HMS Psyche

HMS Psyche

The HMS Psyche is another war ship of 1812. It was a 32 gun frigate of the war of 1812. The frame of this ship was made at the Royal dock yards in Chatham, England. After which the frame was shipped to Canada. The ship was launched on December 25, 1814 a day after the treaty of Ghent (12/24/1814) was signed ending the war of 1812 but, with communication being slow news did not reach North America for sometime. This also explains the British attack on New Orleans after the signing of the treaty. Most of the use of this ship was used to ferry soldiers around and eventually back home. The ship was finished in a hurry in Navy Bay using green timber. Before being purposely sunk, the ship was covered in tar in case it was needed later.

The easiest way to this wreck is the entry of the sand beach at CFB Kingston beside the marina. There is not much left to this ship due to shallow depths and being constructed with green timber. It sits at the head of Dead Mans Bay. You swim out of the little cove that the beach is in and straight down the center of the bay. It is about 150 meters back from the beach. There are a lot of weeds generally at this site, and not much left of this ship. The depth is about 8 ft. This may be considered a snorkel for a lot of people since dragging gear to the beach from the parking lot in the marina is further then you swim. The ship keel was 121.1 ft and had a tonnage of 769. The site has been surveyed already. There is generally never any boat traffic in the area as it is passed the marina. A multitude of fish has been seen in the area like sun fish to pike occasionally you may see an eel here. The site does sometimes have a current as it is at the back of the bay.