The
Great Isaac was a very large V-4 class tugboat, but not large enough to survive being gashed six feet deep in the engine room. The wreck now lies intact on its port side, buried to the mid-line. It is one of the premier wrecks of southern New Jersey. Both the "Offshore Tug" and the "Inshore Tug" probably derive their names from their proximity to the Great Isaac, and may not be tugboats at all.
Looking across the top of the wreck - the side plating is
almost completely gone, exposing the ribs.
A view through the wreck - deck beams in the foreground and ribs behind.
Looking down the deck edge near the bow.
Great Isaac lighthouse (abandoned) in the Bahamas
Freighter Bandeirante
clearly flying the Norwegian flag - the same ?
This is a fascinating big wreck of a wooden schooner barge. The broken stern is upended, forming a hollow pyramid that is full of fish. The sides and keel extend north from there to the bow, from which extends a chain which reaches to another much smaller wreck, which is known as the "Inshore Tug."
Whether this actually is the tug that was towing the barge, or just a coincidental sinking, is unknown. Using a chain for a tow line would be highly unusual. Perhaps the barge was anchored to ride out a storm, and the tug sank on top of its hook. It may not even be a tugboat - it might be named that simply because it is inshore of the Great Isaac.
This is a scattered wreck not far from the Great Isaac, clearly a small steel-hulled ship of some kind. There is a boiler and what looks like the remains of a section of hull sticking out of the sand a foot or two.
Description courtesy of diver Art Greenberg
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Copyright © 1996-2008 Rich Galiano
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