Troy Shantz for The Sarnia Journal

(2017) Hidden on the bottom of Lake Huron just north of Sarnia lies a “Ghost Fleet” of shipwrecks being featured in a Canada sesquicentennial project.

The book, ‘Canada’s 150 Most Famous Great Lakes Shipwrecks,’ was written and photographed by Windsor-based scuba divers Cris Kohl and Joan Forsberg.

“The goal (is) to educate people, to let them know that quite frankly a lot of places like Toronto, Thunder Bay and Sarnia wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for ships,” said Kohl.

“That’s how they got their start.”

The ‘Ghost Fleet’ is comprised of four ships that went down in the St. Clair River in the early 1900s but wound up at rest in the lake about 12 kilometres northwest of Sarnia.

The shipwrecks all lie within three kilometres of each other in about 70 feet of water.

Sarnia council agreed to sponsor a page in the 224-page book, which is set for release in mid-April and will be available at The Bookkeeper for $19.95.

Kohl said he discovered the ‘Ghost Fleet’ in 1993 while searching for the Wexford, a ship that disappeared during the Great Storm of 1913.

Though he didn’t find the Wexford he was able to locate and identify the Aztec, the Sachem, the Province, and the Yakima.

Kohl’s colleague Jim Stayer coined the nickname ‘The Ghost Fleet of the St. Clair River.’

All four ships sank in the river and were scuttled in Sarnia Bay, which was then the place ships went to die, he said.

As wrecks began to accumulate in the bay a decision was made to move some of them to open water.

“In those environmentally worry-free days they didn’t care as long as they got them out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind,” he said.

The book, Kohl’s 17th, is a way to recognize Canada’s 150th birthday while paying tribute to the ships and their fearless sailors, he said.

“Because of the cold, fresh water of the Great Lakes we have something very unique. We have the best preserved shipwrecks in the world,” said Kohl, who has been scuba diving since 1974.

“In the Great Lakes, you can dive on a shipwreck that went down 150 years ago and it looks like, if it could be raised to the surface, it would float again.”

Kohl and Forsberg are coming to Sarnia on June 19 to share two free presentations: “All About 1867: Canada’s Great Lakes Ships and Shipwrecks,” and “The Great Storm of 1913.”

The presentations are at the Sarnia Public Library and scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

The Aztec as it lay abandoned on the edge of Sarnia Bay in the 1920s. Built at Marine City, Michigan, in 1889, she suffered the destruction of her stern half to a fire there in May, 1923. The ship was patched up enough to tow her to the nearest "boneyard" for old ships, namely Sarnia Bay, where the vessel was abandoned until being removed in 1936. The Aztec had to be dynamited out of the bay, and the many, huge pieces of her wooden hull were placed on board the raised Province, towed out into Lake Huron, and sunk in the late summer of 1936. Kohl-Forsberg Archives

The Aztec as it lay abandoned on the edge of Sarnia Bay in the 1920s. Built at Marine City, Michigan, in 1889, she suffered the destruction of her stern half to a fire there in May, 1923. The ship was patched up enough to tow her to the nearest “boneyard” for old ships, namely Sarnia Bay, where the vessel was abandoned until being removed in 1936.
The Aztec had to be dynamited out of the bay, and the many, huge pieces of her wooden hull were placed on board the raised Province, towed out into Lake Huron, and sunk in the late summer
of 1936.
Kohl-Forsberg Archives

The Province capsized in the St. Clair River on Sept. 28, 1923, with the loss of three lives. This photo shows the ship being righted by commercial salvagers, who placed the "righting arms" onto the wreck. The commercial traffic on the river was fairly heavy in those days, as seen in this photo, with two, large ships passing the wreck. Photo courtesy, Moore Museum

The Province capsized in the St. Clair River on Sept. 28, 1923, with the loss of three lives. This photo shows the ship being righted by commercial salvagers, who placed the “righting arms” onto the wreck. The commercial traffic on the river was fairly heavy in those days, as seen in this photo, with two, large ships passing the wreck.
Photo courtesy, Moore Museum

The Yakima stranded and burned at Stag Island in the St. Clair River in June, 1905, after which the ship was "bandaged up" and towed as far as Sarnia Bay, where it was abandoned. Finally, in 1928, she was stripped of anything usable, towed out into Lake Huron and scuttled about 11 miles (17.6 kilometres) north of Sarnia. Kohl-Forsberg Archives

The Yakima stranded and burned at Stag Island in the St. Clair River in June, 1905,
after which the ship was “bandaged up” and
towed as far as Sarnia Bay, where it was abandoned.
Finally, in 1928, she was stripped of anything usable,
towed out into Lake Huron and scuttled about 11 miles (17.6 kilometres) north of Sarnia.
Kohl-Forsberg Archives

The wooden, propeller-driven steamer, Sachem, built at Grand Haven, Michigan, in 1889, burned and sank near Port Lambton in the St. Clair River on Oct. 8, 1928. It was temporarily patched up and towed to Sarnia Bay. Only a few weeks later, the Sachem, having been abandoned by both the ship's owner and the ship's insurance company, was towed out into Lake Huron and scuttled. Kohl-Forsberg Archives

The wooden, propeller-driven steamer, Sachem, built at Grand Haven, Michigan, in 1889, burned and sank near Port Lambton in the St. Clair River on Oct. 8, 1928. It was temporarily patched up and towed to Sarnia Bay.
Only a few weeks later, the Sachem, having been abandoned by both the ship’s owner and the ship’s insurance company, was towed out into Lake Huron and scuttled.
Kohl-Forsberg Archives