Gunilda

''Gunilda'' was a steel-hulled Scottish-built steam yacht in service between her construction in 1897 and her sinking in Lake Superior in 1911. Built in 1897 in Leith, Scotland by Ramage & Ferguson for J. M. or A. R. & J. M. Sladen, and became owned by F. W. Sykes in 1898; her first and second owners were all from England. In 1901, ''Gunilda'' was chartered by a member of the New York Yacht Club, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a complement of 25 crewmen. In 1903, she was purchased by oil baron William L. Harkness of Cleveland, Ohio, a member of the New York Yacht Club; she ended up becoming the club's flagship. Under Harkness' ownership, ''Gunilda'' visited many parts of the world, including the Caribbean, and beginning in 1910, the Great Lakes.

In the summer of 1911, ''Gunilda'' owner, William L. Harkness, his family and friends were on an extended tour of northern Lake Superior. They were headed to Rossport, Ontario and then planned to head into Lake Nipigon to do some fishing for speckled trout. As she was about away from Rossport, ''Gunilda'' ran hard aground onto McGarvey Shoal on the north side of Copper Island. Most of the passengers were taken to Rossport. Harkness stayed behind to supervise the salvage, hiring the tug ''James Whalen'' and a barge to tow ''Gunilda'' off the shoal. On August 11, 1911, after she was pulled free, she suddenly rolled over to starboard, filled with water, and sank. Harkness and his family were picked up by ''James Whalen''.

Her wreck was rediscovered in 1967 resting in of water, completely intact, with even the gilding on the hull surviving. ''Gunilda''s wreck was the subject of multiple failed salvage attempts. In the late 1960s, Ed and Harold Flatt made multiple unsuccessful attempts to salvage her. Throughout the 1970s, Fred Broennle also made several unsuccessful attempts to raise ''Gunilda''. In 1980, Jacques Cousteau and the Cousteau Society used the research vessel ''Calypso'' and the diving saucer ''SP-350 Denise'' to dive and film the wreck. The Cousteau Society called ''Gunilda'' the "best-preserved, most prestigious shipwreck in the world" and "the most beautiful shipwreck in the world".

History

Design and construction

''Gunilda'' (UK official number 104928) was built in 1897 by Ramage & Ferguson in Leith, Scotland. Her hull number was 149. She was designed by Joseph Edwin Wilkins, a naval architect who worked for Cox & King of Pall Mall, London, England. She cost about $200,000 to build. Her name is a variant of Gunhild, an old Germanic feminine name meaning "war". She was launched on April 1, 1897.

Her steel hull was long; one source states she had a length of , another source states she had an overall length of and a below waterline length of , her beam was (one source states . Several sources state she had a draft of , several other sources state her draft was , and one source states she had a draft of . She had a gross register tonnage of 385 and a net register tonnage of 158. She had a Thames Tonnage of 492 or 499 tons.

She was equipped by a triple expansion steam engine with pistons that had bores of , , and and a stroke of . The engine was powered by steam produced by two 160 psi turbine boilers. ''Gunilda'' was driven by a single propeller and had a top speed of (some sources state ).

Service history

Between 1897 and 1898 ''Gunilda'' was owned by either J. M. Sladen or by A. R. and J. M. Sladen; her home port was Wivenhoe in England. Her second owner was F. W. Sykes, who owned her between 1898 and 1903, during which time her home port was Leith. Her first and second owners were from England.

In 1901, ''Gunilda'' was chartered by a member of the New York Yacht Club of New York City, sailing over the Atlantic Ocean with 25 crewmen on board. American press reports at the time of her arrival described her as a schooner, rigged with of canvas.

In 1903, ''Gunilda'' was purchased by oil baron William L. Harkness of Cleveland, Ohio. Harkness was a member of the New York Yacht Club. When he purchased ''Gunilda'', she was officially registered in New York City and became the new flagship of the New York Yacht Club. In 1903, ''Gunilda''s home port was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, however, in 1904, it became New York City. Under the ownership of Harkness, ''Gunilda'' visited several parts of the world, making multiple trips around the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean. In 1910, Harkness brought ''Gunilda'' to the Great Lakes to perform an extended cruise.

Final voyage

In 1911, William L. Harkness, his family and his friends were on an extended tour of the north shore of Lake Superior. In August 1911, the people on board had made plans to head into Lake Nipigon to fish for speckled trout. To sail into Lake Nipigon, ''Gunilda'' (manned by a crew of 20) needed to travel to Rossport, Ontario, then into Nipigon Bay, and finally through the Schreiber Channel. When ''Gunilda'' docked in Coldwell Harbor, Ontario, Harkness sought a pilot to guide them to Rossport and then into Nipigon Bay. Donald Murray, an experienced local man, offered his services for $15, but Harkness declined, claiming it was too much. The following day, ''Gunilda'' stopped in Jackfish Bay, Ontario to load coal. Harkness once again inquired about a pilot. Harry Legault offered to pilot ''Gunilda'' to Rossport for $25 plus a train fare back to Jackfish Bay. ''Gunilda'' captain, Alexander Corckum, and his crew thought the offer was reasonable, but Harkness once again declined. As the US charts did not indicate that there were any shoals on their intended course, Harkness decided to proceed without a pilot with accurate knowledge of the region. As she was about off Rossport, ''Gunilda'', travelling at full speed, ran hard aground on McGarvey Shoal (known locally as Old Man's Hump). ''Gunilda'' ran onto the shoal, raising her bow high out of the water.

