Other story: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... ional/homeExplorers find 1780 British warship in Lake Ontario
By WILLIAM KATES – 6 hours ago
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — 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."
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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.
The sloop was discovered resting partially on its side, with two masts extending more than 70 feet above the lake bottom.
This is an exciting find. Until now, the most interesting Royal Navy wreck in the great lakes was the hulk of the schooner Nancy, which caught fire and burned after beaching off Lake Huron's Wasaga beach ("the longest freshwater beach in the world!"). This find is much cooler, in all the significant categories.
Click for spooky underwater pics. (product may not be exactly as shown)
