, scientific, or natural explanations for the overabundance of shipwrecks and aircraft disappearances over the Marysburgh Vortex?
The answer is a definite yes – especially as it applies to shipwrecks.
Lake Ontario is a relatively deep lake which tapers quickly shallow toward its eastern end. A chain of rocky islands and shoals, called the Duck-Galloo Ridge, stretches across the lake from Prince Edward County to near Oswego, New York, thus forming the southern boundary of the Marysburgh Vortex. Depending on the year and the season, these shoals can be right at or right below the surface of the lake. This combination can make navigation a nightmare even in the calmest of weather, let alone when winter storms or adverse weather quietly sneaks in from the north or west.
Now, consider also that the lake flows west to east from its deepest section to its shallowest section. This alone can cause a massive piling of water in the eastern end of the lake, making it prone to bigger wave action. Couple this with prevailing westerly winds driving the water east down the long reach of the lake, and in a storm situation, massive wave action can occur throughout eastern Lake Ontario that isn't necessarily occurring simultaneously elsewhere on the lake.
Now, a third factor adding to all of this is the presence of an almost perfectly circular shoal called Charity Shoal, about one kilometer in diameter and a mere 25 feet below the surface, caused by a meteorite impact some 450 million years ago. It sits nearly in the middle of the “Vortex.” This might not be such an issue, were it not for the fact that its magnetic effects can cause compass deviations as much as twenty to thirty degrees. That would have been devastating to ships of yore navigating an already troublesome stretch of waterway full of shoals and shallows. Today, such magnetic anomalies don't affect GPS.
With all of the above naturally occurring hazards to navigation, add the fact that the atmosphere in Lake Ontario is prone to abnormal spurts of temperature inversion which can cause visual abstractions, in some cases making it look like islands floating in the sky. The phenomenon causes light to bend, making objects that are below the horizon appear visible in the distance. It is very possible such an anomaly was the root of the Porter Airlines incident.
With all of the above natural factors at play, it is almost amazing that any vessels safely navigate the eastern end of Lake Ontario. But, somehow, they do, and have done so for hundreds of years. However, some mishaps do seem difficult to explain rationally. So, whether you want Lake Ontario’s own Bermuda Triangle to be the result of natural or supernatural phenomena, thanks to todays advanced electronics and navigational aids, there is no excuse not to enjoy one of the most beautiful fresh water boating playgrounds in the world.
Just keep your eye on the weather report. #culture
