Wiarton, ON - February 11, 1942

The Canadian motor tanker "Victolite" met a tragic end on this fateful day, serving as a somber reminder of the perils faced by the Merchant Navy of Canada during World War II. Sailing under the ownership of the Imperial Oil Shipping Co Ltd, Toronto, the Victolite was on a voyage from Halifax to Las Piedras, Venezuela, when disaster struck.

At approximately 03:28 hours, the unescorted Victolite, under the command of Master Peter McLean Smith, was struck amidships by a torpedo fired from U-564, a German U-boat commanded by Reinhard Suhren. The attack occurred approximately 260 miles north-northwest of Bermuda. The U-boat had been tracking the tanker for several hours before launching the deadly torpedo.

Tragically, the crew had no chance to evade the impending disaster. As the ship began to sink, the crew members abandoned ship in lifeboats, hoping for rescue. However, the U-boat crew observed their plight, confirming that everyone had left the doomed vessel. A boarding party from the U-564 then scoured the abandoned tanker, searching for secret documents and suitable diesel oil for refueling. Despite their efforts, they found the safes empty and the available fuel unsuitable.

In a desperate attempt to ensure the tanker's demise, the boarding party placed scuttling charges in the engine room. Astonishingly, the Victolite remained afloat after the explosions. In a final act of destruction, U-564 shelled the vessel, unleashing 98 rounds from its deck gun into the tanker's tanks and superstructure.

The aftermath of the attack was devastating. Not a single survivor was found among the 47 crew members and two Royal Navy Gunners aboard the Victolite. Among the lost souls was Able Seaman Donald Albert Wright of Wiarton, Ontario, a 22-year-old whose tragic fate left a void in his community.

The memory of the Victolite and its ill-fated crew lives on as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by the Merchant Navy of Canada during World War II. The monument in Point Pleasant Park, Nova Scotia, stands as a tribute to those who perished at sea, ensuring that their memory endures and their contributions are never forgotten.

On Sept. 14, 1882 the Asia sank in a storm in Georgian Bay, resulting in the worst ship disaster in Lake Huron history.

Constructed in St. Catharines in 1873, the Asia was a 41.5-metre (137-foot) long wooden steamer that spent most of its life ferrying passengers and freight between Windsor and ports on Lake Superior.  In 1882 it would be transferred to a new route on Georgian Bay, where after only three months tragedy would strike.  Early on the morning of Sept. 14, 1882, the ship would set out on the route from Owen Sound to the French River on the north side of Georgian Bay, when it would encounter a severe storm.

The ship, which had a top-heavy design, was overloaded with cargo and crowded with passengers. There were approximately 123 individuals on board despite being licensed to carry only 40. The ship was likely loaded with steel supplies for the construction of railway bridges in the north, which the CPR was working on at the time.

 With the ship unmanageable in the heavy waves, it took on water and began to sink just before noon. Three lifeboats were launched, but only one would stay afloat. The 18 passengers in the boat would soon be reduced to seven after several rollovers. By the time it reached the shore of an uninhabited and unnamed island the morning of Sept. 15 only two passengers remained alive – Douglas Tinkis, 16, and Christie Ann Morrison, 19. There were five dead men in the boat, including the ship captain John Savage.

 It wasn’t until the morning of Sept. 16 that a First Nations couple in a rowboat agreed to take them to the nearest house at Parry Sound dozens of kilometres away. The bodies were left behind.

They landed at Parry Sound on the morning of Sept. 17, and a tug was dispatched to recover the bodies on the island and search for possible survivors. While corpses were recovered over the next few weeks, no more survivors were found.

Over the last 40 years there have been numerous attempts to find the wreck, with expeditions focusing on the waters off Byng Inlet and Lonely Island in northern Georgian Bay.  It still has not been found.  Only 2 survived of the approx. 123 individuals who were on the ship. 

SS Manasoo (originally named SS Macassa) was a steel-hulled Canadian passenger and package freighter in service between 1888 and 1928.   During this time, she mainly carried passengers between Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario.  Macassa was lengthened in Collingwood, Ontario in 1905 and was sold twice before being sold to the Owen Sound Transportation Company, Ltd.  in 1927 and was rebuilt and renamed Manasoo.  She mainly operated between Sault Ste. Marie and Owen Sound, hence the name  which is a combination of Manitoulin Island and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.  It is a seafarers’ superstition that a ship’s name change brings bad luck.

