Gunilda Shipwreck

Coming around towards Rossport, on the northwest side of Copper Island, the Gunilda rammed hard on McGarvey’s Shoal. The keel raised some 6 feet out of the water. McGarvey’s Shoal rises from the bottom of Lake Superior from 270 feet to 3 feet. All aboard were taken off the vessel and into Rossport, where Harkness contacted his insurance and the tug “James Whalen” was dispatched from Port Arthur.

Under direct instructions from Harkness, the tug pulled the Gunilda off the Shoal against the salvers’ suggestions. As the “James Whalen” pulled the yacht away from its obstruction, the Gunilda took on water through its collision hole and listed badly to starboard. She filled with water and swiftly sank to the bottom, resting some 3 feet away from the vertical rise of McGarvey’s Shoal in 270 feet of water.

The Cousteau Society once visited the wreck of the Gunilda and claimed it was the most well-preserved and prestigious shipwreck in the world.

Since its sinking, several salvage attempts have been made, but none were anywhere near successful. In 1970, the Gunilda took its first diving casualty, Charles King Hague. King was searching for the wreck with his diving partner, Fred Broennle. This tragedy then instilled a lifelong ambition in Fred Broennle to salvage Gunilda. In 1976, Fred’s company, Deep Diving Systems, used high-tech remote underwater TV camera systems to locate and recover King Hague’s body. Financial difficulties later arose that prevented Fred from raising the Gunilda.

In 1997, the Canadian National Film Board filmed and produced a documentary about Fred Broennle’s dreams of raising Gunilda, “Drowning in Dreams.” I worked for Fred’s “Deep Diving Systems” company in Thunder Bay in 1978 during the submersible “Constructor” sea trials. Joyce and I were there during the NFB filming, and it was great to meet Fred again.  During this event, we also enjoyed meeting Charles King Hague’s widow, Maria Phipps.  Maria was a wealth of information when making this film.  The film is now available on the NFB website, but only if you are in Canada. If you are in the USA, you must use a VPN. Here is the link:

https://www.nfb.ca/film/drowning-in-dreams/

The wreck has become a dive site of great interest to technical divers. They now know it as the “G” spot.

Later, in 1989, the wreck site took another life of a deep diver, Reg Barrett, from Burlington, Ontario.

I took this video and video clips in September 2000 and 2001. To see the gold leafing still present on the bowsprit brings chills. It truly is one of the most well-preserved shipwrecks of its age. Hopefully, accelerated diver traffic will not harm the “Reluctant Lady of McGarvey’s Shoal.” Care should be taken when swimming around this prestigious shipwreck site.