Conestoga

The Conestoga is a great old wreck and can be dived any time of the day without worrying about conditions or tides as the St. Lawrence river is pretty flat and predictable. As the previous diver mentioned, you can actually see the engine/smoke stack sticking about 8-10 feet out of the water about 25 feet or so from the shore line. The shore line is a very thin spit of land so park on the side as close to the edge and leave room for other cars if you get there early in the morning. Chances are another 15 cars will arrive shortly on a weekend. The wreck is about 200 feet long and is best found by swimming to the protrusion and descending there to the stern of the boat. Play around the back and then go up and over the deck and slowly make your way to the bow. Once at the bow, drift in the current along the bottom of the wreck in 22 feet and start all over from the stern again. From previous research I thought this wreck would be one large wreckage but I have to say that it is in much better shape than people let on. I enjoyed the dive a lot. Once you have done it a few times then you can descend upstream and find the bow in about 18 feet. But if the current is ripping as it was when I did it on 9-1-07 then be careful or you can miss it especially if the viz is down. Viz was excellent at about 35 feet easily and the temp was 71 degrees. My wife had a twisted ankle so she didn't dive but I had no problem finding a buddy among the very friendly Canadian divers. Do yourself a favor and visit this area if you are close by! It really is a very charming wreck! BTW, we didn't use a dive flag and I am glad we didn't given the current and the way the wreck is situated. It would have been an issue but do bring an SMB just in case you get blown of the wreck. That said, it really is close to shore so no worries there. When you face the wreck from shore, the bow is on the right and the current runs right to left and varies daily.

From Ottawa, take River Road South to the intersection of Regional Road No. 22 (Shanley Road). Follow Road No. 22 south to Cardinal. Continue straight toward the river, follow the road past the Legion out onto the dirt road on the causeway approximately 1 km. You will see the engine protruding from the water. There is a parking area. Food and lodging can be found in Cardinal. Although the wooden portions of the Conestoga are still in good condition, the upper areas are badly ice damaged and all metal is rusted and deteriorating. Conestoga has suffered greatly from looting and wreck-stripping by sport divers. One blade of the 14-foot propeller was broken off by an exploding dynamite charge during an unsuccessful salvage attempt. Visibility: 10 feet Depth: 28 feet (at stern) Current: 1 knot Entry: Shore entry, slightly downstream from the wreck. From entry follow dive line 25 metres to the wreck site.