Comet also known as Mayflower, 1851–1860
Sidewheel Steamer · Lost May 14–15, 1861 · Near Nine Mile Point, Lake Ontario
70 ft Bottom
Paddlewheels Intact
Sidewheel Steamer
Advanced OW+
POW Moored
Collision Loss
Kingston, Ontario
Built at Portsmouth Village, Kingston in 1848, the Comet is one of the Great Lakes’ most storied wrecks — a passenger sidewheeler that sank four times before her final resting place claimed her for good. Today she lies upright off Simcoe Island, both 32-foot paddlewheels still standing after 160 years, a landmark of Lake Ontario diving.
⚓ Vessel & Site at a Glance
| Type | Sidewheel Steamer — Passenger & Package Freight |
| Built | 1848 — Fisher’s Shipyard, Portsmouth, Ontario |
| Builder | George N. Ault |
| Length / Beam | 174 ft (53 m) / 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Tonnage | 337 tons (old measure) |
| Engines | Twin walking beam steam engines — Ward Foundry, Montreal |
| Lost | May 14–15, 1861 — collision with schooner Exchange |
| Captain at loss | Francis Paterson |
| Lives lost | 2 confirmed — John Blake & John McCurthy |
| Bottom depth | 70 ft / 21 m (diver-verified) |
| Paddlewheel top | 40 ft / 12 m (diver-verified) |
| Orientation | Upright on silt |
| GPS | N 44° 08.319′ W 076° 35.042′ |
| Discovered | September 7, 1967 — Jim McCready & Dr. Robert McCaldon |
| Mooring | POW Kingston — seasonal buoy (do not anchor) |
📐 Depth Profile
Surface
40 ft ★
~50 ft
~58 ft
~64 ft
70 ft ★
📜 The Wreck
The Comet sank four times before the lake finally kept her. Built in 1848 at Portsmouth Village — a shipbuilding community now absorbed by Kingston — she struck a St. Lawrence shoal on one of her earliest voyages, was raised, and returned to service. In November 1849 a burst steam pipe at Toronto killed two crew. Then on April 3, 1851, her boiler exploded catastrophically at Oswego, New York, killing eight. The hull was salvaged, rebuilt, and returned to service under the name Mayflower in 1854, before being refitted and renamed back to Comet in 1860. On the evening of May 14, 1861 — the first voyage of the season — Captain Francis Paterson cleared Kingston harbour and Nine Mile Point bound for Toronto and Hamilton. Steering toward Timber Island in strong southwest winds to give wide berth to vessels running down the lake, the Comet encountered the American schooner Exchange, loaded with wheat from Chicago.“The Comet struck the schooner’s starboard side with her stern, springing the steamer’s planks and opening her to the sea… Meanwhile the pumps were worked and the fires kept up for the purpose of making shore, the steamer at the time being about ten miles above Nine-mile Point.” — Kingston News, reprinted in the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, May 15, 1861Both vessels tried to stay close but the wind carried the Exchange out of hailing distance. Two deckhands, John Blake (Kingston Mills) and John McCurthy (Dublin, Ireland), were thrown overboard trying to bail and drowned. Captain Paterson launched the yawl with thirteen aboard and made Simcoe Island on a single oar. The Comet sank approximately 1.5 miles off the island. The Exchange made Kingston harbour the following morning. She lay unfound for 106 years. Kingston divers Jim McCready and Dr. Robert McCaldon located her on September 7, 1967 — the end of a ten-year search. Their discovery was featured in Diver Magazine. Artifacts recovered at the time — brass fittings, ironstone pitchers, hand-blown glassware — were donated to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, where they remain on display.
🤿 Diving the Comet
The Comet rests upright on silt with the two massive paddlewheels — each approximately 32 feet in diameter — standing erect on either side, still connected to the walking beam engine assembly. The superstructure has largely collapsed but the hull, engines, boilers, rudder, anchor windlass, and stove all remain. Plates and cups still rest on the decking. Penetration at the stern is possible for trained divers, giving access to the engines and boilers.| Certification | Advanced Open Water minimum; cold water experience strongly advised |
| Visibility | 2–3 m (poor days) to 20+ m (spring / fall); best May and September–October |
| Temperature at depth | 3–8°C — dry suit strongly recommended |
| Current | Minimal to none on the wreck |
| Silt sensitivity | High — buoyancy control is critical |
| Access | Offshore — charter boat required |
| Season | May – October |
🔒 Full Article — Members Only
The members article includes the complete four-incident history with primary newspaper sources from 1861, full vessel registry data (Official No. C 92861, engine provenance from steamer Shannon 1830), the rename chronology, complete artifact inventory in situ and at the Marine Museum, discoverer account and Diver Magazine reference, dive site data table, interactive 3D photogrammetry model, and a 15-source verified research link grid. Read the Comet Mayflower Members Article ↗🔗 Key Links
- ↗ SLD Kingston Project Shotline Diving regional research hub — Matthew Charlesworth, Liaison
- ↗ Preserve Our Wrecks Kingston (POW) Manages the Comet mooring buoy · supports via donation
- ↗ 3DShipwrecks.org — Interactive 3D Model Photogrammetry model by Kenneth Merryman, 2012 · one of three best-preserved sidewheelers in the Great Lakes
- ↗ Neptune & Salacia Diving PADI 5-Star/ECO Centre · walk-on and private charters · Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Kingston
- ↗ Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, Kingston Holds artifacts recovered from the Comet at discovery in 1967
- ↗ Google Maps — Wreck Location N 44°08.319′ W 076°35.042′ · approx. 2 miles off Simcoe Island