The legendary wreck thread

[CharlieTuna]

Divers find 1903 shipwreck near Block Island

AP
MYSTIC, Conn.—A group of divers says it has found the wreckage of a schooner that collided with a steamship and sank in 1903 near Block Island, R.I.



Mark Munro of Griswold, Conn., said his Sound Underwater Survey group and the Baccala Wreck Divers began looking for the remains of the Jennie R. Dubois in 2002, searching a few times a year in an area that eventually stretched to 17 square miles.
The group positively identified the shipwreck in September 2007, but kept it a secret until Monday so more research could be done and others interested in the ship couldn't claim the find, Munro said.

It was discovered about six miles southeast of Block Island in federal waters, he said.
"We were pretty elated," Munro said Tuesday. "It was one of those projects that you were starting to wonder if you were really going to solve the mystery of what happened."

The 2,227-ton, five-masted schooner, which was launched only 19 months before the collision, was named after the wife of a Rhode Island Supreme Court justice who owned stock in the company that built the ship, Holmes Shipbuilding Co. of Mystic.
Munro said the vessel, which cost $100,000 to build, was the largest ever built on Connecticut's Mystic River. Jennie Dubois christened her namesake ship with a bottle of wine on Feb. 11, 1902, in a ceremony that attracted 6,000 people, Munro said.
The Jennie R. Dubois went down on Sept. 5, 1903, after colliding with the steamship Schoenfels in dense fog about seven miles southeast of Block Island. All 11 men aboard were rescued, Munro said.

A lot of people had looked for the wreckage over the years. Munro said it was difficult to find because the Army Corps of Engineers blasted the wreckage with dynamite in 1903 so it wouldn't be a hazard to other ships.

"They were looking for something that would look like a schooner," Munro said. "In this case, it was not what you would typically see at the bottom. It was spread out."

Munro and his fellow divers were able to identify the shipwreck by its anchors, size and location, he said. They researched local newspapers, examined the national archives in Washington, looked at Mystic Seaport records and talked with Block Island residents.
Members of Sound Underwater Survey and the Baccala Wreck Divers plan to present their findings at the Mystic Yachting Center on Feb. 11, the 107th anniversary of the Jennie R. Dubois' launch.

[jimmy z]

That is a nice bit of info. Thanks:)

[basshunter]

Sunken Lady Mary fishing boat located by sonar vessel

by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk Friday April 03, 2009, 2:36 PM


http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/2009/04/large_lm.JPGU.S. Coast GuardLady Mary, left, moored in Cape May Harbor in 2004
The Lady Mary fishing boat that sank off the coast of Cape May on March 24 killing six crew members has been located under 180 feet of water by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association sonar vessel, according to a report by the Press of Atlantic City (http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/181/story/448108.html).
The NOAA provided assistance by the Thomas Jefferson research boat, which is usually tasked to map the ocean floor, as the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board continue to probe the cause of the sinking.
The Lady Mary was found about 60 miles off the coast of Cape May. A Coast Guard research team plans to explore the wreck with an unmanned submarine that will record video, according the the Press of Atlantic City report.
One member of the crew survived the sinking. The bodies of two brothers, Roy Smith Jr. and Timothy Smith, were recovered, though four others remain missing, Frenki Credle, Frank Reyes, William Torres and Tarzan Smith.

[DarkSkies]

Someone just sent me something that reminded me of some of the wrecks and boat crashes that have become legends.

Put em up here, let's hear some good stories!

Could be a story, poem, video, pics, whatever, it's all good. :D

I'll start:

Wreck of the Hesperus

"WRECK OF THE HESPERUS"
It was the schooner Hesperus,
That sailed the wintery sea;
And the skipper had taken his little daughter,
To bear him company.

Blue were her eyes as the fairy flax,
Her cheeks like the dawn of day,
And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds,
That ope in the month of May.

The Skipper he stood beside the helm,
His pipe was in his mouth,
And he watched how the veering flaw did blow
The smoke now West, now South.

Then up and spake an old Sailor,
Had sailed the Spanish Main,
"I pray thee, put into yonder port,
for I fear a hurricane.

"Last night the moon had a golden ring,
And to-night no moon we see!"
The skipper, he blew whiff from his pipe,
And a scornful laugh laughed he.

Colder and louder blew the wind,
A gale from the Northeast,
The snow fell hissing in the brine,
And the billows frothed like yeast.

Down came the storm, and smote amain
The vessel in its strength;
She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed,
Then leaped her cable's length.

"Come hither! come hither! my little daughter,
And do not tremble so;
For I can weather the roughest gale
That ever wind did blow."

He wrapped her warm in his seaman's coat
Against the stinging blast;
He cut a rope from a broken spar,
And bound her to the mast.

"O father! I hear the church bells ring,
Oh, say, what may it be?"
"Tis a fog-bell on a rock bound coast!" --
And he steered for the open sea.

"O father! I hear the sound of guns;
Oh, say, what may it be?"
Some ship in distress, that cannot live
In such an angry sea!"

"O father! I see a gleaming light.
Oh say, what may it be?"
But the father answered never a word,
A frozen corpse was he.

Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark,
With his face turned to the skies,
The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow
On his fixed and glassy eyes.

Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed
That saved she might be;
And she thought of Christ, who stilled the wave,
On the Lake of Galilee.

And fast through the midnight dark and drear,
Through the whistling sleet and snow,
Like a sheeted ghost, the vessel swept
Tow'rds the reef of Norman's Woe.

And ever the fitful gusts between
A sound came from the land;
It was the sound of the trampling surf,
On the rocks and hard sea-sand.

The breakers were right beneath her bows,
She drifted a dreary wreck,
And a whooping billow swept the crew
Like icicles from her deck.

She struck where the white and fleecy waves
Looked soft as carded wool,
But the cruel rocks, they gored her side
Like the horns of an angry bull.

Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice,
With the masts went by the board;
Like a vessel of glass, she stove and sank,
Ho! ho! the breakers roared!

At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach,
A fisherman stood aghast,
To see the form of a maiden fair,
Lashed close to a drifting mast.

The salt sea was frozen on her breast,
The salt tears in her eyes;
And he saw her hair, like the brown sea-weed,
On the billows fall and rise.

Such was the wreck of the Hesperus,
In the midnight and the snow!
Christ save us all from a death like this,
On the reef of Norman's Woe!

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Literary/BiosPoets.htm#L).



6457

[skinner]

6925


6926




Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection


http://www.aquaexplorers.com/Pilotboat_Lamp.jpg


The Sandy Hook was built at the Crescent Ship Yard in Elizabeth, New Jersey, back in 1902. She was originally named the Anstice when sailing as a private steam yacht. She was later renamed the Privateer and finally Sandy Hook when commissioned and refitted as a pilot boat in 1914.


On April 27, 1939, while sailing in a dense fog, the steam powered, 361 ton pilot boat was rammed aft of the port beam and sunk by the Norwegian ship, Oslofjord. All 20 pilots and six crew members were rescued with little or no injuries. Robert Peterson, one of the pilots aboard the Sandy Hook, gave the following account to the NEW YORK POST. " I was in the main saloon, prepared to board the vessel as she neared. Suddenly I looked out the porthole and there was the bow of the boat almost on top of us. I jumped and ran out of the cabin. The next instant, she hit us. Everybody ran for the boats as mast and booms crashed on deck smashing a life boat".


http://www.aquaexplorers.com/SandyHook.htm

[bababooey]

Finders hoping to display artifacts in area museum

Posted by the Asbury Park Press (http://www.app.com/) on 09/2/07

BY KIRK MOORE (KMOORE@APP.COM)
HIGHLANDS — After he'd cleared away the sand and silt, Joe Anthony knew they were on more than just a pile of slate shingles when he saw Gary Filippone's eyes go wide behind his mask.

Buried within the shingles were china tableware — and not just fragments, like one glint of white stoneware that had attracted the divers to a spot on the shipwreck. There were stacks and stacks of unbroken teacups and saucers, plates and platters, some as perfect as the day they were crated by an English exporter 175 years before.

