See it: Divers 'stumble' upon a 200-year-old shipwreck beneath Lake Ontario
The team of divers was on a mission to find the Rapid City shipwreck that sunk near Toronto in 1917. Instead, they discovered a possible 19th century British ship which was fully intact.
Divers discover a 200-year-old shipwreck while exploring Lake Ontario
A group of Canadian diver found a British ship that may have sunk over 200 years ago while exploring the depths of Lake Ontario. The ship appears to be fully intact.
A team of Canadian divers discovered a 200-year-old shipwreck while exploring Lake Ontario.
The ship was found about 300 feet below the surface.
The team was on a mission to find the Rapid City shipwreck that sunk near Toronto in 1917. Instead, they discovered a possible 19th century British ship which was fully intact.
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"It took us a few moments to calm ourselves down because it’s overwhelming finding a pristine wreck that is all in one piece," President of the Ontario Underwater Council and lead exploration diver Heison Chak, told local news outlet, CBC.
Divers discover an intact vessel beneath Lake Ontario that may be a 19th century British ship.
(Jeff Lindsay/jefflindsay.ca via Storyful / FOX Weather)
According to the news outlet, the divers were puzzled when they stumbled upon the British shipwreck.
"This is deep enough that I don’t think anyone’s been on it," Chak said. "I think we’re the first group and that joy was just overwhelming."
Photos taken by Jeff Lindsay showed the entire vessel in one piece while also covered in mussels.
The images revealed a pristine deck cabin, and both the standing mast and topmasts remaining in their original location.
The image shows the intact deck cabin from the shipwreck found in Lake Ontario.
(Jeff Lindsay/jefflindsay.ca via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Chak said that it’s very rare for a team of divers to find a random ship with both its main mast and fore mast still intact since those structures are usually the first to fall apart over time.
"I have never seen a top mast in any wrecks that I have dove in Ontario or in the St. Lawrence River," Chak said.
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The photo shows the intact main mast and fore mast. This is very rare since those structures tend to fall apart over time.
(Jeff Lindsay/jefflindsay.ca via Storyful / FOX Weather)
The team plans on returning to the wreck in the next dive season to conduct a dimension survey and to take wood samples to properly date the vessel.