Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia Vol. 33 No. 4 Last Quarter Texada Island - Sturt Bay Shipwreck Investigation A Report by, Jacques Marc The UASBC made a trip to Sturt Bay on Texada Island on October 15th 2017 to investigate three wrecks located by the Canadian Hydrographic Service during survey operations in the fall of 2016. Wreck coordinates and images were provided by Duncan Havens, a Multidisciplinary Hydrographer of the Canadian Hydrographic Service Canadian Hydrographic Multi-beam survey showing the three wrecks in Sturt Bay. Courtesy Canadian Hydrographic Service The least depth coordinates 49 45 .801N by 124 33 .657 W provided by CHS, put us on the stern of the wreck. TheOur tide first height dive wasat the completed time of our on dive Wreck was #1 5.3 which feet. Onlies this on Scotttide the Rock stern at the of theentrance wreck to was Sturt in 40Bay. feet of water found the barge to be 46 meters (151 ft) long by 13 meters (42.6 ft) wide. The barge is made of steel with low and the bow was in 90 feet of water. The wreck was identified as a steel open deck barge. Survey measurements Continued on page 2 Page 1 Texada Island - Sturt Bay Shipwreck Investigation(cont’d) sidewalls along the deck and was most likely used for gravel or other material, but could also have been used to transport equipment. The barge is almost identical in construction and design to the barge in the photo below. Https://commons.wikimedia.org Utility barge at Anchor, Powell River BC by its skegs. (Skegs are used to increase the directional stability of towed barges) There is a substantial holeThe in barge the bottom lies on of the the north barge side on ofthe Scott starboard Rock, bowside downabout and1/3 cantedof the way to the back port. from The the stern bow. is Localidentified resi- Ltd. that sank prior to 2000. We do not know its name or designation and there is no record of its loss in thedent List and of commercial Shipping Casualties diver Sasha for VanBC waters. Kessel identifiedThe barge the is covered barge as in one plumose operated anemones by Westview so makes Dredging for a pleasant dive. See photos below. Stern of barge with steering Skeg visible Bow of barge with Plumose Anemones (J Marc)Photo (J Marc) Photo Page 2 Continued on page 3 Texada Island - Sturt Bay Shipwreck Investigation(cont’d) put us on the shore end of the Yacht Club visitor dock. The wreck is directly below the dock. The depth to the wreckOur secondwas 49 divefeet occurredon an 8.5 onfoot wreck tide. The#3 (possible possible wreckwreck). is The a small location wooden of the tug wreck which 49 is 45.599much deteriorated. N by 124 33 .862The stem post is extant and equipped with a steel grouser and rubber tires for pushing. The deck and wheel house are missing. At the aft end there is a towing bit. Inside the exposed hull there is an inline 6 cylinder diesel engine and a couple of fuel tanks. A fellow from the yacht club asked us not to disturb the fuel tank as it has leaked in the past. We did a length measurement and the tug is 9.3 meters long. Jacques , Jiri,George, Sasha Van Kessel Victory XII Courtesy Nauticapedia. Anji Smith Fotos Mike Wright Photo. BC,Sasha in 1941. Van HerKessel registered identified length the wreck was 10.7 as the meters Victory and XII. she I waslooked powered it up on by Nauticapedia.com a 220 BHP engine. The Victory XII (registration no. 173743) was a wooden tug built at the Benson Shipyard in Vancouver It is reported that she was abandoned at sea in Georgia Strait and sank on April 21, 1979. WhileShe wasthere owned is a 1 inmeter her finaldiscreprency years (1979-1982) in our measurement by Hattco Marinein relation Services to the of tug Vancouver. length, the style of the vessel and the level of deterioration are consistent with a vessel that sank 37 years ago. Bow of Victory XII Stern Towing Bit on Victory XII Page 3 (J Marc)Photo (J Marc)Photo Continued on page 4 Texada Island - Sturt Bay Shipwreck Investigation(cont’d) of a modern shipyard ways in Sturt Bay. The coordinates provided, put us slightly up slope of the wreck. The wreck liesOur on third a sand dive mud occurred sloping on bottom wreck with #2. Thethe sternlocation in shallower of the wreck water 49 45and .598 the Nbow by at124 60 33 feet .923 on W7.6 is foot just tide. off shore The vessel was stripped prior to sinking. It has no engine, propeller or steering wheel. The fact that the propeller nut remainsfish boat onis madethe shaft of wood, is evidence is painted that darkthe vessel blue in was colour salvaged and measuresbefore being 11 meterssunk. The in length.vessel hasIt is been