Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario Near Jordan Harbour

Lake Ontario is cold, deep and fresh, which is why its wrecks are among the best preserved anywhere. Two of the most significant sit almost on our doorstep. Most of them, though, are not places you can go — and that is worth saying plainly, because the internet is full of pages implying otherwise.

The Hamilton and the Scourge

Two American schooners lost in a sudden squall on the night of 8 August 1813, during the War of 1812. They went down with most of their crews and were not found again until 1973. They stand upright and largely intact on the lake bed, with guns still in place.

They lie about 10.5 km off Port Dalhousie — which is roughly five miles east of Jordan Harbour, so you pass over them on the way out.

You cannot dive them. The wrecks sit at roughly 90 metres — close to 300 feet — which is far beyond recreational range. They have been owned by the City of Hamilton since 1980, are designated National Historic Sites of Canada, and diving them requires an archaeological licence. The site is under radar surveillance to deter unauthorised visits.

HMS Ontario

A British brig-sloop lost with all hands in a storm on 31 October 1780, and the oldest confirmed wreck in the Great Lakes. It was located in 2008, remarkably intact, at a depth of around 500 feet.

Its precise position has never been made public, deliberately. At that depth it is beyond diving in any case, and as a war grave it is left undisturbed.

The Frontenac

Launched in 1816, the Frontenac was one of the first steam-powered vessels on the Great Lakes. She burned and sank in 1827 near the Niagara River, ending a short career that nonetheless marked the start of steam navigation on this lake.

The George A. Marsh

A schooner built in 1882, lost in a storm on 8 August 1917 while carrying coal. She lies in the eastern end of the lake, well away from here, and is a known dive site rather than a protected one.

Before you plan a dive

Wrecks in Ontario waters are archaeological sites and many are protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. Removing artefacts is an offence, and some sites — the Hamilton and Scourge among them — cannot be dived at all without a licence. If you are planning a wreck dive, check the site's status first and go with an operator who knows the regulations.

Where we come into it

Jordan Harbour Marina is a seasonal marina on the south shore, five miles west of Port Dalhousie. We do not run dive charters or sell dive services — but if you keep a boat here, the Hamilton and Scourge are lying in the dark a short run off your dock, and have been for over two hundred years.

Jordan Harbour Marina, 2793 Beacon Blvd, Jordan Station, Ontario. Call 905-562-7888 to ask about a seasonal slip.