The 140′ three masted bark “Trade Wind” was built in 1853 at Buffalo, NY. She was barely a year old when she left Buffalo for Chicago on December 1st, 1854 with a cargo of 200 tons of railroad iron, 1000 stoves and two US Government life boat. As the Trade Wind made way for Long Point, she encountered a blinding snow storm and collided with the bark “Charles Napier”. The lifeboat cargo would play a very important role in the survival of the crew, as the ships own yawl boat would be destroyed in the collision that sent the nearly new ship to the bottom. The crew, realized the ship was going down and launch the “cargo” and rowed to the safety of land. It’s estimated that the total loss was valued at over $63,000, a small fortune in those days.
Today the Trade Wind is one of the best dives in the range of recreational divers. She sits upright in 120′ of water, her cargo scattered around the wreck. Her three masts have fallen to port, probably due to the damage on her starboard side rigging. The ship’s wheel is in tact, as are much of the ships railings. The anchor rests on the deck at the bow, along with the capstan and other deck gear. There is normally very good visibility at this site, in the range of 30-70′, with bottom temperatures in the low to mid 40’s.