Cam Owen
Brigantine · United Kingdom · Lost 1886 · Hudson Bay & Hudson Strait
A Hudson's Bay Company supply brigantine wrecked in a gale near Cape Churchill in 1886, with her entire company brought safely ashore.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1883 at Grand River, Prince Edward Island, the brigantine Cam Owen was purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1884 for its London-Hudson Bay supply run. On the night of 30-31 August 1886, nearing the end of her voyage to Churchill, she was wrecked on rocks near Cape Churchill during a heavy gale. Her crew and passengers escaped by ship's boat to the nearest shore, and the first mate and two men rowed on to Churchill to summon help; there was no loss of life.
Vessel
- 1883
- Registered London 85792
- J. M'Dougall
- Grand River, Prince Edward Island
- Wood
- 126.15 ft
- 28.7 ft
- 342
- Sail
- Hudson's Bay Company
Loss
- August 31, 1886
- Storm
- Near Cape Churchill, Hudson Bay
- Hudson Bay
- London, England → Churchill, Hudson Bay
- Hudson's Bay Company trade goods
- 13
- 0
- John Hawes
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Cape Churchill, Manitoba
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (82/100)
Exact wreck coordinates and present condition of the site are not established in the sources reviewed.
Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba
Build, dimensions, ownership, masters, and full account of the 1886 wrecking.
Red River Ancestry (Captain John Hawes biography)
Additional narrative detail on captain and circumstances of loss.
