Divers Found a Lost Shipwreck So Remarkably Preserved, They Couldn't Believe Its Age

Popular Mechanics ^ | December 8, 2025 | Tim Newcomb

[SunkenCiv]

A fiber-optic cable survey of the lake from Buffalo to Toronto alerted experts to an anomaly sitting on the lakebed, leading experts to surmise it could be the Rapid City vessel, an 1884-built schooner lost in 1917.

Now, though, they don't think it can be that recent a wreckage.

James Conolly, Trent University archaeologist and diver, said there were features that just weren't common for ships built after 1850, a period that experienced a bit of a technological leap for Great Lakes ships. Post-1850s ships had metal rigging, whereas the one found is rope-rigged. "It immediately puts it into, likely, the first half of the 19th century," Conolly said.

Other features were different than what the team was expecting to find, including the ship having no wheel on the aft deck, an early windlass design, and no centerboard winch that became a standard movable keel for Great Lakes ships during the 1850s.

While the 1850s may have seen a modern boon for shipbuilding in the Great Lakes, the previous 50 years helped kickstart lake-travel trade, even if the ships built were commonly lost due to storms and mishaps. Much of the history of the era is also lost.

[SunkenCiv]

• 131 Years Later, Shipwreck Discovered In Lake Superior [03/04/2022]
• Long-lost Ship Found in Lake Huron, Confirming Tragic Story [03/15/2023]
• Three shipwrecks located in the Great Lakes including S.S. Michigan [07/12/2005]
• Clear sky yields great look at frozen Great Lakes [03/01/2015]
• Lake Michigan is So Clear Right Now its Shipwrecks Are Visible From the Air [05/03/2015]
• Shipwrecks Visible from Sky Above Lake Michigan due to Crystal Clear Water [04/18/2020]

[SunkenCiv]

[Beowulf9]

Is it at all possible to bring it up?

What a beauty!

[SunkenCiv]

I suspect so, but paying for it could be an issue.

[Sacajaweau]

Wonder what’s in the cargo hold.

[Sacajaweau]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/lake-ontario-great-lakes-toronto-shipwreck-9.6978162

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

My boat!

You found it!

Thanks man. Can you bring it to me?

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Are your firearms on it?
Canada might have an issue...

[blitz128]

Mine as well😂

[DeplorableTrumpSupporter]

Wait, Gordon Lightfoot didn't write a song on it...

In all seriousness, the Great Lakes are amazing for shipwrecks. The cold water keeps the boat's from rotting away...

[MayflowerMadam]

“The two-masted schooner was fully intact”

I saw the picture, and I question this statement.

[Mathews]

Looks like more than one shipwreck and it’s mighty bright to be three hundred feet down. Wondering if this is AI or a clip from a movie.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I think it's law now that there has to be Fine Jewelry in every shipwreck. They're calling this one, 'The Heart of the Lake.' :)

[Albion Wilde]

Amazing that the rigging is still there.

[Larry Lucido]

[SunkenCiv]

The wreck is probably the first Andrea Doria.

[GingisK]

The two-masted schooner was fully intact

I don't think it had enough hull left to float. The photograph most certainly doesn't scream out "fully intact". It does bear the original overall shape.

[SunkenCiv]

😁 💎

[SunkenCiv]

I’ll get right on it. The next ‘splashdown’ meeting of the Polar Bears is quite near it.

[dfwgator]

Must have been running drugs.