1928 shipwreck found with a Chevy on board by Windsor diver and international team
The Manasoo sank just off Griffith Island in Georgian Bay, killing 16 people
A ship that's been under water since September 1928 has been located by a Windsor maritime historian and his shipwreck enthusiast team.
The Manasoo, formerly the Macassa, sunk with 21 people on board and 116 head of cattle, according to Cris Kohl. Only five people survived.
"The ship unfortunately fell victim to that superstitious sailor's belief, that it's very unlucky to change the ship's name," said Kohl. "And it didn't survive its first full season under its new name."
The ship originally travelled between Toronto and Hamilton, before it was bought by the Owen Sound Transportation Company, according to Kohl.
It was carrying passengers toward Owen Sound when it fell to its demise. Kohl and a team of shipwreck enthusiasts from Minnesota, Ken Merryman and Jerry Eliason, found the ship about a kilometre away from Griffith Island.
They found it "almost in perfect condition," he said. There was also an unexpected find of a 1927 Chevrolet Coupe — the owner was the sole surviving passenger of the ship. He and four crew members were able to make it onto a life raft.
The team found the ship on June 30 this year. The very next day, they found another wreck in the Georgian Bay, this time of 1906 coastal steamer J.H. Jones.
For Kohl, spending time researching shipwrecks and then going to find them is a way of solving a mystery, and providing closure for any family members.
"If we find it and let them know what it looks like and perhaps there's even an indication on the shipwreck as to why it sank, well then that puts closure on the whole family tragedy for them."