Waubuno
Passenger And Freight Steamer · Canada · Lost 1879 · Georgian Bay & the North Channel
A Georgian Bay excursion steamer that vanished with all 24 aboard in a November gale, its wreck never conclusively found.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Waubuno was a small sidewheel steamer running passengers and freight between Collingwood and Parry Sound through the 1860s and 1870s. Already considered near the end of her working life, she left Collingwood on November 22, 1879, and sailed into a severe gale. She was never seen again, and only scattered wreckage confirmed her loss.
Vessel
- 1865
- Melancthon Simpson
- Port Robinson, Ontario
- Wood
- 135 ft
- 19 ft
- 193
- Steam, sidewheel paddle
- Georgian Bay Transportation Company
Loss
- November 22, 1879
- Storm
- Georgian Bay, south of Parry Sound, Ontario
- Georgian Bay, Lake Huron
- Collingwood, Ontario → Parry Sound, Ontario
- General freight
- 24
- 24
- Captain George Burkett
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Never located intact; scattered wreckage and an anchor were recovered near Moose Point
- Not established
- 1879 (wreckage) / hull not conclusively found
- Not established
Position
- 45.121° N 80.166° W
- Surveyed position
- Parry Sound, Ontario
Wikipedia's PS Waubuno article and the Divers' Nook dive-site guide both give the same coordinates (45°07'15"N, 80°09'58"W) for the wreck near Bradden/Wreck Island, Georgian Bay, corroborating each other.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)
The exact cause of sinking and the final resting place of the hull are not established in the sources reviewed.
Ontario Heritage Trust
Build details, date of loss, casualty count.
Ownership and voyage summary.
wreck position
wreck position
