FRONTENAC C111767

• Type of Wreck: Tug
• Dimensions: 89ft x 22ft x 8ft 111 GT 64 NT   
• Depths 100ft (33m)
• Location of Wreck: N 44’01.123 W76’36.121

The Frontenac, a wooden screw steamer, was built in 1901 at Garden Island, Ontario, just south of Kingston. Constructed by the Calvin Company, known for its prominent role in the timber trade, the Frontenac was primarily designed for towing rafts of square timber. The vessel’s owner, Calvin Company, operated a fleet of 12 to 15 ships that transported square timber to Garden Island, where the timber was unloaded and assembled into massive rafts. These rafts, some stretching up to a quarter or half-mile in length, were then floated down to Quebec City and shipped to British markets. However, as the timber trade declined, the rafts became fewer, and Calvin Company went out of business at the start of World War I.

In 1912, the Frontenac was acquired by the Donnelly Salvage and Wrecking Company, which continued to operate and own the vessel until spring 1929. During this time, the Frontenac’s sister ship, the William Johnston, and the steamer Cornwall were also owned by the Donnelly Salvage and Wrecking Company. In the spring of 1929, the Frontenac was purchased by the Sin-Mac Lines, but its time under their ownership was short-lived.

Conflicting newspaper reports suggest that the Frontenac left port for the last time on either December 11 or December 12, 1929. The tug, accompanied by another vessel called the Rival, was en route to the grounded freighter Sarniadoe to unload cargo. However, adverse weather conditions, including heavy seas, forced the tugboats to turn back near Main Duck Island in Lake Ontario. At around 8:15 PM, the distressed Frontenac began sounding distress signals. The Rival, having detached the barge Cobourg it was towing, responded to the distress calls and approached the sinking Frontenac.

When the Rival arrived, the Frontenac was already settling low in the water, with waves crashing over it. The crew of the Frontenac, standing beside one of the lifeboats, was ready to deploy when the Rival came alongside and rescued them. The Rival then retrieved the barge in the bitterly cold conditions, with ice covering the tug, and made its way back to Portsmouth. It was believed that the wooden Frontenac, despite undergoing a complete refit the previous year, succumbed to the strain of the heavy seas.

Captain Mallen and the crew of the Frontenac returned to their homes in Morrisburg without providing any comment on the sinking. The local manager of Sin-Mac Lines, who was reportedly aboard the tug at the time of the incident, also refused to comment to the newspapers.

The Frontenac, with a length of 89 feet, a beam of 21.8 feet, and a depth of 7.8 feet, had a gross tonnage of 111 and a net tonnage of 64. Its official number was 111767. The vessel’s history and final resting place serve as a reminder of the challenges faced by tugboats and the unpredictable nature of Lake Ontario.

Regenerate response