Water Witch
Schooner · United States · Lost 1866 · Lake Champlain
Built as a steamboat in 1832 and converted to sail, she foundered under iron ore in 1866 with a family aboard; her hull survives intact.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Water Witch was built at Vergennes, Vermont, in 1832 as a steamboat and converted to a two-masted schooner in 1835 after purchase by the Champlain Transportation Company. She carried freight on the lake for more than three decades. On April 26, 1866, loaded with iron ore and commanded by Captain Thomas Mock with his family aboard, she foundered in a spring squall and the captain's infant was lost in the cabin. Discovered in 1977, the intact hull is now a Vermont Underwater Historic Preserve.
Vessel
- 1832
- Not established
- Vergennes, Vermont
- Wood
- 83 ft
- 17 ft
- Not established
- Schooner rig; built as a steamboat and converted to sail in 1835
- Champlain Transportation Company (from 1835)
Loss
- April 26, 1866
- Storm
- Near Diamond Island, off the mouth of Otter Creek
- Lake Champlain
- Not established
- Iron ore
- 5
- 1
- Thomas Mock
The Wreck Today
- 90 ft
- Fully intact and upright; among the oldest intact commercial sailing vessels found in United States waters.
- Not established
- 1977
- Vermont Underwater Historic Preserve
Position
- 44.233° N 73.335° W
- Surveyed position
- Vergennes, Vermont
Position published by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
Build history, loss account, coordinates, condition.
Shipwreck World, Jim Kennard side-scan survey
Discovery and sonar survey account.
