Diving The Eureka Wreck, Kingston, Lake Ontario.

Eureka wreck near Kingston, Lake Ontario.
The Eureka wreck. The stock of a large anchor can be seen here sitting upright on the port bow. Note the broken bow sprit, which lies partially on the Lake bottom at the starboard bow. 

June 2018.

The Eureka is a 130′ pre-Civil War , double-masted schooner.  The ship foundered on Nov.1, 1883 due to a gale, enroute from Oswego, New York to Kingston with a load of coal .  With luck the captain and six crew managed to escape without loss of life. 

Only a handful of people have seen this wreck since it sank 135 years ago, and these are the first ever published photographs of this beautiful wreck. Needless to say, this is one wreck I’ll never forget dropping down on.


This wreck was accidentally discovered about a decade ago while surveying the lake bed for possible windmill sites. Since then it has been kept quiet for fears of the wreck being pilfered of artifacts, and also to allow time for the local tour operators to decide on how to introduce it to the wider diving community.  As with most of the Great Lakes wrecks, there is a captivating story behind it. See The Eureka Lost, Kingston News, Dec.6, 1883. 

The wreck rests in about 120′ of water (about 105′ to the deck), and lies in an exposed area near Pigeon Island, making it difficult to plan for on most days because of wind uncertainties.  Since the wreck is obviously not moored, it is a “shot-line dive”, which requires first locating the wreck with sonar followed by a free descent/ascent using the shot-line as a reference.  (Update, Spring 2019: the wreck is now moored). Lucky for us the winds dropped-a calm before the rain-so we were able to do our second dive here. Unfortunately this meant I had only about 15 minutes of bottom time using 30% Nitrox. The water was 43 deg.F at depth.

Thanks to Pat Coyne of Pat’s Dive Charters (Kingston) for this unforgettable opportunity, and for answering my many questions.

 

Eureka wreck, Kingston, Lake Ontario.
The crows nest and mast now lies on the Lake bottom in 118′ of water. Olympus OMD Em1 with 8mm fisheye (with some correction),  Iso 1600, f/2.0, 1/25s.

 

Eureka wreck, Kingston, Lake Ontario
Ship’s wheel and Crew’s quarters. The glass was likely washed out, or blown out, during the sinking. The ship’s compass was removed and is now on display at the Marine Museum in Kingston.

 

anchor of Eureka wreck, Lake Ontario.
The main anchor can be seen sitting on the port bow deck. Another smaller anchor is visible on the starboard side, in the debris on the rail. There is a lot of twisted rail and bowsprit which come together in this area, making it easy to miss. It’s about 1/5 the size of the main anchor pictured here.
Zebra mussels encrusting shipwreck
The smaller secondary anchor on the starboard side bow
Divers on the Eureka ship wreck at Kingston, Lake Ontario.
The stern of the Eureka. Enlarge the image to see the two brass porthole lights (one on either side of the rudder) leading to the captain’s cabin.
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