For five years a group of divers here have quietly excavated and documented the wreck of the Aurora, an American merchant ship that went down close to the Sandy Hook beach in a gale on Nov. 7, 1827.

Now they're looking to find permanent homes for their collection, with, they hope, the Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook and the Twin Lights museum in Highlands.

"The artifacts are going to get to a museum. I'd like to set up their museum out there at Sandy Hook with this stuff, if they'd have it,"
said Anthony, of Highlands. These artifacts, he said, "are not going to be sold. They belong to the wreck."

The survival of the ship's remains and its cargo are remarkable, on a section of the sea floor scoured daily by tides pouring out of New York Harbor and often raked by storms that have threatened to batter through Sandy Hook itself. It was that pile of slate, quarried in Wales and bound for New York City rooftops, that ensured the Aurora would be the most unusual wreck on this coast, the divers say.

"Nothing like this has ever been found in New Jersey," said Filippone, of Highlands. "All this thing is missing is gold bars."

What the divers did find was a time capsule of commerce and technology from the 1820s.

"It was right on the historical edge, between one-of-a-kind craftsmanship and mass production," said diver Ken Harber of the Navesink section of Middletown. "It was like Home Depot: shingles, tools, hardware, dishes."

Some 2,800 to 3,000 recovered artifacts include Staffordshire china by the famed Adams pottery makers of England, including patterns called Lady's Garden and Gables Farm that are sought by collectors today, Anthony said. There's a third, unidentified pattern in the haul, too. Doorknob and lock sets, some still wrapped in paper, barrels of hardware, tools by the Marples family company of Sheffield, England, also were extracted from the hold.

"During this time, England was sending over many, many manufactured goods," said researcher Dan Lieb of the New Jersey Historical Divers Association, who helped the Highlands divers identify the Aurora wreck and research its history. "The Industrial Revolution was getting revved up, and America just couldn't make everything it needed."

The rarest finds were a sea captain's navigation instruments — a chronometer or navigational clock, and an octant, forerunner of the sextant that navigators use to calculate longitude and their position at sea. "It was the heart of the vessel's navigation system," Lieb said.

Finding an octant is a career jackpot for any wreck diver, partly because captains often took their prized instruments before abandoning ship. The Aurora octant is in exceptional condition with its lens frames, eyepiece and whalebone ivory scales intact.

Research revealed there were two captains from the same shipping company on the Aurora's final voyage, Harber said. The octant probably was packed by the man along for a ride, he added. "We think it was part of the other captain's gear. He was heading for his next gig. He soon after took a ship out of Philadelphia."

Both the Aurora's command captain, John Taubman, and his colleague, Charles A. Hearn, made it off the Aurora alive, with about 45 passengers and crew who rowed small boats through the furious storm to stagger ashore on Sandy Hook. Six sailors who tried to ride it out on the grounded ship were drowned or battered to death by surf. Hearn himself died at sea, trying to bring a ship past Cape Horn at the tip of South America in 1846, according to the divers' research.

"The New Jersey coast at one point in the 1800s was considered to be one of the worst passages in the world," Lieb said. "Insurers charged higher rates for ships going there. Sometimes they wouldn't cover it, and said, "If you go there, you're on your own.' "

Accounts of the wreck
Highlands researcher Cassandra Stafford helped the divers track down newspaper accounts of the Aurora's loss published in the Maryland Gazette and in a New York City publication. They say Taubman had loaded the ship and sailed from Liverpool on Sept. 24, 1827, and arrived off Sandy Hook six weeks later, the evening before the storm struck.

On the next Wednesday morning, "the wind (was) blowing a violent gale from east- to east-southeast with a heavy rain and thick fog," the Maryland Gazette story recounted. "The vessel being in imminent danger, Capt. Taubman cut away his three masts, and let go both anchors, to prevent her from going ashore, but in vain she struck about 5 miles south of Sandy Hook."

Taubman was able to hold a position at anchor until around 5 p.m., when on a falling tide the Aurora struck bottom, breaking some of its planks below the water line. Taubman ordered 51 passengers and crew to get into the ship's two small boats to attempt a row through the thundering surf, but six sailors opted to take their chances staying with the ship.

All of the others landed safely and were given shelter in the Highlands area, the divers say. According to the New York newspaper account, around 2 a.m. the following day the storm had subsided and local watermen set out in a small boat to recover the other six seamen. They found "four had been washed overboard, and the bodies of two men attached to the tattered rail, shockingly mangled and their very clothes washed away by the violence of the waves," the New York report stated.

"This boat was seriously built. It was double-planked oak. With that load of Welsh slate, it pounded right into the bottom and the sand filled it in," Harber said.
More than a century after Aurora sank and was forgotten, local anglers knew it only as a hot spot for catching fish. In summer 2002, Gary Filippone went down to take a look.

Identifying the Aurora
Scientists say the Hudson River plume that shoots out of the harbor every day often creates stratified layers in the ocean water off Sandy Hook. Filippone remembers swimming down through murky brown that first day, before breaking into clear water. Below he saw the slate pile.

"It opened up like a courtyard," he recalled. "It was beautiful."
In July 2002, Filippone was back with Anthony, and they began calling the spot the Shingle Wreck. "People have been fishing on this pile of slate forever. We found sinkers that are 50 years old," Anthony said.

Anthony dives with an underwater scooter, a hand-held, battery-powered motor and propeller that's as useful for blowing silt off a wreck as it is for towing a diver. After Filippone located the stoneware fragment, Anthony aimed his scooter's propeller down at the slates.

"He and I are on top of the slate pile, and I see his eyes go wide," Anthony recalled, still grinning at the almost ludicrous chances of such a find. They had located a trove of china inside the 55-foot long, 26-foot wide slate pile. "It was stacked inside the slate. That's how it survived."

There was so much tableware the divers used milk crates hoisted by inflated air bags to get it all to the surface. They kept closed-mouthed about their project. "I said, "We can't let this get out of control,' " Filippone said.

They sweated out close calls, once finding a beach replenishment sand dredge anchored over the wreck, and another time diving amid fishermen drifting for summer flounder. "I was down there with hundreds of hooks in the water," Filippone said with a laugh. But they didn't tell anyone for fear of setting off a rush of intruders who would clean out the wreck.

In time, the divers would learn the history of the Aurora — a young ship at the time of its death, built in Bath, Maine, in 1824 as a full-rigged, three-masted ship 106 feet long and 22 feet wide. Some of the hardware they recovered was stamped by an import company that had been in business for only two years in the mid-1820s, and some china indicated a similar time frame. But the artifact clues stopped there.

"This ship was from Bath. But it threw us for a loop. To this day, we haven't found anything American on the ship. Everything was British, except for a wine bottle seal, which was French," Harber said.

"They weren't able to come up with a single candidate," said Lieb, whom Filippone approached three years ago for help in identifying the wreck.

But the divers had found an early piece of evidence — an iron knee brace, a connector for ship's ribs that was characteristic of Maine-built ships of the period, Lieb said. Within weeks, a search of records named the Aurora as a possibility.
The final proofs were tiny: captain's stamps, used to put official company impresses on letters and documents. The divers had found two, one with the letters JT for John Taubman, and C.H. Hearn for the ill-fated Hearn.

"That clinched it," Lieb said.
They learned the Aurora had been owned by a shipping company called the Kermit Line that was very active in that early Industrial Revolution trade. Filippone has friends with a family home in Florida, and he gave them a china set to bring to an Antiques Roadshow there, the traveling antiques appraisal that's seen on public television.

An appraiser was impressed by one Aurora piece. "Your family must have taken very good care of it over the years," he said.
"It was found at the bottom of the ocean," they told him.

