MONTPELIER, VERMONT—According to a statement released by the State of Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community, two paddlewheels from the Steamboat Phoenix, which caught fire and sank some 200 years ago, have been found in Lake Champlain. Avocational diver Gary Lefebvre spotted the first paddlewheel near Lake Champlain’s Colchester Shoal while exploring with a remotely operated vehicle. He alerted researchers at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, who said the location of the wreckage, the style of the construction, and the charred condition of its timbers suggest the paddlewheel came from the Phoenix. A second look in the area with the remotely operated vehicle found a second, charred paddlewheel. Chris Sabick, director of research and archaeology at the museum, said that on the night of September 4, 1819, the paddlewheels located on either side of the Steamboat Phoenix tore loose from the vessel as its center burned and fleeing passengers boarded lifeboats and jumped into the water to escape. The hull continued to burn to the waterline as it drifted south and came to rest on Colchester Shoal reef, he added. The Steamboat Phoenix was only the second commercial steamboat to operate on Lake Champlain. To read about the underwater archaeology of the Great Lakes, go to "Shipwreck Alley."
