An amazing historic find

The cold, deep waters kept the ship astonishingly well-preserved, the explorers said. “To have a Revolutionary War vessel that’s practically intact is unbelievable. It’s an archaeological miracle,” said Arthur Britton Smith, who drew this picture of the ship. He chronicled the history of the HMS Ontario in a 1997 book, “The Legend of the Lake.”

Sunken Wreck of Famed Warship Found
By WILLIAM KATES,
AP
Posted: 2008-06-14 09:11:55
Filed Under: Nation News

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (June 13) – A 22-gun British warship that sank during the American Revolution and has long been regarded as one of the “Holy Grail” shipwrecks in the Great Lakes has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Ontario, astonishingly well-preserved in the cold, deep water, explorers announced Friday.

Shipwreck enthusiasts Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville used side-scanning sonar and an unmanned submersible to locate the HMS Ontario, which was lost with barely a trace and as many as 130 people aboard during a gale in 1780.

The 80-foot sloop of war is the oldest shipwreck and the only fully intact British warship ever found in the Great Lakes, Scoville and Kennard said.

“To have a Revolutionary War vessel that’s practically intact is unbelievable. It’s an archaeological miracle,” said Canadian author Arthur Britton Smith, who chronicled the history of the HMS Ontario in a 1997 book, “The Legend of the Lake.”

The finders of the wreck said they regard it as a war grave and have no plans to raise it or remove any of its artifacts. They said the ship is still considered the property of the British Admiralty.

Although the vessel sits in an area where the water is up to 500 feet deep and cannot be reached by anyone but the most experienced divers, Kennard and Scoville declined to give its exact location, saying only that it was found off the southern shore.

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