There's no windfall fortune to be had from all that china, Anthony said. One thing the divers learned is how much the market for antique Staffordshire ware values perfection above all else, even a good shipwreck story.
Beyond all the pretty blue plates, the divers' most tantalizing find was a rather nondescript medallion — a cheap unofficial medal, really, that was given to veterans of the Battle of Trafalgar, fought in 1805. The British Admiral Lord Nelson's victory over a combined French and Spanish fleet settled the sea power side of the Napoleonic wars, and the medallion likely belonged to one of the Aurora's older sailors, the divers say.

On that last trip across the Atlantic, life on board the Aurora would have been not unlike the scenes in the Russell Crowe film "Master and Commander," with its depiction of early 19th-century life at sea, said diver John Kohnow of Yardley, Pa.

"When you see "Master and Commander,' in those scenes where they're eating in the captain's quarters, you see the platter racks," Kohnow said, hefting one stoneware piece molded in England and fit for a roast bird or beef. "When Russell Crowe is showing the younger officers how to navigate, it's an octant they're using."
From their docks and houses in Highlands, the divers can look out to Sandy Hook and easily imagine the Aurora jammed into the shoals. Filippone said their investigation revealed something else: "A lot of times, you find more adventure in your own backyard than traveling around the world."

[plugginpete]

A good place to go see if you want to see artifacts.

N.J. Shipwreck Museum showcases artifacts found off Jersey Shore

by MaryAnn Spoto (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/mspoto@starledger.com)/The Star-Ledger Saturday May 02, 2009, 7:44 AM


Deep in the recesses of a cluster of one-time Army buildings in Wall Township, a 900-pound piece of history sits crusted and rusted in a trough of water, waiting to take its place among other relics once lost in maritime disasters.
Like many artifacts recovered from shipwrecks by deep sea divers, the 210-year-old cannon was a closely guarded secret. Plucked in 1996 from a wreck off the coast of New Jersey, it sat for most of the time since then in a vat of water in the backyard of a Manasquan home.
http://blog.nj.com/editorspicks_impact/2009/05/large_sea%20cannon.JPGAndrew Mills/The Star-LedgerDan Lieb, of the NJ Historical Divers Association, hoists up a 900-pound carronade, which was recovered from the shipwreck Amity which ran aground just off Manasquan Beach on April 24, 1824. This gun was recovered 13 years ago and is being restored at The NJ Shipwreck Museum, which also has dozens of artifacts on display from the countless wrecks that lie off the Jersey Shore.

But a group of New Jersey divers, eager to share their finds with the public, have opened a portal to history by showcasing objects like the 5-foot long iron cannon and other items that date back to a time when ships were the primary mode of transportation.
"A lot of these items were stored in people's garages, houses and basements," said Dan Lieb, president of the New Jersey Historical Divers Association. "We had collected so much information over the years we felt it was incumbent on us to open it to the public."
The divers don't just retrieve items. They research each piece so they can tell its story: who owned it, why it was aboard the ship, where it was going, what role it played in the evolution of society.
Sometimes those stories take a couple of hours to piece together. Sometimes they take years.

The stories bring to life relics displayed in three rooms of a decaying complex in Wall Township that played a key role in the development of wireless communication in the early 1900s. Taken over by the military during World War I, the former Camp Evans was decommissioned in 1992 and today is the home of InfoAge Science and History Center, a coalition of nonprofit groups working to save the historic buildings.
The complex was built in 1914 by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, who developed the wireless communications designed for the maritime trade and used on the Titanic. Despite the 1,500 lives lost when the ship sank in 1912, the federal government attributed the 705 lives saved to the wireless device.
In the aftermath of the Titanic disaster, all trans-Atlantic voyages were required to carry the technology, making Marconi a fortune he used to build the complex.

Lieb said that rich maritime history is the reason the divers located the shipwreck museum there, and InfoAge director Fred Carl agreed it's a good fit.
"It's fantastic," Carl said of the shipwreck museum. "It shows New Jersey's shipwrecks. People don't realize the perils at sea and how many disasters occurred at sea because of the lack of communications."
Not nearly as many people would have perished on the Titanic had other shipping companies invested in Marconi's wireless device, he said. There were other ships closer than the steamship Carpathia -- which picked up survivors -- but they didn't have the equipment to hear the doomed ship's transmissions.

No one knows how many ships wrecked off New Jersey, with nor'easters helping earn the state a reputation for being among the top 10 most dangerous passages in the world. Lieb said he's seen estimates as high as 7,200 wrecks but figures the remains of only 2,500 remain on the ocean floor.
The museum opened April 1, 2006, as a one-room display of a few artifacts. With the expansion, it's now a five-room display Lieb hopes will double or quadruple in size in two or three years.
The museum contains information from about 24 wrecks gathered over 40 years of diving, Lieb said. There's 300-pound millstone taken from the 1859 wreck of the Adonis, which, Lieb said, was transporting 124 of those sandstone disks to market when she sank off Long Branch. There's a set of earthenware from the Aurora that wrecked in 1827 off Sandy Hook as she was taking her cargo from England to New York.

The 210-year-old cannon was pulled by divers David Haines and Tom Fagan from the Amity, a packet ship which wrecked off the coast of Manasquan in 1824. They figured it was aboard either as a collectible of one of the crew members or as insurance against pirate activity, Lieb said.
The display is open to the public through a shipwreck symposium sponsored by the historical divers association on Saturday between 2 and 6 p.m. InfoAge is open on Sundays between 1 and 4 p.m.
"As we expand, we'll be able to accommodate larger and larger crowds," Lieb said. "That should make us quite a valuable asset to the community."



http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/nj_shipwreck_museum_showcases.html
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[porgy75]

Finders hoping to display artifacts in area museum

There's no windfall fortune to be had from all that china, Anthony said. One thing the divers learned is how much the market for antique Staffordshire ware values perfection above all else, even a good shipwreck story.


I bet the real fortune is that it is a wreck accessible to Jersey divers, a piece of history.

[ledhead36]

I thought there were a bunch of fishing limericks and prayers here but couldn't find the thread. Dark talks a lot about praying to King Neptune. Some of my friends and I do that as well. I found this when I did a search --

The Odyssey by Homer Book C

TELEMACHUS VISITS NESTOR AT PYLOS.
but as the sun was rising from the fair sea {24} into the
firmament of heaven to shed light on mortals and immortals, they
reached Pylos the city of Neleus. Now the people of Pylos were
gathered on the sea shore to offer sacrifice of black bulls to
Neptune lord of the Earthquake.

There were nine guilds with
five hundred men in each, and there were nine bulls to each
guild. As they were eating the inward meats {25} and burning the
thigh bones [on the embers] in the name of Neptune, Telemachus
and his crew arrived, furled their sails, brought their ship to
anchor, and went ashore.

Minerva led the way and Telemachus followed her. Presently she
said, “Telemachus, you must not be in the least shy or nervous;
you have taken this voyage to try and find out where your father
is buried and how he came by his end; so go straight up to
Nestor that we may see what he has got to tell us. Beg of him to
speak the truth, and he will tell no lies, for he is an excellent person.”

“But how, Mentor,” replied Telemachus, “dare I go up to Nestor,
and how am I to address him? I have never yet been used to
holding long conversations with people, and am ashamed to begin
questioning one who is so much older than myself.”

“Some things, Telemachus,” answered Minerva, “will be suggested
to you by your own instinct, and heaven will prompt you further;
for I am assured that the gods have been with you from the time
of your birth until now.”

She then went quickly on, and Telemachus followed in her steps
till they reached the place where the guilds of the Pylian
people were assembled. There they found Nestor sitting with his
sons, while his company round him were busy getting dinner
ready, and putting pieces of meat on to the spits {26} while
other pieces were cooking.

When they saw the strangers they crowded round them, took them by the hand and bade them take their places. Nestor’s son Pisistratus at once offered his hand to each of them, and seated them on some soft sheepskins that were lying on the sands near his father and his brother Thrasymedes.

Then he gave them their portions of the inward
meats and poured wine for them into a golden cup, handing it to
Minerva first, and saluting her at the same time.

