After 45+ years of active wreck hunting, our group has located the wreck of the James C Carruthers in the southern part of Lake Huron.
Launched in June of 1913, the Carruthers was the largest ship ever built in Canada and was one of the first to be equipped with a wireless transmitter and electric telephones. She also had a unique steering gear controlled by hydraulics instead of cables. At 550ft long and coming in at 11,000 tons deadweight, she was amongst the largest freighters at the time on the Great Lakes ( the largest American vessels were longer by 60ft) and had the capacity of hauling nearly 400,000 bushels of wheat which exceeded most American contemporaries due to her unique design. Her builders at Collingwood sacrificed some of her carrying capacity for extra steel on her internal arches and ballast tanks in the name of safety. The Carruthers was also one of the first vessels to be equipped with steel cargo hatches.
The Carruthers had several teething issues with her steering gear along with a collision which further damaged the fantail. By October 1913, the Carruthers had only sailed 3 times in her 4 month lifespan. The Carruthers departed Collingwood shipyard on Halloween 1913 bound for Fort William Ontario (now called Thunder Bay) light. She was scheduled to pick up 375,000 bushels of wheat which took up 375 train cars of capacity and would have set the record had the Carruthers completed her voyage. While loading up at Fort William, the J.H. Sheadle under the command of Stephan Lyons also loaded grain and consulted with Captain Wright of the Carruthers to sail down Lake Superior together.
Both vessels departed on the afternoon of Nov 7th into a freshening gale. The two ships became separated when the Sheadle sought cover on the north shore of the lake while the Carruthers soldiered on facing the wrath of Lake Superior. On Saturday November 8th, the Carruthers made it to the Soo after a long night and afternoon on Lake Superior. Behind her came the Sheadle and the Hydrus. The 3 vessels locked through in the late evening hours and made their way down the St Mary's river. The last official sighting of the Carruthers and the Hydrus occured when the two stopped at the coal dock on Detour. The Hydrus and Carruthers sailed off and were never seen again.
On Sunday November 9th, the gale that had battered Lake Superior seemed to have moved off to the east for the time being. What concerned many was the heavy drop in barometric pressure that put the needle at its lowest reading. By noon, the gale had renewed its strength several fold. The winds began to blow at 40+ mph and the seas began to build rapidly. Sleet turned to snow and the temperatures plummeted building ice across the decks. By 6 PM, the winds were howling at 65mph and waves were approaching 20 feet. The southern end of Lake Huron was being pummeled by the storm surge and heavy winds that knocked out power to the lighthouses at Fort Gratiot and Point Edward and Lightship 61 was ripped off her moorings at Corsica Shoals. With no guides into the St Clair River, vessels were now trapped on Lake Huron.
From 6PM to 2AM, winds became sustained at 75mph with gusts approaching or exceeding 100mph, the White Hurricane began in earnest. In that time frame 8 steel freighters were lost with all hands on Lake Huron and nearly a half dozen more were driven aground. On Lake Superior two steel freighters were lost with all hands. On Lake Michigan, a wooden barge was lost with all hands when her tug cut her loose and left her at the mercy of the storm. On Lake Erie where the 4th lowest barometric pressure ever recorded, a government lightship sank with the loss of her entire crew.
In the coming days, bodies and wreckage of the lost vessels on Lake Huron came ashore in Canada and the grim toll spoke of horrible losses out on the lakes. The James Carruthers was reported overdue on Tuesday, and the next day the first bodies came ashore near Goderich confirming her loss and shaking the Canadian mariner community to their core. How did the pride of Canada sink with no distress signal and equipped with the latest technology at the time? The debate led to changes in her sister ship the JHG Hagarty that was still on the blocks at Collingwood. The Hagarty was fitted with wooden hatches and even higher ballast tanks in compensation for the loss of the Carruthers. The Hagarty would sail until the late 1960s.
Over the years the Carruthers was believed to have foundered off Kincardine Ontario because she had missed the turn into Georgian Bay. Several wreck hunters had tried to locate her in that area including myself in 2017 and 18 with no success. On May 26th 2025, we were surveying the coast off Port Sanilac when a massive wreck hit our sonar screen.
We knew right away due to her size that the wreck was the Carruthers. The last freighter missing on Lake Huron and the largest undiscovered wreck on the lake. Two months would pass before our first dives on the wreck were attempted. To our disappointment, the Carruthers is completely upside down with no entry points for further exploration.
We did solve some mysteries though in the course of our dives. The Carruthers is much further south by nearly 80 miles from where prior efforts looked. Why did she founder so far down the lake? Through insurance claims and original newspaper articles, we discovered that the Carruthers was not bound for Georgian Bay like originally thought, but was bound for Lake Erie. We also discovered that she was missing both of her anchors which meant the captain tried to turn into the waves. Her massive cargo of wheat is rotting and shrouds the wreck in a yellow haze.
We believe that the Carruthers had lost her steering and was wallowing in the troughs of the waves for awhile before she capsized. In a effort to prevent the capsizing, Wright ordered the anchors deployed, but the 35ft seas ripped them out of their hawsers and the Carruthers wallowed again before capsizing and floating for awhile upside down before finally sinking. The event must have been quick for few bodies were recovered and a motorized skiff remains with the wreck.
