SS Gunilda

DATE OF LAUNCH: April 1, 1897

DATE AND LOCATION OF LOSS: August 1911, Lake Superior, near Copper Island, off Rossport, Ontario

DATE LOCATED: 1967

SHIP DETAILS: Gunilda was a steel-hulled Scottish-built steam yacht in service between her construction in 1897 and her sinking in Lake Superior in 1911. Built in 1897 in Leith, Scotland by Ramage & Ferguson for J. M. or A. R. & J. M. Sladen, and became owned by F. W. Sykes in 1898; her first and second owners were all from England. In 1901, Gunilda was chartered by a member of the New York Yacht Club, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a complement of 25 crewmen. In 1903, she was purchased by oil baron William L. Harkness of Cleveland, Ohio, a member of the New York Yacht Club; she ended up becoming the club’s flagship. Under Harkness’ ownership, Gunilda visited many parts of the world, including the Caribbean, and beginning in 1910, the Great Lakes.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE LOSS: In 1911, William L. Harkness, his family and his friends were on an extended tour of the north shore of Lake Superior. In August 1911, the people on board had made plans to head into Lake Nipigon to fish for speckled trout. To sail into Lake Nipigon, Gunilda, manned by a crew of 20, needed to travel to Rossport, Ontario, then into Nipigon Bay, and finally through the Schreiber Channel. When Gunilda docked in Coldwell Harbor, Ontario, Harkness sought a pilot to guide them to Rossport and then into Nipigon Bay. Donald Murray, an experienced local man, offered his services for $15.00, but Harkness declined, claiming it was too much. The following day, Gunilda stopped in Jackfish Bay, Ontario to load coal. Harkness once again inquired about a pilot. Harry Legault offered to pilot Gunilda to Rossport for $25.00 plus a train fare back to Jackfish Bay. Gunilda’s captain, Alexander Corckum, and his crew thought the offer was reasonable, but Harkness once again declined. As the charts did not indicate that there were any shoals on their intended course, Harkness decided to proceed without a pilot with accurate knowledge of the region. As she was about five miles off Rossport, Gunilda, traveling at full speed, ran hard aground on McGarvey Shoal, known locally as Old Man’s Hump. Gunilda ran 85 feet onto the shoal, raising her bow high out of the water. Sources disagree on the exact date that Gunilda ran aground.

After the grounding, Harkness and some his family and friends boarded one of Gunilda’s motor launches and travelled to Rossport, catching a Canadian Pacific Railway train to Port Arthur, Ontario, where Harkness made arrangements for the Canadian Towing & Wrecking Company’s tug James Whalen to be dispatched to free Gunilda. The next day, James Whalen arrived with a barge in tow. The captain of James Whalen advised Harkness to hire a second tug and barge to properly stabilize Gunilda. Harkness once again refused. As Gunilda didn’t have any towing bits, a sling was slung around her and attached to James Whalen, and she pulled Gunilda directly astern. Gunilda’s engines were reversed, but she remained on the shoal. They then tried to swing the stern back and forth, but this also failed. Wrecking master J. Wolvin of James Whalen decided to pull solely to starboard, as it was impossible to maneuver her stern to the port. Gunilda slid off the shoal, but as she slid into the water, she suddenly keeled over, and her masts hit the water. Water poured in through the portholes, doors, companionways, hatches, and skylights. Gunilda sank in a couple of minutes. As she sank, the crew of James Whalen cut the towline, fearing that Gunilda would pull her down as well. After Gunilda sank, the people who remained on her were picked up by James Whalen.

DISCOVERY AND FINDINGS: The wreck of Gunilda was discovered in 1967 by Chuck Zender, who also made the first-ever dive to her. Her wreck rests on an even keel in 270 feet of water to the lake bottom, and 242 feet to her deck at the base of McGarvey Shoal. Her wreck is very intact, with everything that was on her when she sank still in place, including her entire superstructure, compass binnacle, and both of her masts. Numerous artefacts including a piano, several lanterns, and various pieces of furniture remain on board. Most of the paint on her hull survives, including the gilding. In 1980, Jacques Cousteau and the Cousteau Society used the research vessel Calypso and the diving saucer SP-350 Denise to dive and film the wreck. The Cousteau Society called Gunilda the “best-preserved, most prestigious shipwreck in the world” and “the most beautiful shipwreck in the world”.

INTERESTING FACTS: Several salvage attempts have been made to raise the Gunilda, but without success.

Two divers have died on the wreck of Gunilda. Charles “King” Hague died in 1970; his body was recovered in 1976. Reg Barrett from Burlington, Ontario died in 1989.

In 2019 the Professional Association of Diving Instructors named Gunilda the second-best technical diving site in the world, after the German battleship SMS Markgraf in Scapa Flow.