The ship Sweepstakes was built in Burlington Ontario in 1867, but in August 1885, it was damaged on a voyage off Cove Island. It had to be towed to be fixed, and it was towed as far as Big Tub Harbour in Fathom Five National Marine Park, Lake Huron, Ontario, but due to severe damage the ship did not make it back to the yards and promptly sank. It has coal on board, which sank along with the ship, but was able to be retrieved.
People can visit this underwater treasure and this shipwreck is actually one of several shipwrecks found in the park...
... and visitors can dive to explore many of them. Sweepstakes is still preserved just as it sank, and its hull is completely intact, so it gives a living history example of how boats were constructed in the later part of the 19th century. Due to being in the water however, it does deteriorate a little more each year but it is still considered one of the best examples of a Great Lakes Schooner that is still fairly intact.
It was originally built by Melancthon Simpson and was 119 feet long and about 20 feet deep. When it sank it was owned by George Stewart. There is something eerie and fascinating about visiting a shipwreck; it gives a portal in to the past and in to life at sea and wrecks always seem to maintain a ghostly presence below the surface no matter how gorgeous the day is above.
Shipwreck of the ship Sweepstakes (built in 1867) in Big Tub Harbour, Fathom Five National Marine Park, Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada.
The shipwreck of the ship Sweepstakes, which was built in 1867, lies at the bottom of the Big Tub Harbour in Fathom Five National Marine Park, part of Lake Huron in Ontario. The ship is also known by the name of Sweeps.
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