'Holy grail' of lost ships discovered

[kickingfrog]

Globe and mail article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...al_gam_mostview

 

 

Cut and pasted:

'Holy grail' of lost ships discovered

PATRICK WHITE

 

Globe and Mail Update

 

June 13, 2008 at 5:31 PM EDT

 

TORONTO — The last time anyone laid eyes on her, the Ontario was the most-feared ship on the Great Lakes.

 

It was 1780. Yankee militias were threatening to storm across Lake Ontario and seize Montreal from the British. And if it weren't for the intimidating profile of the 226-ton Ontario – 22 cannons, two 80-foot masts, a beamy hull with cargo space for 1000 barrels – they just may have.

 

But six months after she launched, the pride of the Great Lakes fleet sailed into a Halloween squall with around 120 passengers on board and was never seen again. It remains the worst-ever disaster recorded on Lake Ontario, according to Kingston historian Arthur Britton Smith.

 

For 228 years, the Ontario eluded countless shipwreck-hunters, thwarting any explanation of her disappearance and fanning rumours of a priceless booty on board.

 

 

Enlarge Image

This handout image of a drawing by Arthur Britton Smith and released Friday, June 13, 2008 by Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville, shows a starboard profile of the sunken 228-year-old British warship HMS Ontario, a British warship built in1780 that has been discovered in deep water off the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Kennard and Scoville used side scanning sonar and an unmanned submersible to locate the HMS Ontario, which was lost with barely a trace and as many as 130 people on board during a gale in 1780. (Courtesy of Arthur Britton Smith/AP)

 

On a flat-calm morning on the last day of May, the Ontario reappeared.

 

Friday, two Rochester engineers revealed their discovery.

 

“I can't tell you how excited we are,” said Jim Kennard, 64, who has spent more than half his life pursuing the Ontario. “This is the holy grail of lost ships on the Great Lakes.”

 

The find provides a denouement to one of the region's most intriguing historical mysteries and validation for Mr. Kennard and Dan Scoville, 35, who have braved years of early mornings, rough waters and snooping shipwreck thieves in their quest for the Ontario.

 

At first, the twosome wasn't sure what they'd found. The Ontario appeared as a mere blip on the side-scanning sonar system that Mr. Kennard, a retired Kodak engineer, designed and built himself.

 

After a few more soundings, “We could see this blip had two masts, each with a crow's nest,” said Mr. Kennard, who's discovered seven of Lake Ontario's estimated 500 shipwrecks in the last six years alone. “There was only one vessel we knew of that was built like that.”

 

Their next step was to video the ship up close using a microwave-sized remote submersible of Mr. Scoville's design.

 

“Right away we saw the quarter gallery, the windows in the stern, the cannons,” said Mr. Kennard. “There was no mistaking. That's when we started getting excited.”

 

As final confirmation they summoned Mr. Smith, author of the definitive book on the Ontario. He showed up early Tuesday. The men were soon popping champagne.

 

“What I saw was far beyond my wildest dreams,” said Mr. Smith. “I thought she'd be covered in silt, but she looks like she might have sunk last week.”

 

In the pitch-black water of around 4 degrees Celsius, the Ontario has aged remarkably well. Leaning on a 45-degree angle, her masts still jut straight up from her decks where several guns lie upside-down. Zebra mussels cover much of the woodwork, but a brass bell, brass cleats and the stern lantern are perfectly visible. Seven big windows across the stern still have glass.

 

“This is the only revolutionary-era vessel in such perfect shape,” said Mr. Smith, who speculated from the positioning of the wreck that Captain James Andrews may have been racing the ship west towards calmer waters at Niagara River when hurricane-force winds knocked her over.

 

There was no evidence of the roughly 113 Canadian men, women, children and American prisoners who went down with the ship.

 

Six bodies washed ashore the year after the Ontario sunk, but the rest of the passengers – mostly Canadian soldiers from the 34th regiment – were never found. Nobody knows for sure how many passengers perished; the British kept their prisoner counts secret.

 

Out of worries over looting, Mr. Kennard and Mr. Scoville are keeping the ship's location hush-hush.

 

“You get a bit paranoid,” said Mr. Kennard. “There are all sorts of games that go on out there and this is a British Admiralty war grave.”

 

As for the rumours of gold treasure, Mr. Smith said it was all a myth.

 

“Other than a bit of loose change on the captain, there would be no money on board,” he said. “Nobody has seen anything like this. That's her true value.”

[bpsbassman]

WOW! That is impressive! It will be interesting to see photos of it on the bottom.

[The Urban Fisherman]

very cool - I agree with BPSBASSMAN - stoked to see some pix.

 

Thanks for the read kickin'

[kickingfrog]

The actual paper has some photos as well as a diagram of the ship. A search for HMS Ontario may produce some?

 

Or here? www.shipwreckworld.com

Edited June 14, 2008 by kickingfrog

[Greencoachdog]

I think they're going to find a few "yankee" cannon ball holes in her.

[TJQ]

I think they're going to find a few "yankee" cannon ball holes in her.

 

 

What..... no way!!! hey dont worry GCD... the south will rise again!!!

 

Pretty cool stuff... ive always been fascinated with shipwreck... even sunk a few myself.. lol

[BFSC Kevin]

very neat stuff!

[misfish]

I think they're going to find a few "yankee" cannon ball holes in her.

 

How do you know this Did you pull the cord on the cannons I know yer older,but not that older.

Notice I didnt say OLD eh.LOL

Very cool finding.

[kickingfrog]

The only cannon balls might be from a down-rigger fishing too deep. It's really deep, dark and cold down where that ship must be. Too bad because that would be some nice structure.

[douG]

Dawg, the Yanks never put a mark on her.

[Clampet]

Thanks fer sharin' Kickkinfrog.

[Rich]

That is really cool! Thanks for posting!

[steve barrett]

Thanks for sharing.Great article.Would like to see pictures someday.I can't see anyone trying to raise her But those two warships the scourge and the other one from the war of 1812 should be looked at before some ship drops an anchor on them out side of welland.