The steamer Wexford, with her flared bow, tall masts, and her open, canvas-sided hurricane deck, charmed spectators as she carried cargo across the Great Lakes. The romance and adventure of her British and French history in the South American trade followed her. Under newly appointed 24-year-old captain Bruce Cameron, her fateful final voyage was punctuated with opportunities to be saved from destruction , but his persistence in trying to make port at Goderich led to tragedy – a victim of the storm of 1913. Over a period of 87 years, she eluded many efforts to locate her remains, but was finally discovered in 2000 by a sailor using a fish-finding device. Since then, she has been visited by thousands, but sadly plundered. Our story traces her history from her British origins in 1883, through the transition to become a ‘Laker, ‘ the eventful storm, the search, and her ultimate discovery in southern Lake Huron, and the controversy over how she should be protected.
About the author
Paul Carroll, a ‘wharf rat’ in his youth, brought forward the first Waterfront Development Plan for the long-term evolution of the Goderich shoreline and was involved with the sidescan sonar search for the Wexford. Paul’s most recent book is Four Years on The Great Lakes. He lived near Goderich, Ontario.
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