Northeast Sailor ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Northeast Sailor

Type:: shipwreck, sailing ship
Depth:: 75 ft

The "Northeast Sailor" is the remains of a large sailing ship. The absence of towing bits is an indicator that this was probably not a schooner barge, while the presence of a boiler and steam machinery place the vessel in the mid to late nineteenth century.

The lay of the wreck is typical. The Bow faces east, probably into the storm that sank her. Low wooden remains lie in lines emanating from a sizable chain-pile and anchor. Some machinery can also be found, including the aforementioned boiler and steam winches. Although the wreckage is scattered, navigation is not difficult. The bottom is clean coarse sand, and there are lobster holes dug beneath the wooden ribs. Many of these are very deep, and even a long stick will not reach the bottom, so lobstering on this wreck is a challenge, but doable. The last time I was there, I grabbed half a dozen nice-sized lobsters, and not one keeper in the lot! All females.

Northeast Sailor — Lots of machinery around the bow

Drawing courtesy of Aaron Hirsh

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Sonar

There are on the market today portable underwater direction-finding units that home in on each other by sound. These provide similar functionality to a strobe light, but with ( theoretically ) longer range, and are ( theoretically ) unaffected by water conditions and visibility. They are also very expensive, and prone to failure when a large object or wall gets between the two units. A number of times I have seen people get lost because they counted on one of these gadgets, and it didn't work.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about these devices is that their users seem to be mostly beginners who place unfounded faith in them, probably because they paid so much for it at the dive shop. They seem to hit the water in "brain-off" mode, counting on their expensive gadgets to get them home, and making little or no effort at other forms of navigation. Unfortunately, these people are probably the least able to cope with the emergency situation that arises when they find out just how reliable their little sonar toy isn't. Learn to use a wreck reel instead.

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