After a lucrative 1928 shipping season, Manasoo was open to special commissions.  Cowman Donald Wallace of Oil Spring, Ontario and his friend George Maurice Lambert (also of Oil Springs) drove to Owen Sound where they boarded Manasoo.  Wallace had planned to purchase cattle from several farmers from around Manitoulin Island.  Under the command of Captain John Ross McKay, Manasoo began her voyage on Sept. 11th.  She sailed to Little Current, Ontario, then to West Bay, Ontario where she loaded 18 more cows to add to the herd of cows purchased from around Manitoulin Island.  She then proceeded to Manitowaning, Ontario.  She left Manitowaning for Owen Sound at 12:00 p.m. on September 14th with 19 crewmen, 2 passengers, 115 cows and 1 bull aboard.  By the time Manasoo had cleared the North Channel of Lake Huron, a sizeable storm with 25 mile per hour winds had developed. By 2:00 a.m. the next day, Manasoo had begun to list to port.  Captain McKay eventually decided to beach Manasoo on nearby Griffith Island.  Eventually, Manasoo's starboard bilge lifted out of the water causing water to leak in through the gangways and other openings.  First mate Oswald "Oz" Long ordered the lifeboats launched, although only one lifeboat was launched before Manasoo rolled over onto her port side and sank stern first.

Manasoo sank in 3 – 5 minutes. The only lifeboat launched capsized.  A life raft broke loose when Manasoo sank and Captain McKay, first mate Long, chief engineer Thomas McCutcheon, purser Arthur Middleboro, oiler Roy Fox and Wallace were able to climb aboard.  McCutcheon died of exposure, and his clothes were distributed among the survivors.  After 60 hours of floating on the raft, the survivors were rescued by the Canadian Pacific Railway steamer Manitoba.  16 of the 21 people aboard died.   Although the specific reason for Manasoo's sinking remains unknown, the shifting of the cattle is believed to be partly responsible.  The most likely culprit was a leak in the stern—perhaps caused by an open door or hatch, but keep in mind, it is a seafarers’ superstition that a ship’s name change brings bad luck.

The shipwreck was discovered in 2018. She rests in 210 feet of water, off of Griffith Island.  The wreck is intact, although encrusted with zebra mussels, with its stern buried in the lake bottom and bow pointing upwards.   The pilothouse and helm are intact.  Manasoo's collapsed funnel and 2 of her lifeboats are located on her deck, while another lies next to her.  Also within the wreck is Wallace's 1927 Chevrolet coupe, with its number plates still attached. 

The J.H. Jones was built by Henry Marlton in Goderich, Ontario in 1888 and was 107 x 21 feet and 208 tonnes.  She was purchased by the Crawford Tug Co. around 1900 and was rebuilt in 1903 by Owen Sound Dry Dock Co. Ltd.   She was then captained by James V. Crawford of Wiarton and a crew of about 11 Wiarton men.  This wooden freight and passenger ship made runs from Owen Sound along the east shore of the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin Island.

On the day the Jones disappeared in 1906, she was hauling a full cargo of general freight to Lion's Head, as well as miscellaneous items such as a brick-moulding machine, a sleigh, about 20 barrels of coal oil, plus 17 passengers and 13 crew members. 

The last person to see the ship was the lighthouse keeper, Richard Chapman, at nearby Cape Croker.   He noted that she was having trouble in the treacherous conditions caused by the severe weather.   Two lifeboats, part of the ship’s pilot house, and only one body still wearing a Jones life preserver — that of a young businessman from Manitoulin Island named Richard Addison—were found on Christian Island across the bay. The entire crew was from Wiarton and this sinking became that community’s greatest disaster, putting the small town in mourning for months. Mr. Addison was buried in Silver Water.

Two other Islanders perished in the wreckage: T.M. Wagg of Mindemoya and D. McIvor of Providence Bay. The boat was headed for the south shore of Providence Bay.

