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Recreation/Kootenay Lake
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The Wreck of the City of Ainsworth
Recreational scuba divers may wish to read the 2 informational plaques that mark the site of Kootenay Lake’s greatest marine disaster, but the shipwreck itself lies far beyond their 40-metre depth limit. The S.S. City of Ainsworth, wrecked on November 29, 1898, is a provincially-designated Underwater Heritage Site.

The 25 metre-long sternwheeler was en route from Nelson to Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho, when it went down during a vicious storm near Cape Horn, at the mouth of Crawford Bay on the eastern side of Kootenay Lake. Nine people – 7 crew members and 2 passengers – lost their lives. Cargo overloading, crew inexperienced, and poor judgment on the part of the captain were all cited as reasons for the sinking, but no wrongdoing was ever clearly identified.

In 1990, the City of Ainsworth was located by means of sonar and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) inspection. In 1997, during a 6-day diving expedition organized by the Archeological Society of British Columbia, the West Kootenay Dambusters Scuba Club and CAN-DIVE services, 2 divers descended to a maximum depth of 120 metres to shoot video footage of the wreck. The divers were able to demonstrate that the vessel sits upright on the lake bottom, and that her hull and paddlewheel are intact. Several artifacts, including the ship’s wheel and port side navigation light, were identified. Their footage shows that the entire wreck is covered in a thick blanket of silt.

Exploring the Underwater World of Kootenay Lake

With its colourful history of mining and steamboating - and its changeable, often hazardous waters – the underwater world of Kootenay Lake has become a popular attraction for scuba divers. The area’s West Kootenay Dambusters Scuba Club has identified several Kootenay Lake diving sites, including:

• Blue Bell Mine – Junk divers can access this site from the shore at Riondel, on the east side of Kootenay Lake, to search for mining equipment and tools discarded during the late 19th century and early 20th century heyday of the Bluebell Mine. Depths: 6 – 27 metres.

• Proctor Boxcars – This wreck dive north of Balfour, in the main body of Kootenay Lake, is just past the mouth of the West Arm. Search for 5 railway boxcars at a depth of 45 metres, sunk in 1901, when the barge that was carrying them across the lake foundered in rough weather. A 6th boxcar can be located at approximately 9 metres deep.

• Ainsworth – From the shore at south of the Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort, junk divers can search for old bottles and other memorabilia tossed away by early residents of the historic mining community of Ainsworth. Depths: 6 – 39 metres, with most relics found above 18 metres.

• Sawmill Reef and Verandah Point – Wall and reef dives can be made at Sawmill Reed, on the east shore of Kootenay Lake just south of Crawford Bay, and at Verandah Point, on the northeast edge of Campbell Bay. (Note: These dives require intermediate to advanced skills.)

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