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On Sunday October 25th, the Niagara II arrived in
Tobermory, towed by the "Miseford of the Nadro
Marine fleet. The owners of the vessel, the
Tobermory Maritime Association plans on making
her diver ready by early May and scuttling her
just outside the Fathom Five Underwater Park
boundary.
As Secretary for the Tobermory Maritime Association
I would like to bring you up to speed with our
current project, "The Sinking of the Niagara 11",
and to ask for your help.
Our first major, and probably the most news
worthy, activity was the purchase of the 182'
freighter the "Niagara II". The "Niagara II"
was built in 1930 by the Furness Shipbuilding
Company Ltd. of Haverton Hill-on-Tees, England.
She had a gross tonnage of 723 , 35'3""beam and a
13' draft. Launched as the" Rideaulite" she
worked for Imperial Oil on the Montreal to
Ottawa route by way of the Lower St. Lawrence
canals and the Ottawa River. In 1954 her name was
changed to the "Niagara" and she was converted to
a self unloading sand sucker at Toronto Dry Dock
Ltd. At this time the wheel house was moved aft.
In 1969 she became the "W.M. Edington" and had
several members of our present day community as
crew. She had several owners over the next few
years and in 1972 was converted to diesel.
In 1984 her name was changed to the "Niagara II"
and in 1990 the she had her engines removed and
was converted to a barge. By 1997 McKeil Marine
had decided to sell her for scrap and this is
where the Tobermory Maritime Association came
in.
What would Tobermory want with an old freighter?
This being the Scuba Diving Capital of Canada,
the answer became obvious. ...Sink it!
We are of the opinion that sinking the Niagara 11
near Tobermory will enhance "The Scuba Diving
Experience" for anyone coming here to dive. From
the newly certified enthusiast to the diver who
has been here, seen it, and got the T-shirt, so
to speak.
We are currently looking at several sites to sink
the ship in approximately 90-100' of water. This
would place the wheelhouse and upper works in about
30' of depth. This wreck will be placed so that all
levels of certification will get the ideal diving
experience. Having done a lot of work on her so
far, I can tell you that she will make an ideal
shipwreck. The superstructure will offer area's
of overhead and easy penetration in shallow water,
while the engine room and forepeak will offer more
challenging area's to explore.
As you very well must imagine, a project of this
magnitude is quite costly. We initially budgeted
$100,000.00 however at this time it would appear
that the final price tag for creating this new
divesite will come in at closer to $130,000.00.
We have already raised $25,000 ( mostly through
donations from local businesses) and have obtained
a line of credit of $45,000.00 to proceed with
this project, however we need to raise a
substantial amount of money to complete this
endeavor.
We are going to be affixing stainless steel, or
brass plaques to the ship in a permanent manner.
Individual plaques about the size of a credit card
go for $100.00 these are popular for individuals
who would like their name placed on the wreck.
More appropriate for a Dive Club, or other
organization is the corporate plaque (about
the size of a license plate). For $500.00 your
Club name will be immortalized for future
generations of divers to see, every time they
dive the Niagara 11. We are soliciting the help
of dive clubs and shops throughout Ontario,
Michigan, Ohio, and New York State through our
plaque program. It is quite conceivable that
with these contributions the Niagara 11 project
will be bought and paid for by the time she hits
the bottom in early May.
We will be organizing work weekends on the Niagara
11 throughout the fall and winter, if you are able
to participate please let us know and we will email
you the dates. (conceivably every weekend other than
Christmas Holidays)
Should you require anymore information regarding
the project and wish to help out, do not hesitate
to call me at 519-596-2289 or email me at
tatours@log.on.ca
and I will respond to you as
soon as is possible.
Kind Regards,
Ray Davis
Secretary, Tobermory Maritime Association
