Description of Historic Place

The MV Gulf Stream shipwreck site consists of the remains of a steel hulled passenger vessel located 9 km north of Powell River in Shearwater Passage, just south of Lund, B.C. The relatively intact steel hull lies on its port side at the southwest base of Dinner Rock on a sand and shell bottom. The hull sits at a bearing of 250 degrees (stern to bow) with the stern at a depth of 38 meters and the bow at a depth of approximately 52 meters.

British Columbia's Heritage Conservation Act automatically protects all heritage wrecks, including the remains of all wrecked vessels and aircraft once two or more years have passed since the date of loss. It is illegal to damage, alter or remove a heritage object from a heritage wreck except under a permit issued by the Archaeology Branch.

Heritage Value

The Gulf Stream has historic, cultural and aesthetic value for its role in the two World Wars, its significance as a grave site, and its attractiveness as a recreational dive site.

The Gulf Stream is historically significant as a private yacht converted to an armed vessel that saw service for the United States in the First World War and for Canada in the Second World War. The ship was built as a private yacht with a length of 143 feet in Massachusetts in 1917. The Royal Canadian Navy, finding itself ill-prepared at the start of the Second World War, purchased 16 large private yachts of which 14 were secretly acquired from the Americans, who were neutral at the time. The Gulf Stream was one of these yachts and was re-armed and served as HMCS Wolf on the Esquimalt Defense Force.

The Gulf Stream shipwreck has cultural value as a grave site. It sank after striking Dinner Rock while off course during poor weather on October 11, 1947, and two women and three children drowned when trapped below decks. A memorial cross on Dinner Rock commemorates the five lives lost when the Gulf Stream sank.

The Gulf Stream has aesthetic and recreational value as a relatively complete and well-preserved wreck site that is used by recreational divers and local charter operators and that serves as a deep-water training site for technical divers. A UASBC/BC Heritage Trust information plaque highlighting the historical significance of the shipwreck is affixed to the transom. The wreck site serves as an artificial reef attracting a variety of sea life.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Gulf Stream shipwreck site include:

- The relatively intact steel hull lying on its port side;
- The two reciprocating diesel engines and the fuel and water tanks;
- The debris field downslope containing steel plates, shipboard china, cables, davits and other ship fittings;
- The variety of sea life attracted to the artificial reef created by the wreck.