‘Twice Stolen’ Anchor Now Has Permanent Home

Brockville – The ‘twice stolen’ Brockville anchor is now in its final resting place.

On Tuesday, September 3rd the anchor was delivered and installed on its new pedestal base in the city’s Reynolds Park. A plaque will be installed at a later date with information on the anchor.

Dubbed the “Twice Stolen’ Anchor Project, SOS (Save Our Shipwrecks) Thousand Islands spear-headed the community project with several local businesses giving a helping hand.

SOS Thousand Islands says that sandblasting and welding services as well as transportation to the site and hoisting the anchor were all provided by JS Simpson Welding.

The concrete base was donated by Thousand Islands Concrete. 

The anchor was one of two that were originally stolen from below the St. Lawrence River. Both sat at the bottom of the river at Blockhouse Island for a while.

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport granted Save Ontario Shipwrecks a permit in 2011 to survey, excavate, and recover the two anchors found in the waters off Blockhouse Island. Contrary to the Ontario Marine Heritage Act, both of these anchors were removed from the channel and brought into the shallows of Blockhouse Island.

One of these anchors was removed by SOS in 2012 and properly cleaned and preserved; it is now on display at the Aquatarium.

SOS’s intention has always been to relocate or recover and preserve the second anchor per their permit.

In the spring of 2023, someone was removing the second anchor from the waters off Blockhouse Island, according to a city worker who reported it to the Parks Supervisor. The worker was told not to do any more work and not to let anyone leave the scene.

The Parks Supervisor contacted SOS to see if they were aware of this situation. Members of SOS all gathered at the site and decided that the police should be called. Following an investigation, the anchor was safely relocated to the city works garage.

The Ontario Heritage Act prohibits anyone from altering or removing artifacts or other physical evidence of past human use from a known marine archaeological site unless they have a marine archaeological licence issued by the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism, and Culture Industries.

That second anchor is now on permanent display at Reynolds Park.

Background information from The Scuba News.