St. Peter (shipwreck)

A small schooner under tow by a small steamship
St. Peter under tow.
History
United States
NameSt. Peter
Completed1873
FateSank October 27, 1898
General characteristics
Length135.7 ft (41.4 m)
Beam26 ft (7.9 m)
Depth of hold12.1 ft (3.7 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planThree-masted schooner rig
St. Peter (Shipwreck)
Divers investigate the wreck of St. Peter.
St. Peter (shipwreck) is located in New York
St. Peter (shipwreck)
St. Peter (shipwreck) is located in the United States
St. Peter (shipwreck)
LocationAddress Restricted, Pultneyville, New York
Coordinates43°18′42″N 77°7′52″W / 43.31167°N 77.13111°W / 43.31167; -77.13111
Area9.1 acres (3.7 ha)
Built1873
ArchitectSkidmore & Abir; Edwards, Dave
Architectural styleGreat Lakes schooner
NRHP reference No.04000226[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 22, 2004

St. Peter is a historic Great Lakes schooner that sank in 1898 in Lake Ontario near Pultneyville in Wayne County, New York.

Construction and characteristics

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St. Peter was a three-masted schooner built in 1873.[2][3] She measured 135.7 feet (41.4 m) in length and 26 feet (7.9 m) in beam, and her depth of hold was 12.1 feet (3.7 m).[4]

Sinking

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Late on the afternoon of October 26, 1898, St. Peter was sailing in southeastern Lake Ontario off the coast of New York westbound for Toledo, Ohio,[2] with a cargo of 607 short tons (542 long tons; 551 tonnes) of "chestnut coal"[4] when she encountered a blizzard with gale-force winds.[2] Facing 20-foot (6.1 m) seas and 70-mile-per-hour (61 kn; 113 km/h) winds, her captain turned eastward to run with the wind.[2]

Early on the morning of October 27, 1898, after a 12-hour overnight battle in darkness against the storm, St. Peter rolled on her side and sank off Bear Creek on the coast of New York, just west of Sodus Bay and 16 miles (14 nmi; 26 km) east of the Charlotte Life Saving Station in Charlotte, New York, just as a United States Life-Saving Service rescue boat approached her.[2][5] The Life-Saving Service surfmen rescued her captain, who they found unconscious and clinging to a spar.[2][5] The captain's wife and the other four members of St. Peter′s crew perished.[2][5]

Wreck

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St. Peter′s wreck was discovered in 1971.[2] It sits upright on the bottom of Lake Ontario in 117 feet (36 m) of water northeast of Pultneyville, New York.[2][3] Its deck and lower hull are intact.[2]

The wreck was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 22, 2004.[1] It was included within the boundaries of the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary when the sanctuary was created on September 6, 2024.[3] It is one of the most accessible shipwrecks for recreational divers in the sanctuary.[2][3] The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has captured photographs of the wreck which it has used to create a three-dimensional photogrammetric model of it.[2]

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) photos of the wreck of St. Peter:

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Explore the Blue: 360° Lake Ontario Schooner St. Peter". sanctuaries.noaa.gov/. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 16, 2024. (article and video narrative).
  3. ^ a b c d Plunkett, Rachel (June 2024). "Introducing Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary: A Maritime Legacy". sanctuaries.noaa.gov. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Mark Peckham (March 2003). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Peter". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2009-06-14. See also: "Accompanying six photos".
  5. ^ a b c "Annual report of the United States Life Saving Service, Year ending June 30, 1899". University of Michigan. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Peter (ship, 1873).
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