General Slocum

Shipwreck General Slocum
Type:
shipwreck, barge, USA
Built:
1891, Brooklyn NY USA, as General Slocum
Specs:
( 235 x 37 ft ) 1284 gross tons, 4 crew
Sunk:
Monday December 4, 1911
storm - no casualties
Depth:
25 ft ( 30 ft, including mud )

The coal barge Maryland sank in heavy weather with no casualties - an utterly forgettable occurrence, were it not for the hulk's previous existence as the side-wheel excursion steamer General Slocum, and the disaster that befell her. On Wednesday, June 15, 1904, the General Slocum caught fire in the East River, New York City.

Shipwreck General Slocum New York Times

The old wooden ship burned fiercely from stem to stern; the situation worsened by negligence and incompetence on the part of the owners, the captain, and the crew. In just minutes the General Slocum burned to the waterline. Over 1000 persons, mostly women and children, died in the flames or drowned in the swift currents of Hell Gate. Entire families perished, and a community of German immigrants was destroyed, leaving just grieving husbands and fathers, many of whom subsequently took their own lives.

Shipwreck General Slocum
Shipwreck General Slocum
The charred remains were lifted from the river bottom and rebuilt as a barge.

The remains of the ship were salvaged and rebuilt as a barge, rechristened Maryland. The Maryland sank three more times before she was finally abandoned. The wreck was rediscovered with reasonable certainty beneath several feet of sand and muck by author Clive Cussler. I doubt it is worth diving.


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Cownose Ray

Rhinoptera bonasus

Size: to 3 ft across

Habitat: Coastal

Notes:
Unlike the other fishes on this page, this is a free-swimming ray, often found near shore in large schools. They generally arrive en masse late in the season and are otherwise uncommon.

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