“Offer a prayer, sir,” said he, “to King Neptune, for it is his
feast that you are joining; when you have duly prayed and made your drink offering, pass the cup to your friend that he may do so also. I doubt not that he too lifts his hands in prayer, for man cannot live without God in the world. Still he is younger than you are, and is much of an age with myself, so I will give you the precedence.”

As he spoke he handed her the cup. Minerva thought it very right
and proper of him to have given it to herself first; {27} she
accordingly began praying heartily to Neptune. “O thou,” she
cried, “that encirclest the earth, vouchsafe to grant the
prayers of thy servants that call upon thee.

More especially we pray thee send down thy grace on Nestor and on his sons; thereafter also make the rest of the Pylian people some handsome return for the goodly hecatomb they are offering you.

Lastly, grant Telemachus and myself a happy issue, in respect of the matter that has brought us in our ship to Pylos.”







Coast Guard version --

"BOUTWELL once again sailed into King Neptune’s domain as the ship crossed the equator while patrolling the Eastern Pacific.
Nautical legend has it that those new members of the crew that are crossing the equator for the first time must go before King Neptune and his court and prove they are worthy of a place within his watery kingdom.
Those yet to be accepted—Pollywogs, or Wogs for short—must earn the respect of the salty Shellbacks, who have previously proven their worth, through a series of activities during the week.
The final test is an audience with the King. The decision by his Court is final. Upon completion of the Line Crossing Ceremony all newly inducted Shellbacks receive a certificate proving they are worthy to sail the seven seas.
Even more revered than a Shellback is the Golden Shellback who has crossed the equator at the International Date Line.

Dating back centuries, Line Crossing Ceremonies were once the tool of seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were up to the hardships of an ocean-going life.
The ceremony has undergone many changes throughout its storied history, but now serves as an exercise in team building, allowing those new to the high seas to learn about the rich nautical history of those who have come before them.
It is through traditions such as this that the modern day Coast Guard maintains a connection to its sailing past.

[hookset]

9785


Edmund Fitzgerald
On November 10, 1975, in the most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes history, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a treacherous storm on Lake Superior. Thanks to the popular 1976 song by singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald has reached and maintained legendary status. The gigantic ore carrier, at one time the largest ship on the Great Lakes and holder of numerous tonnage records, was caught up in a vicious November storm on Lake Superior and, after hours of battling high winds and 30-foot waves, suddenly disappeared from radar without so much as a single warning or SOS from its captain or crew.

www.wikipwdia.com (http://www.wikipwdia.com)

[dogfish]

9785


Edmund Fitzgerald
On November 10, 1975, in the most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes history, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a treacherous storm on Lake Superior. Thanks to the popular 1976 song by singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald has reached and maintained legendary status. The gigantic ore carrier, at one time the largest ship on the Great Lakes and holder of numerous tonnage records, was caught up in a vicious November storm on Lake Superior and, after hours of battling high winds and 30-foot waves, suddenly disappeared from radar without so much as a single warning or SOS from its captain or crew.

www.wikipwdia.com (http://www.wikipwdia.com)

Bet you didn't know there was a song about her.:fishing:
hgI8bta-7aw

[Pebbles]

This is an incredible story of of the loss of several fisherman in 2009. The events that lead to their death could teach all of us a lesson.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/the_wreck_of_the_lady_mary_cha.html

[storminsteve]

Darkness, deteriorating weather, a tired crew and an open hatch contributed to the vessel’s vulnerability. Then, a floating behemoth 10 times the size of the little scalloper came plowing through the fishing ground at nearly full throttle.
The men of the Lady Mary were like thousands of others who earn their living from fishing, toiling in a Wild West sort of world, in hazardous, ever-changing conditions with scant safeguards and few legal protections.
On today’s oceans, endangered whales have more protection than fishermen, though scores are killed each year.
And when fishermen die at sea, their deaths often remain unexplained, their bodies never found and their lives soon forgotten by the public.
As one mariner said, "There are no skid marks on the ocean."


Wow that was a heck of a story! It teaches a lot of lessons about safety and being prepared for the worst, and the consequences if you are not. Thanks for sharing Pebbles.

[surfstix1963]

Here is another the Infamous Pelican out of Montauk Background
The Pelican was originally constructed as a passenger fishing vessel in 1940 in Brooklyn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn), NY and known as the Belboy II. The vessel was constructed with an enclosed cabin. At 14 gross tons, she was not subject to Coast Guard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Guard) regulations and annual inspection, which were required only of vessels more than 15 gross tons. She was equipped with twin 100 hp Chrysler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler) engines.
At the time of the accident, the Pelican was owned by Eddie Carroll, who held a Coast Guard captain's license. It was operated as a party boat operating out of the Fishangrila Dock at Fort Pond Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Pond_Bay) in Montauk, taking customers fishing for the day in the waters around Montauk. The Fishangrila Dock was within walking distance of the Montauk Long Island Railroad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_Railroad) station. On weekends, the railroad ran "Fisherman's Special" trains from New York City to Montauk. Passengers would exit the train and climb aboard one of the waiting party boats and pay their fare for a day of fishing.
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FV_Pelican&action=edit&section=2)] September 1, 1951

On September 1, 1951, as the Fisherman's Special emptied its passengers, 62 fares climbed aboard the Pelican, plus its Captain, Eddie Carroll and mate. The 42 foot Pelican left Fishangrila at 7:30 AM, carrying 64 passengers and crew, which was grossly in excess of its safe carrying capacity. Weather forecasts posted at Fishangrila called for a line of approaching storms and changing winds. After rounding Montauk Point (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Point) and fishing on the south side of Montauk in the Atlantic Ocean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean) for several hours, the Pelican began to return to Fishangrila, due to rough seas, at approximately 11:30 AM.
Encountering engine trouble on the way, which lengthened the trip, Pelican began to have difficulty making time against the conditions, with only one working engine. The weather changed suddenly as the squall line approached, with a strong northeast wind developing against an outgoing tide. The wind has been estimated at 25 to 35 mph and the waves as high as 15 feet in the rips near Montauk Point. While rounding Montauk Point at approximately 2:00 PM, the Pelican was hit by two successive waves on the starboard quarter and capsized to port, spilling most of its passengers and crew in the water, while trapping others inside the cabin. The vessel then foundered. The accident occurred within sight of Montauk Lighthouse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Lighthouse), approximately one mile north off the point in the area known as Endeavor Shoals.
Two private fishing boats, the Betty Ann and Bingo II, were the first to respond and rescue passengers. The Coast Guard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Guard) picketboat that responded approximately one hour later was only able to rescue one passenger found clinging to the hull. In all, 45 passengers and crew, including Capt. Eddie Carroll were killed.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_(Fishing_Vessel)#cite_note-0)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FV_Pelican&action=edit&section=3)] Aftermath

The hull, foundering beneath the waves, was first secured near Montauk Point by legendary Montauk fisherman Capt. Frank Mundus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Mundus) and his vessel Cricket II, then a party boat also based at Fishangrila, and was later transferred to the Coast Guard picketboat, which towed it into Lake Montauk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Montauk). As a result, several additional bodies were recovered which otherwise might have been lost if the vessel were allowed to sink. [2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_(Fishing_Vessel)#cite_note-1)
Following the disaster, a Coast Guard investigation was conducted. [3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_(Fishing_Vessel)#cite_note-2) The investigating board estimated that Pelican could not have safely carried more than 30 passengers and that its overloaded conditions contributed to the capsize and loss of life, by causing the vessel to ride low in the water and exaggerating the rolling motion caused by the waves. The failure of Carroll to keep himself aware of the weather conditions and to properly distribute his passengers on the vessel were also cited as reasons for the capsize. The investigation concluded that more stringent safety regulations were necessary for the regulation of such boats. The "T-boat" regulations, 46 CFR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFR), subchapter T, which included routine inspections of all vessels for hire carrying six or more people and strict regulation of passenger capacity went into effect in 1957.
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FV_Pelican&action=edit&section=4)]

[cowherder]

Wow, great stories Pebbles and Surfstix,thanks for sharing!