The shipwreck was discovered on July 1, 2018 by a team of divers, including 83 year-old Robert Crawford, the great-grandson of Captain J.V. Crawford.  The divers shot video of the hull, which remains mostly intact, despite missing many pieces where its doors and windows had been, plus hull siding. The smoke stack has toppled over onto its side, but the steam whistle remains in place and, at the stern, the rudder and the tip of the embedded propeller are identifiable. The on-deck cargo has been swept away by wind, waves, and time, and, looking inside, the divers saw steam engine components, but no signs of any human remains.

The Jane Miller, a 78-foot passenger and cargo steamer, was built in 1879 for James Miller & Sons, and was used as a small freighter along the Bruce Peninsula and North Channel of Georgian Bay. In September 1879 she collided with the schooner Mountaineer at night in Owen Sound, badly damaging the schooner. It was sold to Andrew Port in June 1880 to be used in general freight service along the south shore of Georgian Bay, the east side of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island.   Rather cranky, the ship was short and stumpy with a high profile and shallow draft that made it roll heavily in stormy seas and difficult to handle. The night it sank it carried a heavy load from Owen Sound to Meaford, where more freight and passengers were picked up.

“The Jane Miller left Meaford port on Friday the 25th of November, bound first to Wiarton and Lion’s Head, where she was to have discharged her cargo, and then for Michaels and Providence Bays, on Manitoulin Island. On her way she called at Big Bay, about ten miles from Wiarton, and at Cameron Dock, one and a half miles further on, where she was about 10 o’clock on Friday night. At that place it was known the steamer had water in her hold and that the captain was urged not to venture further, but he was determined to go out, trusting to the pumps to overcome the leaks.  Eyewitnesses saw the Jane Miller pass White Cloud Island and enter Colpoys Bay. As she approached Spencer's Wharf, the blizzard intensified for a few minutes, and when the snow abated the Jane Miller had vanished without a trace. 

Three men’s caps, several tubs of butter, part of a mast and other small portions of a vessel and two oars marked ‘Jane Miller’ were found on White Cloud Island at the entrance at Colpoy’s Bay. There were no survivors and no body was ever recovered. It was speculated that the blizzard had resulted in the Jane Miller consuming more of her fuel than expected, and that combined with the extra cargo loaded at Meaford, had become top heavy. When the snowstorm increased in intensity in Colpoys Bay, a strong gust of wind flipped her on her side, and she sank in minutes. It was a cold and windy night so people were probably in their rooms in it happened quickly. 

The last of the Great Lakes schooners “OUR SON”   U.S. Vessel

This wooden schooner named “OUR SON” was built in 1875 at Black River (Lorain) Ohio. 

She was 190 feet in length 34 feet 6 inches wide. 

The vessel, with its crew of seven, ran into trouble forty miles west –southwest of big Sable point on lake Michigan on September 26, 1930 and sank in deep water. The crew was rescued by the Steamer “William Nelson”.

Namesake of this vessel was the youngest son of Captain Harry Kelley, the ship’s builder. The son George Irving Kelly,  on August 11 1871 helping his father  fell into the Black River and drowned just before the ship was to be launched. His parents, grieved, wanted a living memorial to their son and named this vessel after him. An older brother, Frank Kelley who lived in Cleveland Ohio in 1930 and after the sinking of the ship, was quoted as saying “ there couldn’t have been a more fitting tribute to young George than when dad named that ship for him.”

This photo part of the Wiarton Propeller club collection  wrote on image “Our Son this is the last cargo sailing ship on the Great Lakes. Snapshot taken 1921near Detour on Lake Huron by Allan McPhatter from the deck of the S. S. Emperor”

R. Lee
Source;  Namesakes 1930-1955 by John O. Greenwood

The Upper Lakes Shipping Company was a Canadian shipping company that maintained a fleet of lake freighters on the North American Great Lakes from 1931 to 2011. The company was privately owned. In February 2011 the company sold its fleet to Algoma Central.

Upper Lakes Shipping had a vessel called the Wiarton from 1966-1971.  Built in 1907 in Chicago and launched as the Thomas Lynch she was steam powered and was 601 feet long.

"This vessel was named in honor of the small town of Wiarton, Ontario in which a number of sailors and officers of Upper Lakes Shipping reside" (Namesakes 1956-1980 by J.O. Greenwood).

In 1971 it was sold for scrap. She was towed to Hamilton (ON), where her hull was sunk with steamers Grovedale and Henry R. Platt Jr. to form a break wall.