- Schooner
The schooner EMERALD, which was en route from Fair Haven to Toronto, has been declared lost with all hands on board. The crew members were identified as Captain McMaster and his son Walter from Toronto, John Slight from Port Hope, John Selkirk, John Bohrman from Picton, a Frenchman from Ogdensburg, and Mrs. Wright, the cook, from St. Catharines. The EMERALD was reportedly within 25 miles of Toronto but was forced to turn back to Charlotte, the port it departed from 13 days earlier. The vessel was carrying a cargo of coal.
There is a belief among many in Cobourg, Ontario, that the EMERALD foundered on Monday night. On that evening, a significant amount of wreckage washed ashore about two miles east of the Gull Light. As the EMERALD was last seen on the south shore, opposite Cobourg, the westerly wind could have carried the wreckage across the lake, strengthening the notion of the schooner’s loss.
The discovery of wreckage near Cobourg on the north shore of Lake Ontario is seen as confirmation of the EMERALD’s loss. The schooner had departed from Charlotte and was bound for Cobourg, but it has been determined that the vessel and its seven-man crew perished.
In Brighton, Ontario, a lady named Mrs. Warter Sharp reported an incident that occurred on Tuesday, November 17. She observed a distressed three-masted schooner approximately ten miles southwest of the bluff while watching from her home near the Lake Shore. Mrs. Sharp witnessed the vessel suddenly disappear during a gale. It is believed that this sighting corresponds to the missing EMERALD.
The EMERALD, registered as the Bark EMERALD, was a 322-ton vessel built in Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1872. It was owned by F. McMaster of Deseronto, Ontario, and had a home port in St. Catharines. The schooner’s dimensions were 139.0 x 25.6 x 11.5, and it was listed as part of the Dominion of Canada’s registry books on December 31, 1902.
The EMERALD, a 400-ton schooner, was built in 1872 by Hardison in Port Colborne. It was owned by P. Larkins and hailed from St. Catharines. The vessel was valued at $14,000 and classified as Class A 2. It had three masts and was listed in the Insurance Classification Index of 1878.
A story titled “Last Light on the Lost Emerald” recounts the disappearance of the schooner EMERALD and the ongoing memory of the tragedy. The eating house near King Street and Portland Corner in Toronto still displayed a drawn portrait of the vanished vessel in its front window. The disappearance of the EMERALD deeply affected the area between the old Queen Wharf and Arthur Street, where many schooner families resided. The article mentions various individuals and their connections to the maritime industry in the region.
After encountering the EMERALD off the Devil’s Nose, the steam barge D.R. VAN ALLEN, captained by William Van Vlack, continued its journey from Charlotte. The EMERALD, with all sails set and lights burning, acknowledged the passing barge with a small screech of its donkey engine whistle. The weather conditions seemed favorable for both vessels, but only the steam barge reached Toronto the following day. The EMERALD was presumed to have been headed off and was rumored to have taken shelter in Prinyer’s Cove, but this report was later contradicted.
Captain Williams, who knew Capt. McMaster and his family well, undertook an extensive search for the missing EMERALD. Starting at Ashbridges Bay cut, he walked along every foot of the lake’s beaches between there and Brighton. Mrs. Walter Sharpe informed Captain Williams that she had seen a three-masted schooner running before a westerly gale on November 17, approximately ten miles southwest of Presqu’isle Bluffs. Captain Williams discovered a small door from a cabin locker, which Mrs. McMaster recognized as belonging to the EMERALD. Other wreckage, including a cabin or deckhouse, a provision box, and the broken foremast, was found along the coast.
Various explanations were put forward for the EMERALD’s disappearance, but none could be proven. It was speculated that in the sudden shift of the wind during the midnight watch, the schooner might have lost her foremast or bowsprit in a jibe. The unopened timberports in the counter, which had been reinforced with heavy oak pieces, could have been damaged by the broken spars. All the recovered wreckage was from above the deck, and no bodies were ever found. The crew, consisting of seven men and the cook, Mrs. Wright, along with her two small children, perished in deep water.
In July of the same year, a steel dredge named SIR WILFRED, worth $150,000, sank in Lake Ontario off Port Hope. The dredge had rolled over and filled with water when a hot wind struck its spuds (heavy timbers used for stabilization). Despite extensive search efforts, the wreck was not located until four years later. During the salvage operation, divers encountered the hull of a large schooner in close proximity to the SIR WILFRED, but due to equipment limitations, they were unable to examine it further. If the wreck was indeed that of the EMERALD, it was a remarkable coincidence that the vessel found the fatal spot where one of the spuds had impaled it during a storm.
Although several diving groups have searched for the EMERALD, no wreck of the schooner has been found near the site of the sunken dredge SIR WILFRED. The EMERALD met its fate on November 29, 1911, when it foundered off Port Hope in Lake Ontario. It was carrying a cargo of coal, and all eight crew members, including Francis McMaster, the owner, were lost.
Additional Information:
The EMERALD, also known as a bark, was constructed in 1872 in Port Colborne, Ontario, by George Hardison. It had three masts and measured 139 feet in length, 25.6 feet in beam, and 11.6 feet in depth. The vessel’s gross tonnage was 343.66 and net tonnage was 322.39. Over the years, it underwent changes in ownership and tonnage, being listed at various times as 314 gross tons and 394 net tons.
