SCHOONER BERMUDA

Oswego Palladium, Friday, April 13, 1860

The Launch. - The weather came off auspiciously yesterday for the launch of the new vessel just completed by Mr. George Goble, at the foot of West Fourth street. The wind was light at the time, and off the land, so that the Lake was very calm. Expecting, therefore, that the launch would come off, a very large crowd of people was present to witness it.

The vessel was handsomely decorated with flags, streamers, &c., and presented a beautiful appearance, indeed, - like a bride, all ready for her nuptials with Neptune. About half past three o'clock the stays were knocked away, and the noble craft glided gracefully and beautifully into the water, without an accident or unpleasant incident of any kind, amid the enthusiastic cheers of the whole assemblage of people.

As she touched the water, the roll of bunting at the mast head opened, and the name "Bermuda" floated in the breeze. The vessel is of the large class, is thoroughly and perfectly built in every respect, and sits upon the water with remarkable buoyancy and beauty. Her dimensions are: 136 feet length of keel, 143 feet over all; breadth of beam, 26 1/4 feet , - giving a capacity of 400 tons.

The vessel is a fine specimen of marine architecture, and does high credit to Mr. Goble as a skillful builder. The steamer "Bloore" took the "Bermuda" in tow, and she was soon safely moored at her dock in the harbor. She is owned by Thomas S. Mott, Esq., one of our most successful and enterprising commercial men, by whom she will be put in the Upper Lake trade. She is all ready to take in cargo, and will probably do so and sail in a few days.

The Bermuda changed ownership in 1863, to Mr. William Stewart of Detroit, Michigan. Having spent her early career as a grain carrier between Chicago, Milwaukee, and Oswego, her employment by 1865 consisted largely of coal and ore carriage between Oswego, Detroit, Chicago, and the mineral mines along the south shores of Lake Superior. In October 1870, the Bermuda was downbound from Marquette, Michigan, carrying iron ore, and foundered off the east end of Grand island. She was raised in 1881, and subsequently foundered again at her present location in Murray Bay, near Munising, Michigan.

The 2002 Bermuda Shipwreck Survey, conducted under Michigan permit 02-17-0002, was undertaken over a two-week period in September 2002. The investigations focused on producing a mosaic of the site, recording structural information, conducting wood sample and cargo analysis, in addition to, creating a virtual tour of the shipwreck. Our end goal is education for both the general public and Great Lakes researcher, by way of this website, literature, and an underwater trail. We also wish to wish to provide a management plan for long term monitoring of the vessel.

Germane to this research was the recovery of wood samples. This is necessary for wood type identification of component timbers on the Bermuda. This will provide important construction information on Welland Sailing Canal ships to determine the amount of compromise by the builder and also offer a broader anthropological analysis of wood use on 19^th century, Great Lakes ships.

Sample size for analysis was approximately .3 cm in width and 5 cm in length . Metaphorically, the size of a toothpick. Wood samples were removed with a carving gauge, and taken from areas that will not physically alter the outward appearance of the vessel. Care was taken to cause minimal as possible impact to the vessel. Each sample was photographed in situ, with a grid reference. Wood samples were then placed in a watertight bag, labeled and given a catalog number. These wood samples will ultimately be sent to for analysis to Dr. Lee Newsom, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University.

Samples of the ore cargo were also removed, to determine the specific quarry source. This required a sample size of two pieces of the ore. The samples were also photographed in situ, with grid reference. The ore was then removed, placed in a watertight bag, labeled and given a catalog number. The iron sample will be sent for analysis to Jim Franklin, Retired from the Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa.

Assistance for this project was provided by Captain Peter Lindquist, Mary Ellen and Greg Pond, and David Crommel. The crew consisted of avocational archaeologists, including members of the organization Save Ontario Shipwrecks. Mr. Patrick Labadie, Marine Historian, also joined us on site to share his expertise.

Sunday September 8

Peter Lindquist
Kimberly Monk
Denis Oyama
Serena Oyama
Craig Stull

A Spectacular Beginning for the team on Lake Gitchee Gumee

Fabulous weather, spectacular underwater conditions, coupled with superbly preserved wood-built vessels allowed the team to conduct four productive dives. The first was the Smith Moore, a wooden bulk freighter built at Cleveland, Ohio by George Presley and Company, in 1880. The second dive was on the Manhattan, another wooden bulk freighter built in Detroit, Michigan by the Detroit Dry Dock Company, in 1887.

The final two dives of the day introduced the team to their focus of survey. The Bermuda lies in 25 feet of water and rests upright on an even keel. Visible from the surface, she provides an outstanding opportunity for non divers to peruse her from the comfort of a glass bottom boat. Shipwreck Tours is a diving and glass bottom boat tour business which provides such an opportunity. Peter Lindquist, owner and captain of Shipwreck Tours, has provided thousands of people the experience to visit these shipwrecks, with or without "getting wet." Beyond the opportunity, Lindquist provides an invaluable service to the public through education and preservation of the area shipwrecks. President of the Alger Preserve, Lindquist oversees diving activity while providing historical and site map information compiled by him and Patrick Labadie, a marine historian, over the past 15 years.

With visibility ranging between 30-35 feet, and water temperatures hovering at 65 degrees, the crew were in complete disbelief at the remarkable preservation of this near intact example of a Welland Sailing Canal ship. A minimal degree of damage was noted on the deck amidships and along the transom towards port. The Bermuda's masts lie broken in half, and oriented perpendicular to and along her port side. Additionally, interior damage was noted on vertical beams, that originally aided in supporting vessel superstructure. Beyond these flaws, the Bermuda provides an excellent opportunity to educate the public on the attributes of 19th century sailing ships that plied Great Lakes waterways.

Today's dives focused on setting a baseline, and placing numbered tags at 10 foot increments along the ships' centerline. Researchers divided into two teams, affording time to document particular features at both the bow and stern sections. Measurements and sketches were accrued of both the bow and transom, which supported the typical features of the vessel type. Welland Sailing Canal Ships characteristically boast a bluff bow and square transom, in addition to, straight wall sides and boxy hulls. This allowed this type of vessel to maximize cargo carrying capacity, while still being able to fit through the narrow locks of the second Welland Canal that connected Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

Other features of note were the centerboard trunk, which measured 27 feet in length, and the rudder assembly, listing slightly to port, but remaining intact.

Monday September 9

Vlada Dekina
Kimberly Monk
Denis Oyama
Serena Oyama
Craig Stull
Tom Wilson

Picturing the Past: The Bermuda Comes to Life

The objectives for today's dives was to document attributes of the Bermuda's component construction. Dekina, the Oyama's, and Stull provided a wealth of data that will contribute to the Welland Sailing Canal ship database. Their efforts focused on mast holes, both forward and main, cargo hatches and the cabin compartment, as well as smaller features recorded through measurements and sketches. Field director Kimberly Monk, and photographer Tom Wilson compiled over 72 images that will generate imagery to compliment artifact descriptions and analysis.

Tuesday September 10

Vlada Dekina
Kimberly Monk
Don McLeod
Tom Wilson

After weeks of brilliant weather conditions, Munising was hit with a series of thunderstorms that temporarily halted dive operations. Since videographer Don McLeod had just joined the team, for film and mosaic purposes, the team opted to prepare for tomorrow's film sequences and interior still photography of the Bermuda. The brief field hiatus was also dedicated toward photograph analysis from the previous day's dives. The imagery will serve as an important tool for describing Canaller attributes, but also assist in general understanding of shipwreck anatomy for a broader audience.