18thC British Warship found in Lake Ontario

Reports appearing in the media suggest that the wreck of the long lost HMS Ontario has been discovered off the eponymous Lake's Southern shore. American researchers,using remotely operated vehicles, found the remains of the 22-gun warship, which sank in October 1780. Lying in about 150 metres of water, she is reported to be in an excellent state of preservation. One of the team that discovered her said, "If it wasn't for the zebra mussels, she looks like she only sunk last week". More information about the discovery can be found here. Video taken by the discoverers is also accessible on You Tube.

Check out this Maritime Cultural Project...

Members and anyone else interested in the maritime history of Lake Ontario will find a lot to enjoy in the website run by Ben Ford, a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University. His online journal is providing insights into work he's doing to trace the cultural development in and around the Lake.

New Wreck .. ?

Ontario DIving Forum today reports the discovery of a probable steamer wreck that may be previously unknown. There's video available on You Tube to check out. Congratulations to all concerned, especially if further research confirms that the wreck is a new one. Our Mooring Director was the skipper on this trip and is likely to adopt the new site as a POW buoyed location. Watch this space for further information.

Kingston Underwater Show to benefit POW

It's a great pleasure to announce that the first annual Kingston Underwater event is going to recognize POW as a beneficiary of any income generated; the other recipient will be the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston. The event will run over the weekend of 9 / 10 August, when the Poker Run boats are in town. This should guarantee considerable interest. Exhibits will be on display in the Memorial Hall within Kingston City Hall and at the Marine Museum. A highlight of the weekend will be an illustrated talk given by David Doubilet, a staff photographer with National Geographic and a World-renowned underwater photographer. News of the event will be published here as details become available. Book your visit now...

Putting the Wreck in its place...

Today's work was largely devoted to making the detailed measurements, in three dimensions, that will allow a model of the wreck to be created on computer. This can then be used to output drawings and diagrams highlighting construction features or providing an overview of the vessel. To augment the datum points established yesterday, each of the upright frames (ribs to the layman) on the Starboard side of the wreck was identified and labelled. Port side remains will be similarly labelled tomorrow. The labeling of the frames considerably helped the teams working to record the various measurements. The line drawing shown was drawn up from a photo mosaic generated on day one.

POW Supports Archaeological Survey in Navy Bay

POW members began work today in support of the marine archaeological survey of a wreck in Navy Bay that will be the subject of a Masters Thesis for Nadine Kopp. Nadine is completing a course at the University of East Carolina that she hopes will secure her a marine archaeology position closer to her Canadian home. Video and still photography was taken to provide an initial record and a reference for future activity. An overall examination was also completed with the aim of determining the most appropriate positions for datum points and to confirm the extent and condition of the site.
A second dive allowed some 'gardening' to be done to clear weed and loose algae and rough sketches to be drawn up. Nadine's intention is to dive daily for the next week, completing her researches by next Sunday, when it is hoped that an electronic positioning survey can be undertaken that will definitively fix the wreck's position and tie it in to existing data on the shoreline. Follow this blog to hear how each day's work goes. For the record, the water today was 54°F (12°C) and visibility was about 20 feet.