What is SOS ?

You may be under the belief that Save Ontario Shipwrecks is solely targeted to the Diving Community. SOS is concerned with the preservation of our marine heritage. Diving on shipwrecks is one of ways that this is appreciated ... getting a hands on view of the historical artifacts ... like going to the museum but getting really wet. In other ways SOS is promoting the appreciation of our history through information, that does not require scuba gear. Learn about the shipwrecks, their history, the workings of old Toronto, the changes to our marine culture, and perform archaeological digging above water through vast archives or literally in the dirt (there is marine history on land too).

Help us preserve history, for all to enjoy and remember.

About A word from the Chapter President	Discover what Save Ontario Shipwrecks is all about. The waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina are known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" and the northwestern coast of Spain is called the "Coast of Death" because of the abundance of shipwrecks that lie in these areas. By comparison the Port of Toronto might be called "Bon Secour Bay" or the "Harbor of Happy Sailing" for the dearth of shipwrecks in our local waters. Nevertheless, the few wrecks that have been identified here are worth protecting and great strides have been made toward documenting and preserving these sites. In recent years this work has been extremely challenging for the chapter. However, I am pleased to report that over the last year our efforts to revive and recharge SOS Toronto are showing results. With a new chapter website, NAS-1 course offerings, the mooring buoy project, a close working association with the new SOS Hamilton chapter, and a growing membership we are certainly getting back on track as the lead advocate for the protection and preservation of central Ontario's maritime heritage. Equally important is our location at the heart of provincial heritage policy decision making. Recent changes to the Ontario Heritage Act give marine archaeological sites equal protection under the law with terrestrial sites. The Ministry of Culture is working now to formulate the regulations through which the new law will be enforced and the wrecks protected. It falls upon our membership in particular to monitor and advise the minister's heritage policy advisors as they navigate between the sensitive issues of site protection and site access. I encourage each of you to contact the ministry and express your concerns and opinions on this subject. I look forward to working with our members on this year's upcoming projects and courses; and if you are new to diving or have an interest in historic preservation, please join us in our efforts to discover, document, and protect Ontario's maritime heritage.	Save
New	Find out what is new with SOS Toronto. Messages from the President.	Ontario
Old	What has been happening concerning the shipping history of Toronto and any old news that we may have forgotten.	Shipwrecks
Working	Future developments for SOS Toronto. Find out what we are currently doing ... projects, seminars, courses, diving opportunities, etc ...
Events	Find out about seminars, shows, symposiums, and other activities going on around Southern Ontario concerning Diving and Shipwrecks. SOS Toronto meetings will be posted here also.
Shipwrecks	Information concerning the shipwrecks of Toronto. Information concerning vessel types, construction, and terms.	Preservation
History	Learn about the history of the Port of Toronto and the surrounding area.	of Toronto's
Archaeology	What marine archaeology is all about.	Marine
Comments	Do you have something to add ? You can send SOS Toronto information and commentary on this page.	Heritage
Signup	If you would like to become a member of Save Ontario Shipwrecks please us this form.
Links	Web links to sites related to SOSweb.
Member Information	Information for SOS Members ...

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