‘Ontario’:A Ship Lost,A Ship Found

Posted by Susanna McLeod Jul 13, 2008

The British warship, “Ontario”, sank in 1780, mere months after it was built on Carleton Island in eastern Lake Ontario. It was a 22-gun brigantine ship constructed during the American Revolution. It was “built as a supply vessel and a fast raider for use against the Americans in the period following their declaration of independence from Britain,” said Brendon Baillod in the Kingston Whig-Standard on June 14, 2008. The beautiful ship sank during a vicious Lake storm that loosened cargo and cannons, causing the ship to tip. After three years of meticulous searching, the “Ontario” has been found.

Sitting in 500 feet of cold, dark water, the ship is mostly intact. The pictures on the Shipwreck World website are amazing. The stern, the bow, the crow’s nest – they are all there. The boat’s skeleton is barnacled, of course, but it’s visibly a ship, the style of which we’ve seen in movies like Pirates of the CaribbeanIt’s pure fascination.

Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville make their living as shipwreck hunters. They have now found seven ships in the Great Lakes. Using an underwater ROV, they managed to get detailed photos of the sunken wreck. Those may be the only photos, too. Since the ship sank with between 30 to 120 American prisoners on board, it is expected the US Government will claim it as a War Grave, thereby ending all future dives.

What a great find! Have a look at the Shipwreck World site – it is a rare view of Canadian history.