The Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
Builder: Melancthon Simpson
Built: 1867
Fate: Sunk in Big Tub Harbour September 1885
Depth: 20 ft
Type: Schooner
Tonnage: 218 gross tons
Length: 119 ft
Beam: 23 ft
Depth of Hold: 10 ft
Sweepstakes was a Canadian schooner built in Burlington, Ontario in 1867. It was damaged off Cove Island, then towed to Big Tub Harbour in the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron (not Lake Ontario), where it sank in September 1885. The remains of Sweepstakes lie in Big Tub Harbour, located in the Fathom Five National Marine Park, in Tobermory, Ontario. This schooner is said to be one of the most popular wrecks in the park, where it is often visited by tour boat passengers, divers, and snorkelers. Sweepstakes is one of the several shipwrecks located in the Fathom Five National Marine Park.
Construction
Sweepstakes was built in Burlington, Ontario in 1867, by Melancthon Simpson. The two-masted wooden schooner’s length was 119 ft and the hull’s maximum depth was 20 ft.
The schooner weighed approximately 218 tonnes. Sweepstakes was last owned by George Stewart, who lived in Mooretown, Ontario.
Sinking
Damaged off Cove Island in August 1885, the Sweepstakes was then towed to the head of Big Tub Harbour, located in the Fathom Five National Marine Park, in Tobermory Ontario, by a tugboat known as Jessie.
The schooner suffered serious damage and was not repaired in time, causing it to sink in September 1885. Sweepstakes was transporting coal and the coal was retrieved after the boat sank.