Launched in June of 1913, the Carruthers was the largest ship ever built in Canada and was one of the first to be equipped with a wireless transmitter and electric telephones. She also had a unique steering gear controlled by hydraulics instead of cables. At 550ft long and coming in at 11,000 tons deadweight, she was amongst the largest freighters at the time on the Great Lakes ( the largest American vessels were longer by 60ft) and had the capacity of hauling nearly 400,000 bushels of wheat which exceeded most American contemporaries due to her unique design. Her builders at Collingwood sacrificed some of her carrying capacity for extra steel on her internal arches and ballast tanks in the name of safety. The Carruthers was also one of the first vessels to be equipped with steel cargo hatches.
The Carruthers had several teething issues with her steering gear along with a collision which further damaged the fantail. By October 1913, the Carruthers had only sailed 3 times in her 4 month lifespan. The Carruthers departed Collingwood shipyard on Halloween 1913 bound for Fort William Ontario (now called Thunder Bay) light. She was scheduled to pick up 375,000 bushels of wheat which took up 375 train cars of capacity and would have set the record had the Carruthers completed her voyage. While loading up at Fort William, the J.H. Sheadle under the command of Stephan Lyons also loaded grain and consulted with Captain Wright of the Carruthers to sail down Lake Superior together.
Both vessels departed on the afternoon of Nov 7th into a freshening gale. The two ships became separated when the Sheadle sought cover on the north shore of the lake while the Carruthers soldiered on facing the wrath of Lake Superior. On Saturday November 8th, the Carruthers made it to the Soo after a long night and afternoon on Lake Superior. Behind her came the Sheadle and the Hydrus. The 3 vessels locked through in the late evening hours and made their way down the St Mary's river. The last official sighting of the Carruthers and the Hydrus occured when the two stopped at the coal dock on Detour. The Hydrus and Carruthers sailed off and were never seen again.
On Sunday November 9th, the gale that had battered Lake Superior seemed to have moved off to the east for the time being. What concerned many was the heavy drop in barometric pressure that put the needle at its lowest reading. By noon, the gale had renewed its strength several fold. The winds began to blow at 40+ mph and the seas began to build rapidly. Sleet turned to snow and the temperatures plummeted building ice across the decks. By 6 PM, the winds were howling at 65mph and waves were approaching 20 feet. The southern end of Lake Huron was being pummeled by the storm surge and heavy winds that knocked out power to the lighthouses at Fort Gratiot and Point Edward and Lightship 61 was ripped off her moorings at Corsica Shoals. With no guides into the St Clair River, vessels were now trapped on Lake Huron.
From 6PM to 2AM, winds became sustained at 75mph with gusts approaching or exceeding 100mph, the White Hurricane began in earnest. In that time frame 8 steel freighters were lost with all hands on Lake Huron and nearly a half dozen more were driven aground. On Lake Superior two steel freighters were lost with all hands. On Lake Michigan, a wooden barge was lost with all hands when her tug cut her loose and left her at the mercy of the storm. On Lake Erie where the 4th lowest barometric pressure ever recorded, a government lightship sank with the loss of her entire crew.
In the coming days, bodies and wreckage of the lost vessels on Lake Huron came ashore in Canada and the grim toll spoke of horrible losses out on the lakes. The James Carruthers was reported overdue on Tuesday, and the next day the first bodies came ashore near Goderich confirming her loss and shaking the Canadian mariner community to their core. How did the pride of Canada sink with no distress signal and equipped with the latest technology at the time? The debate led to changes in her sister ship the JHG Hagarty that was still on the blocks at Collingwood. The Hagarty was fitted with wooden hatches and even higher ballast tanks in compensation for the loss of the Carruthers. The Hagarty would sail until the late 1960s.
Over the years the Carruthers was believed to have foundered off Kincardine Ontario because she had missed the turn into Georgian Bay. Several wreck hunters had tried to locate her in that area including myself in 2017 and 18 with no success. On May 26th 2025, we were surveying the coast off Port Sanilac when a massive wreck hit our sonar screen.
We knew right away due to her size that the wreck was the Carruthers. The last freighter missing on Lake Huron and the largest undiscovered wreck on the lake. Two months would pass before our first dives on the wreck were attempted. To our disappointment, the Carruthers is completely upside down with no entry points for further exploration.
We did solve some mysteries though in the course of our dives. The Carruthers is much further south by nearly 80 miles from where prior efforts looked. Why did she founder so far down the lake? Through insurance claims and original newspaper articles, we discovered that the Carruthers was not bound for Georgian Bay like originally thought, but was bound for Lake Erie. We also discovered that she was missing both of her anchors which meant the captain tried to turn into the waves. Her massive cargo of wheat is rotting and shrouds the wreck in a yellow haze.
We believe that the Carruthers had lost her steering and was wallowing in the troughs of the waves for awhile before she capsized. In a effort to prevent the capsizing, Wright ordered the anchors deployed, but the 35ft seas ripped them out of their hawsers and the Carruthers wallowed again before capsizing and floating for awhile upside down before finally sinking. The event must have been quick for few bodies were recovered and a motorized skiff remains with the wreck.
- shame it turtled...
