Hunt's Dive Shop

Built: July, 1861
Sunk: August 16, 1889 

Depth: 65' - 118' 

Ability: Advanced 

 

The Vickery was a schooner originally launched as the J.B. Penfold in 1861 and renamed in 1884. She struck a shoal in August of 1889 and sank. The Pilot was nearly killed by angry Captain Massey who shouted profanities and pointed a revolver at him but the ships mate came to the rescue and pitched the revolver overboard at an opportune moment. This site has a strong surface current with the wreck starting at 65'.with the opportunity of penetrating the wreck if you are appropriately certified.

Built: Unknown
Sunk: 1927
Depth: 75'
Ability: Novice - Intermediate

 

The 90 feet  wooden schooner Maggie L was one of the last commercial sailing ships on Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River.  In November of 1927 the bow of the Maggie L was severed by a steel freighter as she was leaving the shipping channel for Clayton, NY.  The Maggie L sank almost immediately.

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Info from ShipWreckWorld

Built: 1837
Sunk: 1838

Location: Thousand Island Bridge
Depth: 70' to 135'
Ability: Technical

 

The wreck lies in 125 feet of water and its boilers lie in 70 feet​ of water. The wreck, over 171 years old is one of the oldest identifiable shipwrecks in the Thousand Islands. Only the wood below the water line remains. The site is deep and the currents are strong and it is located under the shipping channel.

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Things to see on the wreck

• Keelson and wood frames

• Remains of boiler

• Massive timbers and fasteners

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Info from: Dive the Thousand Island, Dennis & Kathi McCarthy & Skip Couch, Blue Ledge System Inc 2012.  

Sunk: July 29 1932 

Depth: 70 feet

Ability: Advanced

 

The American is a 297 ton steam screw drill
barge that sank on July 29, 1932. She sits
upside down at 70' depth off of Dark Island
in the shipping channel. She is accessed off
the side of the shoal (35' depth) by dropping over the edge and following a bearing towards the castle, you should see the support legs extend over her profile. The bow is upstream (50' depth) and by descending to the deck (65' depth) you can see across and under her (cluttered with equipment and winches). At the stern you will see twin props, rudder (surprisingly small), and the four large support legs (used while she was drilling) as well as the blasted rock on the bottom between her and the shoal. The props are at 50' to 55' depth and the bottom is at 72' rock/silt/sand. 

Exit from the wreck should be made along the access rope to the buoy, keeping note of oncoming shipping traffic. This site is not recommended for biginning divers due to it being in the downstream lane of the main shipping channel. The current is approximately 1-2 knots; however it can vary due to changing river conditions. 

Remember it is illegal to tie up to buoys being in the shipping channel.

Built: 1965
Sunk: 1974
Depth: 254'
Ability: Technical

 

Built in 1965 for the Algoma fleet, the Jodrey was a fairly new 623 foot Canadian self un-loader. On November 21 1974 while traveling upbound on the St. Lawrence River, the Jodrey struck a navigational buoy and quickly began taking on water. She ran up on Pullman Shoal near Alexandria Bay NY where work crews worked hard to pump out the enormous amount of water coming in through her bow. After the crew escaped and all efforts were made to save the ship she began slipping underwater and slid down the steep shoal, within sight of the Alexandria Bay Coast Guard Station.

Built: 1908
Sunk: October 12 1912
Depth: 20' TO 110'
Ability: Intermediate - Advanced

 

Keystorm Built in 1908, this 2300 ton
(256' x43') steel steamer with 2 boilers
and a triple expansion, 3 cylinder engine
was captained by Capt. L. Daigualt. She
was carrying 2230 tons of Bituminous coal
bound for Ashtabula, Ohio, when 45 min. past Alexandria Bay in heavy fog on Oct. 12, 1912 she crossed over Outer Scow Island Shoal. The pumps were put into operation immediately, but 5 hours later she sank stern first rolling over. 

The Keystorm lays on her starboard side; her bow is at 20' depth and her stern is at 115'. She was deemed unsalvageable with double wrappings of 4" cable at 20' intervals remaining from salvage attempts (her cargo was salvaged). 

The 'after' house contained the galley, dining room, crew's men, and quarters for the chief oiler's, second engineer, and firemen. The captains cabin, and the rest of the crew's quarters were in the forward quarters. The pilot house was also arranged for canal service. She was rediscovered by accident by divers diving the Oakbay (a.k.a. Henry C. Daryaw) who had been given directions to a wreck. The directions were approximately. 100 yards off the opposite side of the shoal. They gave up their search for the wreck and returned to spear fish a school of Walleyes they found on their earlier wreck search, when they stumbled on the Keystorm; a now well visited wreck. 

Built: 1872
Sunk: 1886
Depth: 140' to 180'
Ability: Technical

 

Located on Granite State Shoal in the American Narrows of the Seaway, the remains of the Oconto are across the channel from Rock Island Light. Lying under the shipping channel, the wreck site is in deep water from 140 to 180 feet. There is an extremely strong current. Broken in two, the wreck partially rests on itself. Some of the wreckage is right side up and some is upside down. Much is a pile of timber that is indistinguishable as a ship. Resting between the wreckage is a small metal boat. The Oconto was equipped with small metallic life boats

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Things to see on the wreck

• Anchors

• Prop

• Metallic life boat (near wreck)

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Info from: Dive the Thousand Island, Dennis & Kathi McCarthy & Skip Couch, Blue Ledge System Inc 2012.