Georgian Bay Shipwrecks
The wrecks at the south end of Georgian Bay are some of the best preserved shipwrecks in the world. Cold fresh water and depth have left vessels like the Manasoo standing on the bottom largely as they went down, with rigging, hardware, and cargo still in place nearly a century later.
We run technical charters into this corner of the Bay aboard the Swayze Express, departing from the Wiarton area. The wrecks here sit between roughly 140 and 210 feet (39 to 64 metres), and the diving is serious. Visibility is often excellent, water temperatures stay cold year-round, and the sites are remote enough that the planning, gas, and surface support matter.
What follows are the three wrecks we dive most often in this area.
Manasoo
The Manasoo was a 197-foot passenger and cargo steamer built in Glasgow in 1888. She sailed Lake Ontario as the Macassa between Toronto and Hamilton before being converted to a cargo carrier and renamed. On September 15, 1928, en route from Manitoulin Island to Owen Sound with a load of cattle, she foundered without warning in heavy weather. Sixteen people went down with her. Five survived.
She sits upright in 210 feet (64 metres) of cold, clear water, almost exactly as she came to rest. The wheel is still in place, the rigging is still in place, and some of the cattle remains are still in the hold. Michael MacDonald of Advanced Diver Magazine lists her among his top ten Great Lakes wrecks, and Greg was personally selected by shipwreck hunter Ken Merryman to take part in the first photographic documentation dives in July 2018, days after the wreck was found.
J.H Jones
The JH Jones was a 107-foot wooden steamer, also built in Glasgow in 1888, originally rigged as a fishing tug and later running passengers and freight between Owen Sound and Manitoulin Island. On November 22, 1906, she was caught in a late-season storm off Cape Croker and lost with all hands and all passengers aboard. No bodies were ever recovered.
She sits upright in approximately 175 feet (53 metres) of water with a slight list to port. The cold and the depth have left her in remarkable condition.
The Draft
The Draft was a small wooden passenger and freight steamer that disappeared in Colpoy’s Bay on the night of November 25, 1881, while running from Wiarton to Big Bay in a heavy autumn storm. All 28 people aboard were lost. For more than a century, the wreck’s exact location was one of Georgian Bay’s enduring mysteries.
This is a beautiful but delicate wreck and should be treated with the utmost respect.
