Navy Bay

Navy Bay

This location is in between RMC and Fort Henry. You can park by the tanks and wade in from the end of the bay. This is not recommended due to the weeds and the shallowness of the bay. Parking is close to the sailing buildings and will allow you to walk right into the water from where your car is parked. This is the location of the Royal dock yard for the British navy until it closed in 1835. Multiple ship and gun boats were built and launched here. The bay is fairly well protected. During the boating season the bay is used frequently for a lot of pleasure boats. A dive flag is required and caution is advised. There is a trench in the middle of the bay that does give you some depths about 15-20 ft. There are rumors of a two man sub being sunk somewhere is the bay. In front of the Martello Tower the remains of an old munitions dock is found. This is not deep, about 10 ft but makes for interesting part of Fort Henry. With the area having a lot of pleasure boat traffic, you are never sure what you may find. The most common type of fish here would be perch.

HMS St Lawrence

HMS St Lawrence

This is a real historic dive from the war of 1812. The ship was constructed in Kingston at the Royal Naval yard at present Navy Bay. This was the biggest ship to be launched on the Great Lakes during the war of 1812. The British had two larger ships under construction. The Americans lost their larger ships they were building in British raids. The ship was launched September 10, 1814. The keel was 171.6 feet and its tonnage was 2304. It was pierced for 112 cannons and could contain 1000 men. The US fleet way so scared of this ship that they were confined to port for the remainder of the season, which was the war. The famed pirate of the1000 Islands tried to blow up the ship one early morning only to find that it had already left port. The ship never fired its guns in anger but, was used to ferry reinforcements around. After the war it sat at the docks off Morton Street until it sank. It was raised and pulled to its present location.

The wreck site does involve a little bit of a swim but is well worth it. There is not much left of this once mighty ship. Entry and exits is done best through the Domino Theater parking lot. You just have to make a turn onto Morton Street from King Street and head to the water front. The ground is broken down to the water and it can be slippery when wet. Wading into the water you will want to swim north east parallel to shore. You can reach depths of 25 feet and will come to what were once docks that have now sunk. Swimming around the outside of these docks will take you to a debris field where you can find lots of old object from parts of vases to mess kits. Here you want to swim into the shallow bay which is 8-10 feet where you will find the remains of the ship. It is not deep as time has taken a toll there so there is not to much left. Various species of lake fish are seen here. Please remember the yards around the bay are private property. There can be a slight current running into Kingston it is wise to take a flag with you. This is a beginner’s dive.

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.

Prince Regent

HMS Prince Regent

The Prince Regent is the remains of an 1812 warship. It is at the mouth of Dead man’s Bay and can be reached with a 300m swim from the marina at CFB Kingston. The ship was launched on April 14, 1812. This was a two decked frigate with 60 guns but no figure head on the front of the ship. The ship was entirely made at the Royal dockyard located at Navy Bay. The keel was 160 feet 9 inches. On May 4th the ship took part on the attack on Fort Oswego. The Prince Regent was the flag ship of the fleet that consisted of 7 ships and 11 gun boats; and was commanded by Sir James Yeo. The ship at the end of the war of 1812 was purposely sunk after it was covered in tar incase it was need to be pressed back into service. After the war there was a bilateral agreement signed limiting the amount of fighting ships on the lake. It was abandoned in the 1830’s.

Presently there is just ribbing planking and dead eyes on the ship. There is usually a white plastic jug tied off of the wreck. There is a bearing of 300 degrees to the wreck. It sits in 20 feet of water. During the summer there can be lots of lake weed so swimming half way to the site is recommended. The site has been tagged. In the boating season there is traffic and it is wise to take a flag with you. The rocks at the entry can be slippery and depending on the wind there may be surface waves. In the bay there is abundance of fish but, with it only being 20 feet there is a lot of sunfish, rock bass and small mouth bass. Parking is at the marina parking lot. The road is used often in the summer so go slow. Drop your gear at the entry point then park up the hill as there is no parking right at the water. This is an easy enjoyable dive.