Bermuda (Schooner), aground, 7 Nov 1880

Oshawa, Nov. 7. -- The schooner BERMUDA which left here last night for Oswego with 9,000 bushels of barley, is ashore and a total wreck near Newtonville. Both vessel and cargo are insured.
      Kingston Whig-Standard
      Monday, November 8, 1880

      . . . . .

      The schooner BERMUDA, Owned at Port Oshawa got ashore near Granby, she has gone to pieces. The crew were saved. She had a full load of barley, owned by Mr. lauder of Whitby, which is a total loss.
      Toronto Globe
      November 10, 1880
     
      . . . . .

Toronto 10: One of the crew of the Bermuda, wrecked on Sunday last, was in town yesterday. He says the partly loaded at Whitby and sailed for Ottawa where they finished on Saturday night, and prepared to leave for Kingston. At 9:30 they were scarcely three miles from land when the wind rose and they had to run, but at 11 broached to, as he thinks by the rudder becoming disabled, and lay at the mercy of the waves. Drifting before the wind they reached the north shore and endeavored to beach the vessel, but the bottom was rocky and she struck violently, soon becoming a total wreck. Making their way forward, the crew remained until daylight when a crowd assembled on the beach, but were unable to render assistance. Several attempts were made to get a line ashore, but they all failed and at last a volunteer crew manned the Bermuda¹s yawl boat, which had come ashore some miles further down. They managed to reach the wreck, but became entangle in the debris and after taking on the crew and cleaning that, they swamped. It was then every man for himself, but with the assistance of those on land, all managed to get ashore with the loss of their clothing only.
      Oswego Palladium
      Thursday November 11, 1880

      . . . . .

The schr. BERMUDA is a total wreck near Newtonville, Ont., and her cargo of 9,000 bu. barley is a total loss. The vessel is partially owned by Mr. Guy of Oshawa, and the cargo was shipped by Mr. Lander, of Whiby. Both the vessel and cargo are insured.
      Buffalo Commercial Advertiser
      November 13, 1880 1-8

      . . . . .

      SCARBOROUGH UNDERWATER CLUB, 1969
      The Historical group within this club came into being during the past year and engaged in two main projects which we had deemed to be of some historical importance. Unfortunately, neither project was completed and they will have to wait until spring 1970 before they can be worked on further.
      Port Granby - Lake Ontario
      Around the middle of the 1800's, this little hamlet just west of Port Hope was a schooner port where ships could dock to load or unload their cargoes from a large pier which jutted out into Lake Ontario. A large kedge anchor was located out in deeper water enabling the schooners to haul themselves far enough out from the pier to get "some sail on" should the weather turn dirty.
      Today, there is nothing left except a few houses and a farm. No passer-by would associate this present day Port Granby with the busy little port with it's own industry, a distillery. There is no sign of any pier, not even a piling is visible above water.
      The first of four dives in the area started on April 20 and the last one way May 21. We located the remains of three large cribs which had supported the pier. The timbers were almost sand covered and from among the rocks which the cribs once held, we recovered a number of heavy wrecking tools, leading us to believe that the pier had been dismantled deliberately.
      The kedge anchor was not located, but then a serious search for it had not been conducted, mainly because of poor visibility and the heavy growth of weeds. However, there was a compensation, the remains of the schooner BERMUDA was uncovered. She had been wrecked in the area on November 6, 1880. Her bones were found buried deep in the gravel underwater in the middle of a stream, Decker's Creek. An attempt to dam the stream and divert the flow proved hopeless, so we let her rest in peace...

NOTE:- The above 1969 report, which suggests that Scarborough Underwater Club had found the remains of the BERMUDA, lack of research at that time was responsible for assuming that to be the case.
      The vessel, of which part lies in Decker's Creek, could be one of several which are now known to have been wrecked there, and with the small amount of wreckage available, it is impossible to even guess at what vessel's wreckage lies at Port Granby. .. Bill McNeil