[plugaholic]

Thank you for posting, fascinating reads.

[surfstix1963]

your welcome

[captnemo]

Found these interesting photos

http://twistedsifter.com/2011/04/25-haunting-shipwrecks-around-the-world/?utm_source=wahoha.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wahoha

[stormchaser]

What an incredible find.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/sunken_treasure_off_njs_coast.html

Sunken treasure off N.J.'s coast? Florida diver lays claim to ship wreck site

Published: Saturday, September 22, 2012, 7:00 AM Updated: Saturday, September 22, 2012, 10:06 AM

http://media.nj.com/avatars/8027114.png (http://connect.nj.com/user/sstirling/index.html)By Stephen Stirling/The Star-Ledger (http://connect.nj.com/user/sstirling/posts.html)
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http://media.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/photo/11598533-large.jpgView full size (http://media.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/photo/ella-warleyjpg-791b0db4156ca859.jpg)
Courtesy of The Charleston Renaissance Gallery
An 1855 rendering of the Ella Warley, attributed to Joseph B. Smith and son, William S. Smith.

ASBURY PARK (http://www.nj.com/asbury-park/) — It was buried among the legal ads in a local newspaper this week, nary two paragraphs long amid public notices from municipalities and legal name changes.

It was a federal court announcement, but no ordinary one, from a treasure hunter announcing to "modern day pirates" that he was laying claim to a previously undiscovered Civil War-era shipwreck buried off the coast of Asbury Park — the maritime equivalent of a wedding officiant asking "if anyone has reason for these two not to be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."
The "groom" is Allan Gardner, a Florida diver who is seeking to salvage the ship. His bride-to-be, he hopes, is the Ella Warley, a 19th century steamship that sank into the murky waters off New Jersey nearly 150 years ago, taking with it the lives of six crewman.
"We’re looking for sunken treasure," said Jerome A. Ballaratto, an attorney representing Gardner’s company, Endeavor Associates. "We found the ship and we suspect that there’s treasure in it, and we’re hoping to find it."

Gardner’s company has asked the courts to recognize him as the sole owner of anything he unearths at the wreck site, a little-known niche of maritime law that would permit the arrest of anyone else who tries to poach his watery bounty.
"With today’s technology, once you’ve located (a wreck). unless you put something on it twenty-four-seven, you can’t protect it," said David Paul Horan, another attorney representing Gardner and one of the most prolific authorities on litigation involving salvage operations. "It protects the site. So if a modern day pirate shows up and you say I have court protection of this site and show them your paperwork, a federal Marshall boards his ship, says come with me and that’s that."
Anyone who feels they have a legal claim to the Ella Warley or its contents, be they a family member of a crewman or an insurance company that covered the ship, has until Thursday to notify the U.S. District Court in Newark. If not, it’s all Gardner’s.
Based on historical records, that could mean a big pay day.

THE WRECK
By all accounts, it was a clear winter night on Feb. 9, 1863, when the Ella Warley was steaming south near the New Jersey coastline, the lights from the shore in full view from the ship’s deck.
The ship had recently been captured by Union forces during the Civil War, after acting as a blockade runner for the Confederacy for several years, and was headed for New Orleans with 30 passengers and cargo.
Lights from another ship, the S.S. North Star headed toward New York, were spotted by the Ella Warley’s crew, at this point miles away, according to newspaper articles and court records. The two ships altered their course, but incorrectly, putting them, unknowingly, on a collision course.

Officers of the Ella Warley, told the New York Herald what happened next:
"Mr. O’Grady, the ship’s steward, was in his room at the time. When the noise on deck was heard Mr. O’Grady rushed out, and when he saw the North Star coming called to the chief engineer, who sprang on deck," the article said. "As he did so the collision occurred and the North Star’s stern passed directly into his stateroom, crushing it to pieces."
Both ships suffered heavy damage, but the North Star was able to make it safely to shore with many of the passengers and crew of the Ella Warley on board. Six men on the Ella Warley were killed, and the ship sank in just 20 minutes, its full cargo still on board.

THE TREASURE
According to newspaper articles published in the following days, the cargo was worth $175,000 and included jewelry, a safe containing $5,000 and at least $8,000 in gold coins — all of which has laid untouched and buried on the ocean floor ever since.

Gardner could not be reached for comment. Dan Lieb, president of the New Jersey Historical Divers’ Association, has dived at the wreck site which, he said, Gardner and another diver discovered more than 20 years ago.
"I know for years they were very interested in it," Lieb said, adding the wreck site no longer resembled a ship. "I dived it years ago. It was widely scattered wreckage. The only thing I was able to find to mark it as a dive site was the machinery that propelled the vessel. It was unmistakably that of a side-wheel (steamboat), which the Ella Warley was."
Horan said Gardner has already unearthed several artifacts from the wreck site, including a gold coin, and through meticulous research has virtually proven he has found the Ella Warley.

"With this one, there’s going to be a lot of artifacts as well as some coins. This is the kind of stuff you’d find in museums," Horan, who is based in Florida, said. "I’ve already told him to get things sorted up there because I’m going to jump in a plane, get up there and go dive with him."

Ballaratto said Gardner hopes to conduct a more substantial salvage operation in the spring, assuming the court filing goes smoothly. Poachers of wreck sites have become increasingly common as technology has improved, Horan said, so planting a legal flag on your find has become crucial.

That’s especially true when the cargo could be worth several times what it was 150 years ago, but Ballaratto wouldn’t comment on what they had found thus far, saying only they were "very enthusiastic" about it.
Lieb said he had a pretty good idea.

"I know they found gold down there years ago and there were always rumors that there was more," he said. "They probably found what they were looking for."
Star-Ledger staff writer Lisa Rose contributed to this report.

[surfstix1963]

Steamboat Lexington
Construction on the paddlewheel steamship Lexington began during the month of September, 1834 at the Bishop and Simonson shipyard in New York, New York. Any one pursuing an executive MBA (http://www.executivembaguides.org/) would benefit from studying Cornelius Vanderbuilt's attention to quality and detail. Her hull was 120 feet long and 21 feet wide. The Lexington was 490 gross tons. Work was personally supervised by Cornelius Vanderbuilt, who ensured that the finest grade of materials (http://www.commerce.gov/news/secretary-speeches/2009/11/13/remarks-meeting-university-chicago-executive-mba-students-singapo) would be used. Seasoned white oak and yellow pine was used in the box frame design of the hull and deck. The strength of the hull was derived from bridge plans in the publication, Town's Patent for Bridges . Her wood burning, vertical-beam engine was built by the West Point Foundry. Ship furnishings included teak railings, paneling, and stairways. The highest quality of fixtures was used throughout the ship. Safety was considered in every aspect during the planning and construction of the ship. The single smokestack was encased throughout all decks. Exposed combustable materials were not used near the boilers and steampipes. A pipe was fitted into the hull which allowed the hot cinders from the boilers to pass into the water instead of on the decks. A fire engine was installed with hoses and pumps. Three lifeboats were placed on the Lexington near the stern and a life raft on the forward deck. These lifeboats could only carry half of the full complement, but they fit the requirements of the day.

On June 1, 1834, she began service as a day boat between New York, NY and Providence, RI. Passengers enjoyed the fastest boat on Long Island Sound. Service and accommodations were first class. In 1837 the very successful service was moved to Stonington, Connecticut. The New Jersey Steamship Navigation and Transportation Company purchased the Lexington in December of 1838 for $60,000. The boilers were converted to burn coal, and the interior was refurbished at a cost of $12,000. The coal fired engines were force fed by fans, which in turn would drive the steamship even faster and hotter.

Daybreak found the Lexington tied up in New York on January 13, 1840. The morning air was very cold, about zero degrees. Ice was beginning to form on the surface of the water. One hundred and fifty bales of cotton were loaded under the promenade deck of the steamship. Some of these bales were placed within a few feet of the smokestack casing. A fire had occured in the casing only a few days earlier, but no one took the problem seriously even after repairs were made. It was a mistake that would later prove disastrous.

