Comet (BaGd-5)
This is only one of many shipwrecks in the Kingston area.
Historical
Background
The twin-engined side-wheel steamer Comet was built by George N.
Ault at Portsmouth, Ontario in 1848, and registered at Kingston, 174.0ft x 23.5ft x
10.0ft, 336.1 tons. She was fitted with 1835 vintage beam-engines from an older steamer.
The Comet served on the passenger and steamboat freight routes on the St. Lawrence
River and Lake Ontario. After her boiler exploded and she sank at Oswego, New York in
1851, she was rebuilt and renamed Mayflower. The vessel's name reverted to Comet
in 1858.
En route from Kingston to Toronto on May 14, 1861 she collided with the
American schooner Exchange (bound for Kingston) southwest of Nine Mile Point,
Simcoe Island, and sank after trying to run for the shelter of the point. Two crewmen
died, but the remainder of the crew and passengers reached shore safely.
The Comet was relocated in 1967 by Kingston divers including Jim
McCready and Dr. Robert McCaldon after a five year search. At the time of discovery
numerous artifacts were raised. The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes
at Kingston holds some artifacts from the site. The site was visited briefly by marine
archaeologists from the Underwater Archaeology Section of Parks Canada in August 1975.
The Comet, which is a very popular dive site, is visited by
numerous sport divers, and P.O.W. maintains one mooring at the site, attached to a mooring
block along the starboard side near the stern.
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Figure 32. Comet, deck near midships, facing
aft, J. Moore 1995 (BaGd-5-042-VS). |
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Figure 34. Comet, exterior hub of port paddle
wheel, facing starboard, S. & K. Cooper 1996 (BaGd-5-116-VS). |
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Figure 37. Comet, mid-section of starboard
walking beam, top of A-frame, facing port/forward, J. Moore 1995 (BaGd-5-004-VS). |
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Archaeological Description
The Comet lies upright in 80ft of water on a flat lake bed,
approximately three kilometres southwest of Nine Mile Point, latitude 44º 08’.301;
longitude 76º 35’.069 (Figure 1b). The vessel survives from stem to stern post; the
midships section of the site is complex and much more three-dimensional than the bow and
stern sections, which survive only to about the turn of the bilge. Generally the level of
survival of the hull is poor, and it does not survive above the level of the lower deck
anywhere in the hull. Therefore, all of the superstructure and cabins have collapsed and
disintegrated. The salient features of the site are the two upstanding paddle wheels, two
vertical low pressure steam engines, and two A-frames, near midships; the latter each
support a walking-beam (Figures 36 - 39). On both the port and starboard sides the two
drive trains from the engine cylinders, via the walking beams to the paddle wheels,
are still intact. Both the port and starboard sponson and sponson-beam assemblies are also
in situ, although the paddle-boxes have disappeared. Unfortunately, most of these
upright features are now covered in a thick deposit of zebra and/or quagga mussels. The
tops of the paddle wheels and walking beams are approximately 60ft deep. The paddle wheel
blades are non-feathering. Under the lower deck, between the A-frames, the two boilers are
in situ. Sections of the Comet's smokestacks lie off the starboard side at
midships. In addition, there is a large debris field of wooden hull components off the
starboard side.
The paddle wheels are positioned slightly aft of the A-frames and a
large timber links the tops of both A-frames. Both wheels are intact, but a spoke of the
outboard side of the port paddle wheel is missing. Both wheels have separated from the
wheel hubs: the port paddle wheel is heeled slightly to starboard (Figures 34 & 35),
and the starboard paddle wheel is heeled slightly to port. The forward end of the
starboard walking beam is depressed towards the top of the engine cylinder, and the aft
end is elevated. The orientation of the port walking beam is the opposite of the starboard
walking beam. Both engine cylinders are in situ.
The bow section of the wreck (forward of the A-frames) is characterized
by an undulating lower deck, which has collapsed into the hull (no longer supported by the
boilers) (Figures 32 & 33). The deck forward of midships, which is punctuated by a
hatch or companionway, survives to just aft of the anchor windlass (Figures 29 & 30),
where the hull is generally broken up and flattened. Winches are positioned next to two
surviving hatches in the bow section (Figure 31).
The stern section of the hull (aft of the A-frames) has flattened, and
retains little three-dimensional integrity, except at the transom, where the stern post
assembly and transom are partially intact, and still support the rudder. No in situ
decking survives in the stern section; nevertheless, frames and ceiling planking
(surmounted by wooden diagonal strapping) are exposed there (Figure 40).
In the midships section the boilers serve to support the lower deck
from collapse. The hull retains some integrity in the vicinity of the A-frames and
paddle-wheels, and it is possible to swim under the lower deck, forward between the two
boilers. Access to this area is through a hatch or companionway situated between the
A-frames.
The extent of mussel coverage is considered to be 30-40% on lower
hull structures, and up to 100% on upright features, including the walking beams, parts of
the paddle wheels, A-frames, and engine components.
The historical and archaeological significance of the Comet
deserves special note:
The engines of the Comet are both the earliest and finest
surviving examples of marine engineering in Central Canada. Built in Canada’s premier
marine engine foundry, the Eagle Foundry of Montreal, they are typical of the engines that
powered most of the pre-Confederation vessels in the region. As added bonuses, they are
virtually undamaged, in situ, and in water shallow enough to perform a serious survey work.
Updated July 2007 MDS
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