Built in 1873 as a lumber hooker, the 113′ steam powered “Swallow” carried lumber in her holds and on her deck, between her raised pilothouse and stern cabin. Her hull was of wood construction and she carried a single stack and two masts. On October 13th. 1901, she cleared Emerson on Lake Superior bound for Buffalo with a lumber barge in tow. The passage was uneventful until Friday the 18th, when she encountered a gale on Lake Erie. The aging ship began leaking at her seams, but she pressed on in hopes of reaching the shelter of Long Point, ON. It was a losing battle, so the crew of 11 men cut free the tow, lit oil lamps to warn other ship of her presence, and abandoned the Swallow, 20 miles west of Long Point. The crew rowed their lifeboat for the safety of the barge, and watched as their ship drifted helplessly in the rough seas. The Swallow would ultimately burn, probably due to the unattended oil lamps, and sink 5 miles east of Long Point. The crew drifted for almost two days before being rescued by a passing steamer.

The charred remains of the Swallow lie in 190′ of water. Her engine and boiler are intact at the rounded stern, while forward, the anchor hangs off her iron clad bow. Expect excellent visibility on this dive, in excess of 50 feet, with bottom temperatures in the low 40’s.