Powell River Mystery Wreck
(November 1, 1999) |
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 For years the inhabitants of Powell River have called the wreck there the Malahat. This big 5-masted, auxiliary-engined schooner was built during World War 1. She worked the lumber trade for a while, then was the mothership for rum-runners in the US Prohibition years, and still later became a log barge.
 In 1944, the Malahat foundered in Vancouver Island's Barkley Sound, but was refloated and moored beside another hulk in Uchucklesit Inlet. Reputedly one sank, the other was taken away. While the vessel at Powell River is of the right size to be the Malahat, how it would have gotten there is a mystery. We hope to confirm the identity of this vessel through research and onsite investigations.
 The wreck is very shallow at the bow and about 80 feet down at the stern (at high tide). It is a long swim from one end to the other. To starboard there is just the keel and frame stumps, looking for all the world like vertebrae. The port side is a mass of ribs. Think of a dinosaur skeleton on its side and you've got it. The hull was once upside down but has collapsed to starboard. Artefacts are few and far between. Two hawsepipes mark the bow. Two propeller skegs and three tanks for water and fuel are near the stern.
 At between 70 metres and 76.4 metres - depending on how one interprets a disarticulated section - she equates nicely with the Malahat's length of 246 feet. We will be checking to see if the metal artefacts match those on her class of ship.
Resources
Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia
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