For the evenings Long Island Sound crossing, Captain George Child was in charge of the ship and crew of thirty-four. The regular master, Captain Jacob Vanderbuilt (Cornelius's brother), was home sick with a cold. A number of sea captains were boarding on their way home to see loved ones. Passengers began arriving in the early afternoon and paid $1.00 for the trip to Stonington. The fare was 50 cents if passengers stayed on the decks, but the temperatures were too cold for anyone. For those passengers traveling beyond the Connecticut destination, a train would continue their journey to Boston. Adolphus Harnden boarded with $20,000 in silver coins and $50,000 in bank notes (http://ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/general-news/4162-ceibs-executive-mba-graduation) for the Merchants Bank. The ship took on about 115 passengers and departed her dock for the last time around three o'clock in the afternoon. The twenty-three foot diameter paddlewheels propelled the vessel down the East River and around Throgs Neck into Long Island Sound. A brisk north wind was blowing, producing a heavy sea. Additional coal was thrown on the fire and the Lexington began to pick up speed as she began her journey into the open sea. White caps could be seen on the water as Manhattan drifted into the setting sun.

By six o'clock the passengers were settled in and enjoying dinner. They had a choice of baked flounder in a wine sauce or mutton with boiled tomatoes. Conversations covered the lastest news, politics, and banking rates (http://ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/general-news/4162-ceibs-executive-mba-graduation). Some ventured out onto the decks for a short time, only to return quickly to the warm interior. One table was engrossed in a game of cards. No one knew of the horror that was about to happen.

At seven thirty, a fire was reported by the first mate. Looking out the wheel house, flames could be seen shooting from the aft section of the promenade deck, near the smokestack casing. Captain Child steered the vessel south toward the north shore of Long Island in an effort to beach her, but soon the steering became unresponsive. The Lexington then turned to a heading of east, on its own, as if trying to out run the flames. The lines between the rudder and the wheelhouse were burned through. With her steam engine running at full power, the Lexington was now out of control. The fire quickly engulfed the entire aft section of the ship. Crew members in the engine room were forced out by the flames before the engines could be shutdown. Launching the lifeboats while the Lexington plowed through the water was impossible. The fire fighting equipment was not deployed properly and any chance of stopping the fire was lost. The silver coins were dumped onto the deck so the wooden box could be used in a bucket brigade. Flames were now as high as the smokestack. They could be seen from the shoreline of Connecticut and Long Island. Many boats in the shoreline marinas were blocked by low tide, ice, and rough seas in an attempt to reach the burning steamboat. Captain Child ordered the launching of the lifeboats.

The scene on the decks were of terror and panic. As the crew were preparing a boat for launching, passengers stormed the lifeboat, filling it well beyond capacity. In the wake of a trashing paddlewheel, the boat and everyone in it was quickly swept away and lost. The Lexington was slowing down, giving some the chance to throw cotton bales over the side as rafts. By midnight the steamship was burned from bow to stern. Its deck had collapsed into the hull. At three o'clock the next morning, the Lexington slowly sank into Long Island Sound.

Many people who remained in the water succumbed to the freezing cold water. In the end, only four people would survive. All but one of the survivors was frostbitten. The Second Mate, David Crowley was able to dig into the center of a cotton bale to stay warm. He floated for forty-eight hours until he was washed ashore. He was to keep the bale in his Providence, Rhode Island home for many years until he sold it for the Civil War effort.
On September 20, 1842, the Lexington was lifted by heavy chains to the surface, only to break up and sink again into 130 feet of water. A thirty pound melted mass of silver was recovered from inside the hull.

Today the wreck lies broken up across the bottom in anywhere from 80 feet deep to 140 feet of water. The wreck is covered in wire from the salvage operation, fishing line, and other wreckage. The bottom is very dark, cold, and extremely hazardous. Navigation lines are a must. A paddlewheel is located at Loran 26679.1/43979.9 in 80 feet. The bow is at 26652.1/43962.8 in 140 feet.

[surfstix1963]

SS Oregon The night before arriving in port it was Captain Philip Cottiers' custom to supervise the OREGON'S entry into New York City. He went below leaving word to be awakened at 5 A.M.to welcome the arrival of the Pilot boat. This would give him enough time to be on the bridge before daybreak.
As he went below he scanned the horizon and gazed out at the cool clear night with great satisfaction. The OREGON made the crossing on schedule again. He was pleased with the OREGON'S excellent performance making the trip from Liverpool, England in just under 71/2 days. The watch was on deck as always and the first mate was on the bridge nearby following the Captain's orders. Captain Cottiers had complete confidence in his crew.

Suddenly out of the blackness of night a three masted heavily laden schooner struck the OREGON midships. The phantom ship, later identified as the CHARLES R. MORSE, penetrated the OREGON'S steel hull and stove three large holes in the luxury liner's port side. Temporarily they locked together but just as suddenly they drifted apart. Cries of help filled the quietness of the night as the schooner slipped mysteriously below the waves taking her crew with her.

No one seems to know with any certainty when, how or why the idea of the Blue Riband was started. Recording speeds of steamship crossings began in 1838 and has continued since. In 1886 the OREGON was one of the speediest to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Although materially the award never existed until 1935, the OREGON was the proud recipient of that prestigious title. Until then her competition was not yet born. It was not until 1952, when the U.S.S. United States won the title for the United States and recaptured the award from other contenders. This time officially with the coveted Silver cup of Victory. The OREGON, although gone these many years held this victorious title in abeyance for The United States.

When the OREGON left Liverpool at 10 A.M. on Saturday March 6, 1886 Captain Philip Cottiers, her skipper, intended to buoy the credibility of her exceptionable speed. She carried her 520 foot length proudly with her 7,375 gross tons across her 40 foot beam. She could make 19 knots with ease. Not only was she queen of the Atlantic she was also luxury par excellence. The seasoned and experienced crew members catered to the whims of the more than 650 passengers on board.

The entire week of this momentous voyage the waves were glass top smooth and comfortably calm. Billowing clouds could be seen in a 360 degree arc painting a picture most passengers would never forget. It was a memorable crossing in more ways than one could imagine. Captain Cottiers made his last entry in the log before the morning docking, smiling as he flowingly wrote, "Weather clear, seas calm, fresh breeze from the west, continuing at maximum speed. All is well."
At that time the OREGON was the biggest and the fastest ship afloat. It was designed especially for Stephen Barker Guion, owner of the American Lines, by Fairfield Ship Builders of Glasgow. She was exquisitely fitted with the finest, most elaborate and costliest materials. Steve Guion's penchant for splendor and speed became an obsession that eventually became his downfall. The diminishing quotas of passenger crossings certainly did not help either.
With the invention of the compound steam engine in 1870 this four masted barque now sported two impressive smoke stacks, burned 240 tons of coal per day producing 12,000 horsepower. On her maiden voyage in 1881 she crossed the Atlantic in 6 days ten hours and 40 minutes. An unheard of speed...yet engineers predicted more improvements were on the drawing boards to increase propulsion and fuel economy. This earned the OREGON the mystical Blue Riband award ...and unfortunately the notoriety of being the largest ship to have been sunk off Long Island.

Stephen Guion's interests centered elsewhere after winning this prize and as a result he went bankrupt. Cunard Line purchased the OREGON and placed her in the passenger trade crossing the Atlantic on a regular basis. As this giant forged forward approaching New York Harbor most of her passengers went to bed anticipating her early morning arrival. The engineers made certain she maintained full speed. The OREGON went down 107 years ago becoming the largest wreck lost in the history of ship navigation on Long Island. She is located on the 20 fathom curve just about 22 miles from the Fire Island Inlet. Smaller vessels with sufficient fuel can make the trip with ease. She is fairly easy to locate because the hull is still in one piece and her twin smoke stacks stand out like sore thumbs on the depth recorder.

