Queen of Lakes Shipwreck Found Erect in Lake Ontario After 105 Yrs

A ship called Queen of Lakes was found sitting erected with its three masts (extending as much as 100 feet upward) at the bottom of Lake Ontario 105 years after it first sunk.

Jim Kennard and other shipwreck enthusiasts first discovered the vessel using side-scan sonar in 2009, reported the Associated Press. They then confirmed its existence and captured images in early July using a robotic midget submarine.

The ship's anchors and wheel are intact. The riggings and sails, however, have long disintegrated.

When you have a temperature of, like, 39 degrees and you're at a depth where there's no wave action or current, the only thing that can damage the wood would be zebra or quagga mussels as they collect and grow in big clumps and fall off, explained Kennard.

In November 1906, the Queen of Lakes was en route to Kingston, Ontario with a 480-ton shipment of coal when it was hit with a massive leak. The bilge pumps could not expel the water fast enough and the boat sank, according to Shipwreckworld.com.

Kennard said it went down really quickly and the crew, which jumped ship, was within just 50 feet of the boat. The boat sank just 10 miles from land, according to Shipwreckworld.com.

The boat was built in 1853 as a 2-mast ship and was originally named Robert Taylor. By 1864, it was renamed Queen of Lakes. In 1886, it was damaged and rebuilt as a 3-mast ship. When it sank, the ship's owners suffered total loss because they didn't buy any insurance, according to Shipwreckworld.com.

Below are the ship's specs information (via Great Lakes Shipwrecks):

Other names : built as schooner ROBERT TAYLOR, renamed before 1864

Official no. : C77626

Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast (also described as 3-master)

Build info : 1858, Ault, Portsmouth Ont. (also given as 1853, 57)

Specs : 129x23x11, 221gc 190nc

Date of loss : 1906, Nov 28

Place of loss : 9 mi E of Sodus Bay light, NY

Lake : Ontario

Type of loss : storm

Loss of life : none

Carrying : coal

Detail : She sprang a leak in heavy seas while enroute to Kingston. She rolled over and foundered after her crew launched the yawl. They made it to shore. She sank in 400' of water. Owned by James Richardson & Sons, Kingston. Capt Chauncey Daryaw, her very famous skipper, died in 1922.

Ashore and damaged at Avon Pt. Lake Erie in September of 1884.

Rebuilt 1876, rebuilt and lengthened 30' in 1896, major repair in 1887 after wrecking near Brighton, Ont. in 1886.