The sinking of the 56022
While en route from Oswego to Niagara, a 56-foot Coast Guard cable boat encountered six-foot waves and 50 mph winds as it neared Nine Mile Point on Lake Ontario. This vessel, a converted landing craft (LCM) with an open deck, began taking on water over the gunwale faster than its three-man crew could pump it out. The Coast Guard Station in Charlotte dispatched a motor lifeboat to assist. When it arrived, the team found the 50-ton cable boat listing heavily to its port side. The crew was evacuated, and the lifeboat began towing the vessel. However, a large wave broke the towline, and the cable boat sank several miles east of Nine Mile Point, near the community of Ontario-on-the-Lake.
The crew was evacuated, and the lifeboat began towing the vessel; however, a large wave broke the towline, and the cable boat ultimately sank several miles east of Nine Mile Point, near Ontario-on-the-Lake. The boat sank stern-first and has remained in that position, never fully settling on the lakebed. Due to its design as a landing craft, it held more weight in the rear, keeping it upright on its stern. Over the years, around 12 feet of the boat has submerged into the lake bottom. Lake currents have carved an eight-foot crater around the wreck, causing it to tilt at a 45-degree angle. The US Coast Guard initially reported plans to salvage the sunken vessel within the following week. According to records on the Charlotte Station’s history, the boat was reportedly salvaged and returned to service. However, during the past year, Jim Kennard reached out to friends Bob Bristol and Tom Mulhall, who had both participated in the search for the cable boat the day after it sank. Both believed that the reported salvage operation may never have occurred. Bristol, who lived at Ontario-on-the-Lake in 1977, had a clear view of the lake area where the vessel went down. Using information from his friends, Kennard and Dan Scoville located the final resting place of the ship, surprised by what they discovered.
The boat is now covered with zebra mussels, some areas with layers up to two inches thick. Occasionally, large groups of lake bass have been observed gathering around the site. This sunken Coast Guard boat offers an intriguing dive site for recreational SCUBA divers from the Rochester area and a potential fishing hotspot for local anglers.
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