Unidentified & Intact Great Lakes Shipwreck Highlighted at Kingston Speaker Series

BoatBlurb Contributor
May 1
3 min read

A remarkably well-preserved shipwreck discovered deep in Lake Ontario has captivated marine enthusiasts the world over.

Described as one of the most intact wrecks ever found in the Great Lakes, it's located near Toronto Island in roughly 300 feet of water. The ship is believed to date back to the early 19th century and was found in an area already believed to be thoroughly searched.

The vessel was first identified in 2017 by a team of technical divers led by explorer and diver Heison Chak and archaologist James Conolly using side scan sonar. Conolly, a professor of anthropology at Trent University, first noticed the “large anomaly” during a fibre-optic cable survey on the bottom, according to CBC.

“It took us a few moments to calm ourselves down because it’s overwhelming finding a pristine wreck that is all in one piece,” said Chak, who sits as the president of the Ontario Underwater Council and led the dive, to CBC.

Ironically, the team was searching for another historic vessel. They were looking for the wreck of the Rapid City, a ship built in 1884 and lost in 1917. But open stumbling across the new vessel, they noticed several key features proving it wasn't the Rapid City. Most notably, a lack of a centreboard and wheel on the aft deck, plus its older “rope” rigging, set it apart.

“Metal rigging is only a common feature after the 1850s," said Conolly to CBC. "So it immediately puts it into, likely, the first half of the 19th century."

"Given its location and the lake's depth, the vessel is far deeper than recreational divers typically reach, allowing it to remain hidden for decades."

Heison Chak (right) with James Conolly (foreground) / Photo - Heison Chak

What sets this discovery apart is the vessel's condition. Chak and is his team believe the wooden two-masted schooner is nearly completely intact, with its key structural elements—including both masts—still standing. That level of preservation is rare, even in the cold, freshwater environment of the Great Lakes, where wrecks eventually deteriorate despite favorable conditions.

“What immediately sets this wreck apart is its state of preservation and configuration,” Chak told The Kingstonist. “This is the first truly untouched — or ‘virgin’ — wreck I’ve encountered that still has both its foremast and aft mast standing, including the topmast sections.”

The ship has not yet been identified, creating a rare Great Lakes mystery and instigating an intense investigation to uncover its origin story. A public event at the Great Lakes Museum, hosted by Chak himself, will now open up the story to the public. Chak will tell the process of the vessel's discovery and what researchers know so far, and anyone with investigative skills is welcome to try and uncover the vessel's true origin. The presentation will also explore the discovery process used in contemporary archaeology, the history of Great Lakes shipwrecks, and what this vessel may reveal about early 1800s shipbuilding and commerce on Lake Ontario.

While there are thousands of shipwrecks are scattered across the Great Lakes, the area surrounding Toronto Island is well known among recreational divers, making a find of this quality exceptionally rare. The ship's depth, intact structure, and unknown identity has already triggered intense researching by maritime historians and the public at large.

“It’s got its shape. It hasn’t broken down both masts," said Chak to CBC. "We saw two — both masts were standing, which is pretty rare. In all the rest that I have dove, either they have fallen off, because boats come across them, anchors wreck them [or] divers damage them.”

“I have never seen a top mast in any wrecks that I have dove in Ontario or in the St. Lawrence River,” he added. #news