Pocono "Rudder Wreck" ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Pocono "Rudder Wreck"

Shipwreck Pocono — Side-scan sonar image, with the shadow of the rudder plainly evident at the lower-right ( north end of the wreck. )

Type:: shipwreck, schooner barge
Built:: 1905, T.S. Marvel Shipbuilding, Newburgh NY
Specs:: ( 156 ft ) 698 tons
Sunk:: Monday March 31, 1924
foundered in storm
Depth:: 60 ft

Commonly identified as the Pocono. The mostly low, upside-down wreckage is in several pieces, requiring a jump over the pebbly sand to get from one to another. At the stern, the namesake schooner-style rudder juts up about 10 ft above the collapsed hull, while the broken-over bow is adorned with two large modern stock-less anchors. One thing I don't recall seeing anywhere is rivets or rivet holes.

The bilge keel is still present along the east side, the west side is broken down. Much of the hull plating that was once the bottom is rusted through and collapsed, and there are many compartments to explore, some big enough to get inside. Naturally, big Blackfish can be found in places like this, although I didn't see any lobster. See the Macedonia for a description of general diving conditions here.

from AWOIS: 1563

FE330SS/89--OPR-C147-HE-89; CONTACT #8 FROM SURVEY H-10284/88; SIDE-SCAN SONAR AND DIVER INVESTIGATION FOUND THE REMAINS OF A WOODEN AND STEEL WRECK ABOUT 25M LONG RESTING UPRIGHT AND RISING 6 FT ABOVE A SANDY BOTTOM; WRECK IS BADLY WEATHERED BUT STILL MORE OR LESS INTACT; TWO LARGE ANCHORS STILL HANG FROM THE BOW; NO IDENTIFYING MARKINGS WERE FOUND ON WRECK; LEADLINE LEAST DEPTH OF 51 FT TAKEN ON ONE OF THE VERTICAL TIMBERS RISING ABOVE THE WRECK. (UPDATED MSD 6/91)

40.355303 -73.933372

Location and details courtesy of Capt. Mick Trzaska of the dive boat CRT II. Thanks also to the Artificial Reef Program for the side-scan sonar image.

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