AH-WR-0844

Chanson d'Mer

Ketch · United States · Lost 1983 · Southern California & Catalina

A sailing ketch lost to fire off Catalina's Hamilton Cove in 1983, tentatively identified decades later by technical divers matching depth and dimensions to historical loss records.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Chanson d'Mer, a sailing ketch, was destroyed by a fire that broke out aboard on November 30, 1983, and sank near Hamilton Cove at Catalina Island. The wreck went undived and effectively forgotten for decades until local technical divers located a matching site around 2020 at roughly 160 feet and, comparing its dimensions and position to historical loss records, proposed its identification as the Chanson d'Mer.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Not established
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: November 30, 1983
Cause: Fire
Location: Near Hamilton Cove, Santa Catalina Island, California
Water: Pacific Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 160 ft
Condition: A picturesque, largely intact wreck reported by technical divers at roughly 160 feet
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 33.35° N 118.33° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Hamilton Cove, Santa Catalina Island, California
Region: Southern California & Catalina

General area only: coordinate of Hamilton Cove on Santa Catalina Island, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (30/100)

The identification of this wreck as Chanson d'Mer is based on circumstantial matching by recreational technical divers rather than a formal archaeological or archival survey, and construction details of the vessel are not established.