After the grounding, Harkness and some his family and friends boarded one of ''Gunilda'' motor launches and travelled to Rossport, catching a Canadian Pacific Railway train to Port Arthur, Ontario, where Harkness made arrangements for the Canadian Towing & Wrecking Company's tug ''James Whalen'' to be dispatched to free ''Gunilda''. The next day, on August 11 (some sources state August 29, one source states August 31), ''James Whalen'' arrived with a barge in tow. The captain of ''James Whalen'' advised Harkness to hire a second tug and barge to properly stabilize ''Gunilda''. Harkness once again refused. As ''Gunilda'' didn't have any towing bitts, a sling was slung around her and attached to ''James Whalen'', and she pulled ''Gunilda'' directly astern. ''Gunilda'' engines were reversed, but she remained on the shoal. They then tried to swing the stern back and forth, but this also failed. Wrecking master J. Wolvin of ''James Whalen'' decided to pull solely to starboard, as it was impossible to maneuver her stern to the port. ''Gunilda'' slid off the shoal, but as she slid into the water, she suddenly keeled over, and her masts hit the water. Water poured in through the portholes, doors, companionways, hatches, and skylights. ''Gunilda'' sank in a couple of minutes. As she sank, the crew of ''James Whalen'' cut the towline, fearing that ''Gunilda'' would pull her down as well. After ''Gunilda'' sank, the people who remained on her were picked up by ''James Whalen''.

Lloyd's of London paid out a $100,000 insurance policy.

''Gunilda'' wreck

This ship is very well-preserved, as can be seen from photographs taken by a dive team in 2022.“Century old sunken ship preserved in perfect condition beneath Lake Superior”
Caters News Agency (2022).

''Gunilda'' today

The wreck of ''Gunilda'' was discovered in 1967 by Chuck Zender, who also made the first-ever dive to her. Her wreck rests on an even keel in of water to the lake bottom, and to her deck at the base of McGarvey Shoal. Her wreck is very intact, with everything that was on her when she sank still in place, including her entire superstructure, compass binnacle, and both of her masts. Numerous artefacts including a piano, several lanterns, and various pieces of furniture remain on board. Most of the paint on her hull survives, including the gilding. In 1980, Jacques Cousteau and the Cousteau Society used the research vessel ''Calypso'' and the diving saucer ''SP-350 Denise'' to dive and film the wreck. The Cousteau Society called ''Gunilda'' "the best-preserved, most prestigious shipwreck in the world" and "the most beautiful shipwreck in the world".

Two divers have died on the wreck of ''Gunilda''. Charles "King" Hague died in 1970; his body was recovered in 1976. Reg Barrett from Burlington, Ontario died in 1989.

In 2019 a blogger on the Professional Association of Diving Instructors Tecrec blogsite named ''Gunilda'' the second-best technical diving site in the world, after the German battleship SMS ''Markgraf'' in Scapa Flow.

Salvage attempts

Ed and Harold Flatt of Thunder Bay, Ontario launched the first salvage attempt on ''Gunilda''. They used cranes and a barge to hook onto ''Gunilda'' hull, managing to haul a piece of her mast up to the surface. They made another failed attempt in 1968, but a storm wrecked their barge and washed away most of their equipment.

In the 1970s, Fred Broennle made several attempts to raise ''Gunilda''. In August 1970 Broennle and his dive partner, 23-year old Charles "King" Hague, dove ''Gunilda'' wreck. On August 8, 1970 Broennle and Hague anchored over the wreck, but there were complications during the dive; Hague dove first, dying in the process. Broennle tried to rescue him but got decompression sickness.

In about 1973 or 1974 Broennle set up Deep Diving Systems to raise ''Gunilda'' wreck, building several diving bells and purchasing several barges, cranes, and a Biomarine CCR 1000 rebreather. Several of his earlier dives were unsuccessful.

During the salvage efforts, Broennle recovered a brass grate from one of the skylights.

In April 1976 Broennle bought the wreck of ''Gunilda'' from Lloyd's of London on the condition that he could raise her. On July 13, 1976 while exploring the wreck with underwater cameras, Broennle located Hague's remains close to the wreck, near the port side of the stern, and recovered them sometime later. In September 1976 Broennle planned to dive ''Gunilda'' with his submersible ''Constructor'', which cost Deep Diving Systems $1.5 million to design and build. ''Constructor'' bankrupted Broennle and Deep Diving Systems, ending their salvage efforts.
In 1998, the story of Broennle's salvage efforts were made into a film, ''Drowning in Dreams''.

References

Sources

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External links

Gunilda 2001, by Terry Irvine via YouTubeGunilda 2011 - 100 Years, by Terry Irvine via YouTubeGunilda 2016, by Richard Kurzel via YouTubeYacht Gunilda, by Liquid ProductionsGunilda - Great Lakes Shipwreck Photos, by Shipwreck Explorers

{{Recreational dive sites, wresit

1897 ships
Maritime incidents in 1911
Ships built in Scotland
Shipwrecks of Canada
Shipwrecks of Lake Superior
Steam yachts
Yachts of New York Yacht Club members
Ships sunk with no fatalities
Shipwrecks of the Ontario coast
Wreck diving sites