Gananoque
Bark (or Barque) · Lost 1881 · The Gulf of St Lawrence
The former New Zealand emigrant clipper Gananoque struck an iceberg off the Magdalen Islands on May 10, 1881; her crew were rescued from Bird Rocks.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built at Lauzon, Quebec, in 1857, the clipper Gananoque carried government emigrants to New Zealand in the early 1860s. In 1874 an iceberg off Cape Race forced her crew to abandon her, but she was found derelict, towed to St. John's, repaired and re-rigged as a bark. On May 10, 1881, bound from Belfast to Miramichi, she struck another iceberg four miles off Bird Rocks in the Magdalen Islands and sank quickly. Her crew landed on Bird Rocks and were rescued two days later.
Vessel
- 1857
- George T. Davie & Sons
- Lauzon, Quebec
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Sail
- Not established
Loss
- May 10, 1881
- Ice
- About four miles off Bird Rocks, Magdalen Islands
- Gulf of St. Lawrence
- Belfast, Ireland → Miramichi, New Brunswick
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Magdalen Islands, Quebec
No pin: no surveyed wreck position in the sources used.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)
Based on a published secondary account; original records were not independently inspected.
Article narrative of construction, voyage and loss (secondary summary of cited books and newspapers).
National Research Council Canada — Ship-Iceberg Collision Incident Report, Gananoque
Barque built 1857 by G. T. Davie, Quebec; total loss 10 May 1881 at Bird Rocks near the Magdalen Islands.
