Is shipwreck searching over for Carey? It doesn’t appear so. He feels knowledge gained from the location of the Wexford could help locate other ships. The chance discovery of the Wexford just has Carey wanting to find the James Carruthers, near Point Clark,5 now one of only two undiscovered 1913 wrecks.
“The discovery of the Wexford was destined to be,” insists Bamford. “It was the perfect day for the perfect find for the perfect dive with the perfect team.”
The apparent discovery of the steamer Wexford, south of Bayfield and north of Grand Bend, may have disappointed some people who had hoped to find the ship closer to Goderich. Her discovery last week, however, could provide momentum for plans of the town of Goderich, and its Marine Heritage Committee, to make this part of Lake Huron a scuba diving tourism destination.
The Wexford being dipped in her forward hatches at the first concrete storage towers for the Goderich Elevator Company, 1903. This is the first known photograph of the Wexford after her arrival on the Great Lakes. It has been preserved in the Huron Institute Collection at the Collingwood Museum. According to archivists at the Sunderland Library, located in the city where the Wexford was built, there are no earlier photographic records available of her at that location.
Courtesy of Collingwood Museum. Access # 974-724-1.
“There could be an influx of divers as early as spring of next year,” said Bob Carey, Chair of the Goderich Marine Heritage Committee. “It’s not just the U.S. and Canada, it’s international status, you’ll have people from England diving on it … they’ll want to know what their grandfathers built.”
“The Town of Goderich is obviously interested in both marine heritage and bringing tourism to town,” said Paul Carroll of the Huron County Historical Society.
The Wexford may have been the “Holy Grail” sought by the Marine Heritage Committee but members say there are many other potential shipwrecks waiting to be discovered.
“The activities of the committee since its inception less than two years ago has created a whole new awareness of marine heritage in the population of Goderich,” said Brent Bamford, acting president of the Goderich chapter of Save Ontario Shipwrecks (SOS). “Many local residents are only just now becoming aware of Goderich’s history as a major shipbuilder,” he said.
The discovery of the Wexford prompted an impromptu champagne toast by divers and members of the shipwreck community. “It’s like it was meant to be,” said Jan Hawley, Secretary of the Marine Heritage Committee.
The man who discovered the vessel, Donald Chalmers, couldn’t say enough about the state of the ship. “It’s far and away the best wreck I’ve ever seen for diving,” he said. “I would think it would create some tourism for the area — it’s an absolutely gorgeous wreck.” He speaks not only as the man who discovered the find but as a diving enthusiast since 1955. “I’ve been on a lot of wrecks and this is absolutely the best I’ve ever seen.”
Don Chalmers, the sailor who found the long-lost wreck while fishing with a downrigger.
Courtesy of David Bannister.
Celebrating the discovery of the Wexford, Goderich, August 2000. From left to right: Paul Carroll; Brent Bamford; Stan Connelly; Bob Carey; Ellen Connelly, deputy mayor of the town of Goderich; Dave and Mickey Trotter; Jan Hawley; Paul Schaus; and Robin Wilson. Absent from the photo was Keith Homan, who assisted in the search and made an early dive on the newly found wreck.
Photo from the Paul Carroll Collection.
What do Ford employees do when they’re not hard at work? They head to the lakes to look for shipwrecks, it seems. The remarkable discovery of the English-built steamer Wexford is largely a Ford motorcompany story. The man who discovered the vessel, Donald Chalmers, worked as a maintenance supervisor at the Ford assembly plant in St. Thomas for 30 years. Meanwhile, while Chalmers was discovering the boat, legendary Great Lakes shipwreck-finder David Trotter was on his way to Goderich.6 Trotter, in an interesting twist to this story, is also a Ford man. He is a retired administrator with Ford Credit in Dearborn.
CHAPTER 1 Historical Perspectives: Great Britain to the Great Lakes
They that go down to the sea in ships,
that do business in great waters;
These see the works of the LORD,
and his wonders in the deep.
For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
which lifteth up the waves thereof.
— Psalm 107:23-25
The Wexford : A History
The shipbuilding firm of William Doxford & Sons built the Wexford at Sunderland near the Scottish border on the northeast coast of England. Shipbuilders since 1840, they had accumulated almost a half-century of experience in their craft. The shipping environment on the River Wear was a good choice for the prospective owners of this new packet freighter. Not only were builders well experienced, but the presence of chandlers and equipment suppliers was bountiful. The Wexford keel was laid at the very heart of a shipbuilding region, in place for over 500 years, as but one of some 128 ships built on the River Wear that year.
From the evidence provided on her order papers,1 signed on September 4, 1882, by Messrs. R.M. Hudson & Company,2 of the same location, she was to be a fine and well-equipped vessel. Hull number 145, the well-decked steamer was to carry a single deck of steel, with four large hatchways covered with stout boards and canvas. An enclosed bridge was designed over the whole length of the two-cylinder, 207-horsepower engine — built at the same yards — and boiler space to provide a secure power plant. She was planned with an “open top gallant fcle” [sic] and “a hood over steering gear aft.”3
She was to be a two-masted schooner. The deck would be strengthened with two longitudinal stringers, attached to web frames that ranged from 12 to 16 feet apart. Provision was made for 406 tons of water ballast below the holds. She may have been able to carry additional water ballast elsewhere, in her cargo holds and in the fore and after peak tanks. There were to be five bulkheads cemented in place. Crew space was provided in the bow, with entry through a hood from the open deck. Cabin space for the “old man”4 was located forward and below the pilothouse, amidships, while officers were housed in space near the stern.
This photo of the Wexford in the Welland Canal is a favourite image with many marine history buffs. It was made into a postcard that became popular for decades after the Great Storm.
Courtesy of the late Audrey Barlow. Enhancements by Captain “Bud” Robinson.
The steamer Corunna, built in 1891 by Ramage and Ferguson in Leith, Scotland, ran for the Leith, Hull and Hamburg Steam Packet Company Line of Scotland before coming to the Great Lakes under the ownership of C.H.F. Plummer and the