The Wreck Today
Today, Sweepstakes is said to be picture perfect, where the hull remains intact. Sweepstakes is located approximately 50 yards from the head of Big Tub Harbour and remains in the water at a depth of 20 feet. The bow area of the boat contains the windlass and portions of the starboard railings remain unharmed. The stern name-board has been removed and currently is on display at the Bruce County Museum in Southampton. In the middle of the schooner is the center-board box, with the centerboard inside. This extends from keel to deck. The aft-deck of the Sweepstakes has collapsed, causing the stern-post to fall, where it now lies on the bottom of Big Tub Harbour. The Fathom Five National Marine Park has made repairs to the slowly deteriorating schooner to keep the deck from collapsing. Although Sweepstakes deteriorates a little more each year, it is said to be one of the best preserved 19th-century Great Lakes schooners that has been found and is considered one of the most popular shipwrecks in the Fathom Five National Marine Park. Nearby is another popular visited shipwreck, the City of Grand Rapids. The schooner gives a good depiction of what a typical Great Lakes schooner looked like. Contrary to previous advisories when entering the shipwreck, this must be done with caution; entry of the schooner is no longer accessible to divers. The Fathom Five National Marine Park officials have put up fencing to prevent entry into the schooner. This reduces any further damage to the schooner which could be caused by the exhaled bubbles of the divers.
Read more about this topic: Sweepstakes (schooner)
Famous quotes containing the words wreck and/or today:
“Perchance the time will come when we shall not be content to go back and forth upon a raft to some huge Homeric or Shakespearean Indiaman that lies upon the reef, but build a bark out of that wreck and others that are buried in the sands of this desolate island, and such new timber as may be required, in which to sail away to whole new worlds of light and life, where our friends are.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The only questions worth asking today are whether humans are going to have any emotions tomorrow, and what the quality of life will be if the answer is no.”
—Lester Bangs (1948–1982)