Touching memorial to sailors lost in the great storm of 1913

A wreath was laid Saturday at the site of a sunken ship in Lake Huron off Grand Bend at a ceremony to honour those lost in the horrific storm of 1913.

It was the worst disaster to hit the Great Lakes.

Descendants of sailors lost in the storm were part of the ceremony at the site of the Wexford freighter, where 23 people died.

A bell tolled in memory of the 23.

“It puts into perspective what these young men went through – boys 16 to 24 years of age – and the fear they must have felt. I think of them today,” says Robert Bruce Wattie, whose great uncle was the captain of the Wexford.

Relatives travelled to the Wexford site on a tugboat.

All told, there were 300 mariners who died in the four-day storm that hit in November and more than 19 ships were destroyed.

Centenary events have been held earlier this month and more are planned through to November when a special series of remembrance activities will be held Nov. 8 to 10.

The storm was described as an extratropical cyclone and was caused by the convergence of two major storm fronts.