From
http://www.divercity.on.ca/wrecks.htmThe Comet was built by a gentleman by the name of George Ault at Portsmouth
village (which has since been swallowed up by the city of Kingston) in the year 1848. The ship
was a steam driven side paddle wheeler of some 175 ft long 24 ft in
breadth and 10 feet in
depth. In 1851 it was renamed the Mayflower. Then in 1861 the ship was refitted
and renamed the
Comet. On an evening in the year 1861 the Comet left Kingston in heavy winds to
make the trip up the lake. Near the false Duck Islands it was run down by the
Schooner Exchange. The Comet badly damaged and with out power was driven down wind in
the direction of Kingston. It finally sank 2 miles off Simcoe Island out
side Kingston’s
harbour..
. It sits upright in 80 feet of water. The superstructure is gone but
the two massive paddle wheels some 32 feet across sit upright on the bottom
still connected to the walking beam engine. The anchor windless, wheels, engine, rudder,
stove, plus much more await the diver. P.O.W. marks the wreck with a
mooring.
The propulsion devices of this 337-ton side wheeler still tower 25’ above the bottom of Lake Ontario near Kingston. They are the most intact part of the ship, with much of the upper decks having been flattened. Photos:
http://www.saveontarioshipwrecks.on.ca/Photos/sites/Comet4b.JPG http://www.saveontarioshipwrecks.on.ca/Photos/sites/Comet2b.JPG Brought to you by Ontario Underwater Council:
http://www.underwatercouncil.com/