Sunken History — A Diver's Journal
Dancing Chauncey Returns Home
by Captain Deb Biniecki

A life raft bearing three frozen bodies wallowed in the surf ashore at Napfel’s Point, five miles south of Goderich. Lashed inside were three men with life preservers bearing the name McGean. Dr. Hunter, coroner, identified the men as George L. Smith and Thomas Stone, both wheelsmen and full blooded Indians from the Sarnia reservation. The other man was watchman, John Olsen. Several other crew members were discovered nearby, some washed ashore and others were found rocking in the surf, all providing mute testimony as to the fate of the missing big steel steamer John A. McGean. Surely, she was lost in the Great Storm of 1913, along with several other big ships still missing.

The body of the McGean’s captain, Clarence "Chauncey" Ney, was not among those found that day. He was born and raised in Port Hope. He married the daughter of a local man, Samuel Hunter. He moved to the Detroit area where he gained experience piloting one of the Detroit fireboats. He was master for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, United States Transportation Company and Hutchinson and Company. Having sailed for 30 years, this was his second season as master of the McGean. It was well known that Captain Ney enjoyed being in port, whether loading or unloading, on Friday and Saturday nights. He could often be found at the local dance halls tripping the light fantastic until the wee hours, thus earning him the title “Dancing Chauncey.”

Dancing Chauncey was not in port on this Saturday. Having taken on a load of coal early, the McGean headed up bound from Sandusky, Ohio. According to the Lynn Marine Reporting agency, she passed Port Huron on Sunday morning at 2 o’clock. Ship masters, including the McGean’s, casually dismissed the gale warnings posted this time of year as routine. The McGean left the shelter of the river and beat her way north bound into the teeth of the most destructive storm in recorded history of the Great Lakes. The McGean was last reported being sighted off Tawas City before disappearing with all hands.

The McGean was built in 1908 in Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Company for the Pioneer Steamship Company, and managed by Hutchinson and Company. Her length was 432 and beam 52, and gross and net tonnage of 5,100 and 3,777, respectively.

The John A. McGean was discovered by shipwreck hunter David Trotter in the summer of 1986. It is interesting to note that the McGean was discovered off of Port Hope, within a few miles of where Captain Ney was raised. She was carrying a load of coal, which for years washed up on the beach after storms.

The McGean rests upside down in 195 feet of water and should be visited by only very experienced technical divers who wish to see a lot of steel hull.

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If you would like to contact Capt. Deb with any ideas, feedback, or information regarding shipwreck stories, please contact her through Huron Explorations at 810-648-4638 or e-mail at captdeb@avci.net. SCUBA diving charters can also be arranged through the above contact information.