clear under that the water - less than 10 years given its reasonably good condition. Sasha identified the wreck as the Norna. The Norna II (reg ofistration Victoria no. BC. 170925) Her registry was a was wooden closed fish May boat 1, 2007.built at There Prince is Rupertno record in 1939.Herof her sinking. registered length was 10.4 meters and she was powered by a 140 BHP engine. In her final years (2003-2007) she was owned by Miroslaw Majewski Norna II Wheelhouse Norna II Shaft and Rudder (J Marc)Photo (J Marc)Photo Divers in Powell River Page 4 Divers in Powell River (J Marc)Photo Anji Smith Fotos SEARCHING FOR THE EMILY HARRIS SEARCHING FOR THE EMILY HARRIS By Warren Oliver Bush Emily Harris (Complements from BC Archives g-00356) On 12 Sunday 2017, ten divers set sail from Sidney’s Vancouver Island Marina aboard the MV Cape Able in of freight. couldThe accommodatevessel would have fifteen rapidly passengers become and a regular eighty tons UASBC made a similar trip using the same vessel in sight around Victoria, Nanaimo, and the Southern Gulf 2016.search of the final resting place of the Emily Harris. Islands. Its operational history mainly consisted of ferrying coal between Victoria and Nanaimo, but trips to various way ports occurred regularly, and in 1862 it 3 JanuaryEarly Victorian 1861. The shipbuilder Daily British Peter Colonist Holme recordedlaunched herthe Emilydimensions Harris as from “100 his feet Laurel in length, Point 16shipyard feet of onbeam Victoria’s early citizenry would have accepted her as a even ventured as far north as the Stikine River. Indeed, and 6 feet, 6 inches depth of hold.” Based on a surviv- Unfortunately, on the evening of 14 August 1871 the stalwart member of the town’s fleet. historians also know that she was schooner rigged on mastsing sketch fore inand the aft Royal and sheBritish had Columbia a small cabin Museum, amid-ship. which sent her to the bottom of Trincomali Channel. Emily Harris experienced an apparent boiler explosion, - She had previously loaded coal at Nanaimo, and made sociated machinery, “will be 30 horsepower, and have an uneventful southbound transit until the explosion. 12Further, inch cylinders the Colonist and confirms an 18 inch that stroke. the engines The screw and isas The vessel sank after drifting around for thirty minutes. four feet six inches in diameter, 17 inches long. The - boiler, which is tubular, was built at Watson’s machine cessfully swam to Saltspring Island’s shore. The next Three first Nation men and the half breed engineer suc shop…It has been tested with hydraulic power and morning they turned up on the doorstep of Saltspring’s Page 5 Continued on page 6 withstood a pressure of 140 pounds.” The Emily Harris Searching for the Emily Harris(cont’d) Constable, Henry Sampson. Captain Frain, the cook, The intrepid team spent a brief surface interval and a passenger either drowned or succumbed to Dan Weinberger used Diver Propulsion Vehicles to reorganizing their gear, while Ewan Anderson and initiated a search around the surrounding waters to locateinjuries survivors sustained or in wreckage, the blast. but Authorities almost all quickly evidence exceptcircumnavigate they began Atkins south Reef, of Walker to no avail. Hook, The and second south set of dives had the same dive profile as the first, somewhere on the seabed. The wreck has never been found.of the Emily Harris remains shrouded in mystery, were a few tires, a Cater-pillar track and an occa- of the previous end point. The only reported finds - sional bottle or two. Both dives lasted approximately derson, Warren Bush, Dan Downes, Barry Janzen, Jiri 45 minutes. Kotler,It was Cyril with Kwan, such thoughtsJacques Marc, in mind George that Silvestrini,Ewan An On the return trip to Vancouver Island Marina, the Paul Spencer and Dan Weinberger set out to explore divers employed the recently installed side scan so- the area of Trincomali Channel between Walker Hook nar on the Cape Able to search for the resting place of and Captains Passage. After loading gear and depart- the Henry Foss, known to be somewhere northwest ing Vancouver Island Marina, the Cape Able transited of the Channel Islands. One is left with the impres- northeast through Satellite Channel and then north sion that such an en-deavour is half science, half art, through Captain Passage. and a whole lot of staring at a screen. contour off Saltspring’s eastern shoreline, start-ing at The divers returned to terra firma at 17:30, and WalkerThe first Hook set and of dives moving focused south. on Four a 30 teams to 40 quicklyfoot remains undiscovered, but once again the UASBC dispersed.