THE WAUBUNO

The year was 1879, the month was November 21. The side wheel steamer Waubuno was anchored at the Collingwood dock loaded down with cargo and package freight which was to be delivered up the Bay to Parry Sound Ontario. Captain Burkett was desperately looking for signs that the storm would become less threatening. The navigation was rapidly coming to an end because soon the ice would prevent the ships from going anywhere until next spring. All the communities along Georgian Bay were in a panic to collect and assemble their supplies to help them get through the long hard and very cold winter that was facing them in the months to come. The docks at Collingwood were piled with supplies. Waubuno was packed to the maximum. Captain Burkett was forced to take two tons of barrelled whiskey on the Waubuno's upper deck even though he strongly expressed disapproval. The Captain finished loading the ship and he decided to leave the dock in the middle of the night in the storm. Perhaps he was hoping that the storm would subside by morning and he could get an early head-start. The Christian Lighthouse keeper spotted the vessel two hours later and his log book read that she was riding well with her full cargo, even with a stiff wind coming from the noth-east. Two days later the Waubuno had still not arrived in Parry Sound.



Everyone wondered if Captain Burkett had anchored in a sheltered area until the storm had passed. Perhaps he had stopped somewhere to find wood to fuel the little steamer or maybe something horrible happened to her. The Parry Sound Lumber Co. dispatched the Mittie Grew immediately out to search for the missing vessel. It didn't take very long for the Mittie Grew to find visible signs of a wreck off the islands in the South Channel. There was furniture on the shore along with cargo and a single empty lifeboat that probably belonged to the Waubuno. They could not find any survivors. The situation looked pretty grim because they found the ship's lifebelts that had not been used. The only conclusion is that the ship had gone down very fast without any warning what-so-ever. The Waubuno probably capsized in the giant waves imprisoning the passengers and the crew below deck. The top deck and all the cargo was torn away from the hull and floated off into the depths of nowhere. In 1959 divers solved the mystery of the wreck. It is likely that the Captain hit an uncharted shoal northward to Lone Rock. A heavy fall of snow made it impossible for him to see anything. The Captain may have anchored but the anchor hold gave way because the waves were too powerful. No bodies were ever found which could explain recent reports of a ghost present near the wreck. Could it be Captain Burkett or maybe the crew and passengers that could not escape a cruel twist of fate.