Sunken Wreck of Famed Warship Found

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A 22-gun British warship that sank during the American Revolution and has long been regarded as one of the "Holy Grail" shipwrecks in the Great Lakes has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Ontario, astonishingly well-preserved in the cold, deep water. Shipwreck enthusiasts used side-scanning sonar and an unmanned submersible to locate the HMS Ontario, which was lost with barely a trace and as many as 130 people aboard during a gale in 1780. The 80-foot sloop of war is the oldest shipwreck and the only fully intact British warship ever found in the Great Lakes. To have a Revolutionary War vessel that's practically intact is unbelievable. It's an archaeological miracle.on Smith, who chronicled the history of the HMS Ontario in a 1997 book, "The Legend of the Lake." The finders of the wreck said they regard it as a war grave and have no plans to raise it or remove any of its artifacts. They said the ship is still considered the property of the British Admiralty. Although the vessel sits in an area where the water is up to 500 feet deep and cannot be reached by anyone but the most experienced divers, they declined to give its exact location, saying only that it was found off the southern shore. The sloop was discovered resting partially on its side, with two masts extending more than 70 feet above the lake bottom. Usually when ships go down in big storms, they get beat up quite a bit. They don't sink nice and square. This went down in a huge storm, and it still managed to stay intact. There are even two windows that aren't broken. Just going down, the pressure difference, can break the windows. It's a beautiful ship."