Haunted Wreck of the St. Peter

One of Lake Ontario's most impressive shipwrecks, the ST. PETER is located east of Putneyville, NY. This 135-foot, three-masted schooner rests upright and intact in 117 feet of water.

In the early daylight hours of October 27, 1898, the ST. PETER succumbed to a violent, early winter blizzard. Bound for Toledo, OH, she had left Oswego, NY the previous morning carrying a full load of coal. On the evening of the 26th, the schooner was approaching the safety of the Welland Canal when the storm struck her with 70 mile per hour winds.

Unable to reach the canal, the captain ordered the ST. PETER to turn back east and run before the wind. The captain, his wife, and the ST. PETER's crew desperately fought for their lives during 12 long hours of darkness, 20-foot high seas, gale-force winds, and freezing sleet.

Their battle was in vain. Only the captain survived the ordeal, rescued by a boat from the local Lifesaving Service.

The ST. PETER was rediscovered in 1971. An archaeological expedition retrieved many artifacts, most of which can be seen at the Wayne County Historical Society in Lyons, NY. I would also recommend a visit to the nearby Sodus Bay Lighthouse Marine Museum. The museum has wonderful interpretive displays about the region's maritime history.

Also, a splendid booklet about the ST. PETER, "It Was A Dark and Stormy Night," by Richard J. Kilday, III, is available through the Rochester Museum and Science Center. The booklet tells the story of the calamity in vivid detail, using newspaper and first-person accounts. The archaeology team's work is also summarized.

The tragedy of the ST. PETER gave rise to a local ghost story. I was told about the mischievous spirit by a snack bar waitress at Hughes Marina and Anchor Campsites. I had just dove on the St. Peter and was in the snack bar trying to warm up, having come down with mild hypothermia during the dive and a bad case of the heebie-jeebies.

The waitress told me the wreck was "hinky," and that divers had reported strange feelings on the wreck. The ghost, she said, doesn't like divers poking around and so causes problems for them.

Shivering miserably, I thought, Now she tells me.

According to the waitress, the ghost, known as "Martha," makes its presence known by creating contrary winds in the tiny marina and sustaining perpetual waves over the ST. PETER on days when the lake is dead calm. Pardon the pun.

East of Putneyville on Lake Road, Hughes Marina and Anchor Campsites boasts a picturesque, peaceful lakeside location. The campground has as its centerpiece an 1,800 pound anchor from the ST. PETER. The marina is the closest boat launch to the ST. PETER, which lies only two miles away. Other nearby launch ramps are located in Putneyville and Sodus Bay.

Don't count on finding the wreck buoyed. Local divers and charter captains have stopped buoying her because pillagers and souvenir hunters have taken their toll on this once artifact-filled wreck.

Be careful -- this is a deep, cold dive! Only experienced, well-trained, advanced divers should attempt this dive. Plan the dive well and take every safety precaution you were ever taught. Whether it is because of the cold depth or vengeful Martha, the ST. PETER has sent her fair share of divers to recompression chambers.