SUCCESS

There are many kinds of great wreck dives in the Great Lakes. Some are ships sitting just beautifully preserved on the bottom waiting for a diver to explore, some are shallow habitats and spawning grounds for sea life. The Success is another type of great shipwreck…a vessel whose remains might lack luster but with such a great story that a diver wants the chance to touch her at least once. This story is the perhaps best on the Inland Seas.
She has the longest and most colorful history of any ship that sailed and sank in the Great Lakes. This unique vessel was built as an armed merchantman, but had many incarnations serving as an immigrant ship, prison, ammunition storehouse, freighter, and museum and exhibit vessel. In the course of her long life she sank 5 times, visited 6 continents, and had her history written and rewritten with many fictitious events included.

Schooner
15ffw
120ft Length
Port Clinton OH, Lake Erie
41 31.321 82 54.705

The renowned convict ship SUCCESS, which had been showcased at numerous lake and ocean ports over the past three decades and had become familiar to thousands of Americans, met its tragic end on July 4th as it lay in Lake Erie Cove near Port Clinton, Ohio. Constructed in 1790 in Moulmein, Burma, a town made famous by Kipling’s “Mandalay,” the vessel was entirely crafted from Burmese teak, known for its exceptional hardness. Measuring 135 feet in length and 29 feet in beam, the ship was copper fastened and constructed using treenails.

Originally serving as an East India merchantman, the SUCCESS stood apart from most vessels of its kind by having its own complement of guns. Evidence of its encounters with a French armed vessel in the Bay of Bengal could still be seen on its hull, marked by bullet scars near the waterline. The teakwood mainmast even bore a dent left by a pirate’s cannonball. Although it had been captured by pirates at one point, it was swiftly recaptured by a fleet dispatched by the East India Company.

In 1802, the SUCCESS was repurposed as a transport ship for prisoners destined for Australia, a role it fulfilled for fifty years. During this period, England punished theft by transporting convicts to Australia for a minimum term of seven years, often longer. The cruelties inflicted upon the unfortunate prisoners aboard the ship exceeded even those endured by the cargo of slave trading vessels since slaves held economic value if delivered in good condition, whereas convicts had none. Visitors to the SUCCESS, when it was displayed in its later years, were horrified by the sight of heavy chains, dark prison cells, and instruments of punishment employed at the whims of the officers.

In 1852, when transportation of convicts was abolished, the SUCCESS was transformed into a prison hulk, anchored in Sydney Bay. To enhance isolation and discourage escape attempts, a perimeter of buoys was established, positioned seventy-five yards away from the yellow-painted hulk. Unauthorized individuals crossing the boundary were liable to be shot on the spot.

After being abandoned as a prison hulk in 1868, the SUCCESS was briefly used in a women’s prison and later converted into a storage ship for gunpowder. In 1885, while being prepared for exhibition in Sydney, the vessel was maliciously scuttled and sank, remaining on the seabed for nearly five years. It was eventually salvaged and embarked on a series of tours that spanned the globe, covering thousands of miles. At one point, during the Cleveland Exposition of 1935-36, it was moored off East Ninth Street, alongside the flagship that carried Admiral Byrd to the Antarctic. Subsequently, the SUCCESS appeared near Sandusky, seemingly abandoned by its owners. Eventually, it fell into the hands of salvagers who began stripping valuable components from the vessel, leading to its mysterious demise on July 4th, coinciding with the Day of Freedom and marking the end of a ship that had spent more than half its existence as a prison.

The SUCCESS holds a unique place among the great wreck dives in the Great Lakes. While its remains may not boast pristine preservation, its captivating history entices divers to explore its remnants. No other ship that sailed and sank in the Great Lakes can rival its extensive and colorful past. This extraordinary vessel served as an armed merchantman, immigrant ship, prison, ammunition storehouse, freighter, museum, and exhibit vessel. Throughout its long life, it experienced five sinkings, visited six continents, and had its history written and rewritten, sometimes incorporating fictional events.