Unlike the SAN DIEGO the OREGON is right side up as though in a deep water drydock with her giant screw still buried in the sand. "At the time we were under a full load of steam, hoping to arrive in New York City in time for early Sunday church services. The weather was clear even at this early hour of 4:30 A.M.", said Captain Cottiers. After the collision the OREGON floated for more than 8 hours. He had earlier ordered all water tight compartments closed. "We worked from the moment of the collision. We took all the necessary precautions. The engineers attempted to seal the onrushing sea with a large canvas patch, but it was
useless." The CHARLES R. MORSE, after colliding with the OREGON disappeared completely. None of the nine man crew or any part of the wreckage was ever found although a couple of masts were located about 17 miles from where the OREGON now lies.

"We wasted no time alerting the passengers. Some never heard or were aware that a vessel had collided with us. The temporary repair kept us afloat just a little longer", explained Captain Cottiers. At about 8 A.M. upon hearing the distress signals the Pilot boat was the first to arrive. THE OREGON'S crew had already lowered the boats as the F.A.GORHAM of Maine came into view.

Captain Cottiers was the last to leave his ship, later he commented to reporters, "I'm thankful that there were so many people involved in the rescue." Four hundred passengers and crew were transferred to the Pilot boat and about 500 hundred more on the F.A.Gorham schooner. Everyone on the OREGON was saved. It was a text book rescue.
The OREGON'S cargo, worth about a million British pounds, all of the passengers baggage with untold valuables and over 300 mail bags remained on the OREGON as she majestically slid beneath the frigid waves.

Rumor spread as to what caused the strange and unusual sinking. Mistakenly it was said that it was caused by an engine room steam explosion, quite common in those days. Some criticized the ability and qualifications of the ship's personnel. At the hearing by the Board of Inquiry in Liverpool, the panel concluded that no blame could be placed on the officers or crew of the OREGON.

Through out the many years the OREGON has become one of the most interesting wrecks on the Eastern seaboard. All kinds of artifacts have been found there. Besides being one of the most popular dive area on the East Coast, it has become a favorite fishing area for all types of game fish....But the most important prize of all are the 20 lb lobsters said to have spawned in the recesses of the OREGON.

[surfstix1963]

USS San Diego Armored Cruiser 6 was originally named the USS California, the ship that would later be renamed to the USS San Diego. She was built for the United States Navy by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California. This shipyard also built the USS Olympia almost ten years before. The Olympia is available for tours at its Philadelpia, Pennsylvania dock. The hull of the ACR6 was launched April 28, 1904 almost two years after the keel was laid. It was 503 feet long and had a beam of almost 70 feet. The ship weighed about 15,000 tons fully outfitted and loaded for duty. Two eighteen foot diameter propellers were driven by two steam powered engines. These four cylinder engines were supplied steam by sixteen boilers. These engines could produce
25,000 horse power.


ACR6 was commissioned into the United States Navy on August 1, 1907 as the USS California. In addition to two torpedo tubes, she carried four 8-inch, fourteen 6-inch, and eighteen 3-inch guns.

She operated in the Pacific Ocean, visiting many ports including the Philippines, China, Japan, Hawaii, Peru, and Guam. In January of 1911, she is designated the flagship of the Pacific fleet. On September 1, 1914, the ship is renamed the USS San Diego. This was done as a result of a new policy of naming battleships after states. Shortly after, a boiler explosion kills nine crewman during a full speed run in the Gulf of California.

The USS San Diego left the water of the Pacific Ocean and entered the Atlantic Ocean via the Panama Canal for the first time during July 1917. She served in the Atlantic as a convoy escort, at one time stopping at the port in La Croisie, France. After removal of some of her 6-inch guns in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the San Diego steams to New York to meet up with a transatlantic convoy. At 11:05 a.m. most the crew of the San Diego felt a dull thud which originated from the port side engine room. The crew that worked in this area must have experienced a large explosion as bulkheads were smashed in. The ocean soon followed and within 20 minutes the USS San Diego gently rolled over and was gone, along with six of her crew. It is amazing that 1,177 of the ship's crew and officers were able to abandon ship in a such a short time.

The German submarine U.156 is credited with sinking the USS San Diego. The submarine laid mines in the area where the cruiser was lost. Unfortunately we will never know the details of the U.156 operations, as the submarine was sunk on her return voyage after entering a mine field.

The USS San Diego today lies upside down about eleven miles southeast of Fire Island inlet, Long Island, New York at Loran 26543.4 43693.2 in 115 feet of sea water.
The weight of the massive armor belt along with the hull and it's contents crushed the superstructure into the sand soon after she sank. The hull is relatively intact, its keel is at seventy feet and the sand is at around 115 feet. The ship rests upside down with a list to the port side. This angle allows more light on the starboard side, which commonly called 'the light side'.

The port side is called 'the dark side' because of the shadow in which it resides. The sand line is higher on this side because of the list. The stern has started to collapse, but the propeller shafts, which are the diameter of 55 gallon drums, hang out into space at the seventy foot mark. The propellers were removed in the early sixties, however one was lost while on its way to Staten Island, New York. A bilge keel on each side on the hull runs a good length of the ship. These were attached to give the ship stability. They now give divers a line of reference for navigating the wreck. Along 'the light side', the 3-inch guns can be found sticking out from their mounts in the hull.

Many holes exist at various locations around the hull. These can give advanced divers the opportunity to investigate the San Diego's dark interior. The inside doesn't resemble a ship, but rather a junk yard of collapsed machinery, bulkheads, and ship stores. Penetration of the wreck requires special skills and equipment. Hallways and rooms ranging in size from small to very large can quickly silt out, reducing visibilty to zero. Six divers have died on this wreck. It is the most popular dive site in New England, attracting hundreds of divers every year. The US Navy has a policy for removing artifacts from sunken aircraft and shipwrecks.

[surfstix1963]

USS Turner Commander Henry Sollett Wygand Jr. of the U.S.S. TURNER never had a chance. Without warning a mysterious explosion ripped open the main deck sending it sky-high, toppling the mast onto the deckhouse and smashing the ship's only link with the world, destroying the ship's nerve center and the emergency transmission radio system. Commander Wygand along with many of his officers were killed immediately. Sailors were blown to the deck. Their bleeding bodies were scattered everywhere. Fire erupted instantly while the engine room quickly filled with hot poisonous smoke and fumes.

As the wheelhouse collapsed it was accompanied by an unbearable screech of grinding steel. Many more seaman were blown over the side into the freezing water. The engineers feverishly worked to maintain power in subdued darkness waiting for orders from the bridge. Orders never came.

It was 3:30 A.M., January 3, 1944 when THE TURNER quietly maneuvered through the wind, rain and sleet in darkness, and dropped anchor, after completing nine months of active sea duty in the North Atlantic. Here she was 4 miles SE of Rockaway Point, Long Island in 60 feet of water awaiting new official orders.

This Bristol Class Navy Destroyer (designated DD648) was one of 56 that were built in Federal Shipyards' facility in New Jersey. It was named in honor of Captain Daniel Turner, a hero of the war of 1812. It took five months to build, a record time even with today's automated shipbuilding techniques. This fortress could make in excess of 33 knots with her twin screw machinery.

Chief Machinist Mate Rene H. Pincetl was getting the engine room tuned up so that the TURNER could weigh anchor at 7AM sharp. He was lighting off the boiler and getting ready to start up on time when suddenly and without warning a thunderous explosion violently shook the destroyer. "The concussion threw me across the engine room against the bulkhead", he recalled.

All communications were now useless and he couldn't talk to the bridge. The engine room quickly filled with smoke and toxic gases. "I secured the blowers hoping that would slow the smoke from coming down. We were busy. At the time there were six of us in the engine room," he explained.

Dave Merrill, the radioman tried to send an SOS through the emergency transmitter but found the main radio room useless and in shambles. Later he said that what bothered him most was, "the loss of a brand new suit of tailor made blues...they cost me $49."

