AH-WR-0258

SS Africa

Bulk Freighter · United States · Lost 1895 · Georgian Bay & the North Channel

An American coal steamer that vanished with 11 crew and her towed barge in an October snowstorm, found intact in 2023 after 128 years.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Africa was a wooden propeller steamer hauling coal from Ashtabula, Ohio, to Owen Sound, Ontario, towing the barge Severn. An October 1895 snowstorm snapped the towline; Severn ran aground and her crew survived, but Africa vanished with all 11 aboard. The wreck went unfound until documentary filmmakers located it off the Bruce Peninsula in 2023.

Vessel

Built: 1874
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 148 ft
Beam: 26 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, propeller
Owners: Owen Sound Steamship Company

Loss

Date: October 4, 1895
Cause: Storm
Location: Lake Huron off the Bruce Peninsula, near the entrance to Georgian Bay
Water: Lake Huron
Voyage: Ashtabula, Ohio → Owen Sound, Ontario
Cargo: Coal
Aboard: 11
Lives lost: 11
Master: Captain Hans Peter Larsen

The Wreck Today

Depth: 280 ft
Condition: Largely intact, resting upright on the lake bed
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 2023
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 44.90° N 81.25° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Bruce Peninsula / Owen Sound, Ontario
Region: Georgian Bay & the North Channel

General area only: coordinate of the Bruce Peninsula, Bruce County, Ontario, from the Canadian Geographical Names Database, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.