Dive sites
| Sites |
| Conestoga |
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Anyone who goes diving is responsible for his own safety and training. Aquadyne makes no recommendations as to you or your diving party's suitability for any particular dive site. |
You can click ont the pictures to enlarge them.
Brief history
The steamship Conestoga (ie SS Conestoga) was a combined
passenger/cargo carrying vessel, built in 1878 in Cleveland Ohio. She was
sold to a Canadian company in 1919. On 22 May, 1922, she caught fire when
loaded with a cargo of wheat and sank where she lies today. - Length: 25.3 feet
- Beam: 36 feet
- Draught: 16 feet
Dive Data
| Nearest town | Cardinal, Ontario |
| Location | Alongside the south bank of the Gallop Canal, southwest of the town, just past the Legion Hall. |
| Accsss | The wreck is 20 meters from shore. |
| Depth | Less than 10 meters. |
| Current | From 2 to 2 knots. |
| Visibility | generally good - sometimes 15 meters or better it is very dependant upon time-of-year, runoff, etc. |
| Temperature | very dependant upon time of year! During the summer, it can get near 70F. |
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| The Conestoga bow |
- Leave Montreal and west towards Ontario, you're goal being Highway 401 (Highway 20 becomes the 401 at the Ontario border).
- At exit 730, head south (towards the St. Lawrence) on Route 22.
- After a few kilometres, you will come to an intersection with Highway 2 (the King's highway): keep heading south towards the little bridge over the canal visible just in front of you.
- You need to make your way to the small park on the south bank of the canal - you'll see a branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, with a small artillery piece alongside. Follow the track (heading west) along the bank of the canal.
- Keep going until you see a large, weird-looking, metal projection sticking out of the river, maybe 10 metres from shore: that's the wreck of the Conestoga.
- (be warned: the road is unpaved oftimes muddy, full of potholes, and tricky if your car doesn't have much ground clearance).
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| Inside at the bow. In front of the heap of anchor cable lies the remains of a windlass. |
The wreck is generally considered suitable for newly certified divers: shallow depth; extremely easy access from shore; and an interesting dive. The primary hazard is the current- depending upon the time of year, it is usually around 2 knots, but can get faster. Generally, there is not much boat traffic near the wreck, but as always it is advisable to tow a diver-down flag.
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| One of the many fragments of a long-gone era of steam engineering. |
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| A small windlass at the stern of the ship. |
The Conestoga lies upright, parallel to the canal bank. All internal decking has long-since collapsed, and is in effect just the hull standing some 10-15 proud of the bottom. There are quite a few interesting bits of
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| The rudder has fallen away from the ship, and now lies about 15 feet astern. |
Anyone with an interest in naval architecture is in for a treat - the Conestoga was built in the late 1870's, and has features typical of her era. Worth noting is the wooden hull, that was sheathed in iron. There are usually quite a few fish to be seen: smallmouth bass; perch; rock bass; and sometimes suckers and/or small pike as you make your way to/from the wreck itself.
What is It?
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| The "Wishbone" |
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| Starboard side |
Sources:
- Dive Ontario! by Chris Kohl (self-published, 1990)
- A Report of the Marine Archaeological Survey by SOS Conestoga (SOS Conestoga, 1984)
Photographs
This handful of photographs, all taken 4 October 1998, give a peek at what the wreck is like today (all photographs copyright William Schleihauf, 1998).
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