The first blast ripped the 5 inch guns out of their mounts like they were toys. Sailors watched in awe and disbelief as the cannons turned end over end. Flames belched suddenly from another gun mount. Coxswain Raymond 0. Pomp said that his crew immediately broke out the C02 extinguishers to put out the flames erupting from #3 mount. When that extinguisher emptied they hooked up the hose. "We were especially concerned in preventing the gun's ammunition nearby from exploding," he explained. "All hands were either fighting fire or taking care of some of the guys that got hurt. I heard three blasts in all. There was no confusion, no panic, even when the fuel oil flared up and lit up the stormy winter sky. The way the flames reflected on the rolling waves was weird. It was real scary with the artillery shells exploding around us."



Luckily the crew left the forward mess room a few minutes before the initial blast. That's where without any warning whatsoever the explosion tore open a gigantic hole. As with most meals of the day, the 200 crewmen were always fed in shifts and the engineers had just finished when it all happened. The engineers worked continuously to maintain enough pressure to operate the ship's fire water main. It was difficult groping in the semi-darkness, choking and trying to see through blood-shot eyes. The crew heroically remained at their posts attending to stricken buddies in the brightness of the burning fuel oil.

Coxswain Williams on duty at the Coast Guard look-out station on Sandy Hook luckily happened to see the destroyer explode through the haze. A general quarters alarm dispatched a sub-chaser and a 77 foot launch to the scene. The need for assistance spread quickly. Immediately upon arrival the Cutter rescued a man bobbing about on a torn mattress while another clung desperately to the ship's mascot, a little mongrel terrier called "Turn To."

Survivors were certain the order to 'abandon ship' came from the Cutter's Captain at 7AM. The 83 foot sub-chaser, the larger of the vessels pushed her bow athwart the burning destroyer and lashed in to receive the stranded seamen. The bright flames of burning oil made the operation easier to see, while other Coast Guard units continued to cruise the area in search of missing Sailors.

Officially the cause of the mysterious explosion was blamed on defective ammunition. This explanation doesn't ring true simply because the experienced and well disciplined crew would have been alerted to any sensitive munitions problem during the previous nine months they worked together. A more popular theory attributed the blast to U-boat activity. It was a well known fact that Germans had sunk dozens of ships in and about New York harbor. The heavy blustery weather that blanketed the morning of January 3, 1944 could have provided enough cover for a sub to prowl in releasing numerous torpedoes to create the havoc
witnessed on the TURNER.

A normal compliment on destroyers of this class consisted of approximately 200 men. Of that number 163 were actually rescued. Its logical to presume that 37 men joined Commander Wygand on the "missing-in-action" list.

Ashore, reports later revealed, That the explosion affected people in a variety of ways. Besides the concussion and spooky whistling, gusts were accompanied by unexplainable rumbles that mysteriously rattled and shattered windows. Some thought it was an earthquake. Directly west of where the TURNER exploded, covering the entire length of Staten Island's 15 miles, the countryside residents were bewildered and confused. In the Bay Ridge section along the waterfront, a woman was sure that ''the heavy woman upstairs fell out of bed." Suburban dwellers thought their oil burners exploded. Up and down the New Jersey and Long Island shores and as far away as Bellville, New Jersey, folks reported strange happenings. Even in Bayshore and Babylon on Long Island, reports came in that people felt the explosion's vibration too.

Before everyone left the TURNER Coxswain Ray Pomp went below decks, closed some hatches and checked to see that every one was out. "The next explosion I heard split her in two. That's when she busted-up after 7AM. Slowly the TURNER slid to the bottom 55 feet down," he sadly remembered. Just as the whirlpool of the sinking ship leveled off, the final and worst detonation occurred. Water flew high in the sky as if to say farewell. With daylight the ocean resumed its repetitive earthly pattern. The U.S.S. TURNER is no longer a hazard to navigation since an oil tanker rubbed her bottom on the wreck. This prompted some salvage and the TURNER now rests broken up in 50 to 58 feet of water.

Although the Navy Department did not officially say so, German U-boats had been lurking around Coney Island area looking to decimate more tonnage as freighters left New York harbor for Europe. There is no doubt that German U-boats torpedoed the TURNER not once but twice. Now she is an excellent in-shore search area, within easy reach for both divers and anglers. Bonito, albacore and weakfish have made the TURNER their territory and roam about the old girl's slowly rusting remains.

[surfstix1963]

Wreck Name
Type
Depth
Location
Loss Date


Coimbra
Tanker
180 feet
SE of Long Island, NY
January 15, 1942


Hylton Castle
Freighter
100 feet
Fire Island, LI, NY
January 11, 1886


Kenosha
Freighter
105 feet
Fire Island, NY
July 24, 1909


Lexington (http://longislandgenealogy.com/shipwrecks.html#lexington)
Steamboat
80-150 feet
Long Island Sound
January 14, 1840


Normandie
Liner
NA
New York Harbor
February 2, 1942


SS Oregon (http://longislandgenealogy.com/shipwrecks.html#oregon)
Liner
130 feet
SE of Fire Island, NY
March 14, 1886


USS San Diego (http://longislandgenealogy.com/shipwrecks.html#diego)
Cruiser
115 feet
Long Island, NY
July 19, 1918


USS Tarantula
Gunboat
115 feet
South of LI, NY
October 28, 1918


Texas Tower
Radar Tower
180 feet
South of Fire Island, NY
January 15, 1961


USS Turner (http://longislandgenealogy.com/shipwrecks.html#turner)
Destroyer
55 feet
Off Sandy Hook Point
January 3, 1944



Long Island N.Y. "Wreck Valley"

[DarkSkies]

Lots of great info,......
thanks for posting R......:thumbsup:


Wish ya could be here right now.....:HappyWave: :fishing:

[storminsteve]

Holy cannolis surfstix....that's a lot of wrecks!

[jigfreak]

Homes of a lot of big tog and seabass.

[surfstix1963]

Guess things are going well.......
Lots of great info,......
thanks for posting R......:thumbsup:


Wish ya could be here right now.....:HappyWave: :fishing:

[DarkSkies]

^^ Well, they were going well. just for one night.....pretty damn good, in fact......:drool:...best action in a few months.....
But the N/NE winds killed it...dirtied up the water.....I fished for 7 hours last night with nothing to show for it.....:don't know why:

it's all the fault of that googan Monty :laugh: :HappyWave:....... he loves that white water and was praying for this.....:kooky:...and now he got what he asked for......I tell ya, we're chock full o googans on this site......;) :rolleyes:

[seamonkey]

Surfstix thanks for that, very informative.

[surfstix1963]

You are Welcome.

[baitstealer]

Very cool thanks for sharing it

[bababooey]

Thought this was a fitting post for Halloween. Happy Hallows eve folks!:whoo:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NADWGNRYOLU

[bababooey]

Mary Celeste


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tTa75hRz2c

[surfstix1963]

Thanks Bababooey great vids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xg0AzXDcFsc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=xg0AzXDcFsc

[bababooey]

Your quite welcome SS.:HappyWave:

[seamonkey]

Pretty near one off atlantic city

http://www.dailynewsen.com/breaking/nj-shipwreck-revealed-stockton-college-students-mapping-long-lost-steamship-h2541538.html (http://www.dailynewsen.com/breaking/nj-shipwreck-revealed-stockton-college-students-mapping-long-lost-steamship-h2541538.html) Richard Stockton College Students Map Shipwreck (http://videos.nj.com/nj/2014/08/richard_stockton_college_stude.html)A group of Richard Stockton College students are mapping a shipwreck 12 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. In 1860, the steamship Robert J. Walker collided with another vessel and sank off Atlantic City, killing 20 people. More than 150 years later, Richard Stockton College students are returning to the deadly site to map the shipwreck using sonar and other high-tech equipment. The wreck, recently named a national historic site, has become a popular spot for divers.

[voyager35]

They just found one in Brick

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9740-19th-century-shipwreck-uncovered-in-Brick