On 20 April 1970, the C N Train Ferry PATRICK MORRIS encountered heavy weather in the Cabot Strait, 10 miles off Cape Smokey, Cape Breton Island. The ferry, with no passengers on board but with a crew of 51 had departed North Sydney, Nova Scotia to go in aid of 8 crewmen on the wooden herring-seiner ENTERPRISE which was in difficulty. The ENTERPRISE later foundered with the loss of all hands and since there were no survivors the night of April 19, 1970, no one will ever know exactly what happened. The PATRICK MORRIS was one of the ships involved in the search and on April 20, 1970. At midnight the PATRICK MORRIS left North Sydney and sailed out into a Force 10 gale with the winds blowing 55 knots and mountainous waves that were cresting at 30 feet. Seven hours later, the other rescue ships all heard something else coming over the calling and distress frequency, 2182 kilocycles per second. Another “May Day” signal. Another vessel was in trouble, and this time it was the PATRICK MORRIS. While maneuvering to pick up a body; thirty-foot waves crashed through her stern door and overwhelmed her. The PATRICK MORRIS plunged to her death at 7:25 Atlantic Standard Time, 34 minutes after she transmitted her first distress signal.  Most of the 51 member crew barely escaped, but the Captain and three engine room officers went down with the ship. The Liberian vessel RHINE ORE safely rescued 47 members of the crew.

Wreck Hunter Inc. is seeking partner or partners and technical divers to collaborate on producing an independent film on the PATRICK MORRIS. We can relocate the PATRICK MORRIS wreck site using new sonar technology (side scan sonar) then deploy our high tech underwater robot called a “Phantom” Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) equipped with a powerful underwater lights and cameras to film and survey the entire wreck site. Currently there are only 4 Phantom ROV's in Eastern Canada. Only one of those is privately owned - the remaining three are owned and operated by various Government agencies in Nova Scotia; including the Fleet Diving Unit -Atlantic, the Defense Research & Development Canada and Environment Canada. The Wreck Hunter Phantom ROV is capable of diving to depths of 2000 feet and is equipped with obstacle avoidance sonar, a high definition video camera and a digital still camera. To learn more about this type of equipment please visit www.deepocean.com

We can also supply a Klein 3900 Side Scan Sonar System, an extremely high resolution digital sonar for use in Search & Recovery missions which require a portable side scan sonar system. The L-3 Klein 3900 has a dual frequency capability with 445 kHz offering excellent range and resolution (300 meter swath) and 900 kHz which offers higher resolution (80 meter swath) of identified targets. The L-3 Klein 3900 is configured to operate by one person from a small boat or zodiac in shallow water or it can be deployed
from a larger vessel with a winch and longer tow cable to a maximum depth of 300 meters.  To learn more about this type of equipment please visit www.l-3klein.com

Anyone interested in becoming a part of our consortium should contact us. The research team also invites anyone having a connection to the PATRICK MORRIS or the ENTERPRISE to contact them to share any information they may have on either of the shipwrecks.
The team may be contacted as follows: E-mail: shipwrecked@ns.sympatico.ca