Balaena is an old term for whale, derived from Latin. The name was found inscribed on the ship's bell.
Depth:
170 ft
shipwreck, wooden hull full of coal
A wood sailing ship in the Mud Hole at a depth of 170 feet. She was a collier or ore carrier. She is still largely intact, coal in what's left of her holds. Divers tell tales of finding lots of deadeyes, but I haven't seen or heard of one coming from this wreck in many years. Her bell was found to identify her name, but not much else has been discovered about her history. A dive for the very experienced diver. Limited visibility, deep and dark. For those with the technical dive skill, it is a very nice dive.
H10224/86 -- OPR-C121-WH-86; WRECKAGE WITH 52 FT PNEUMATIC DEPTH GAUGE LEAST DEPTH, WHICH IS BELIEVED TO BE THIS ITEM, APPROXIMATELY 100M SW OF AWOIS POSITION; DIVERS FOUND THE WRECK OF A BARGE, APPROXIMATELY 20 X 45 M; THREE BOILERS AND NUMEROUS OTHER TYPES OF SHIPYARD DEBRIS WERE FOUND STREWN OVER AN AREA OF 360 X 165 FT; IN THE NW CORNER OF THE SITE THE REMAINS OF ANOTHER WRECK WAS FOUND WITH ONLY THE SHELL PLATING AND FLOOR FRAMING REMAINING; APPROXIMATELY 200 FT LONG, 27 FT BEAM AND SHELL PLATING EXTENDING 5 FT ABOVE THE BOTTOM; BOTH ENDS OF THE WRECK TAPERED INTO THE SAND WITH NO BOW OR STERN VISIBLE; ONE OBJECT CONSISTING OF GUARD RAIL TYPE METAL, APPROXIMATELY 2 FT WIDE, 3/8 INCH THICK, AND 40 FT LONG, FORMING A 60 DEGREE ARCH WITH THE MIDDLE STANDING 10 FT OFF THE BOTTOM; SITE CONSISTED OF TWO WRECKS AND SHIPYARD DEBRIS, INCLUDING A BOOM CRANE; LEAST DEPTH TAKEN ON THE TOP OF THE BOILER LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST SECTION OF SITE. (UPDATED MSD 4/91)
A sailing ship or small steamship in 120 feet of water. Sandy bottom, but given to silty conditions. Like the Deep Dry Dock, she has been dragged apart, mowed down, and pulled apart. She has some nice bronze parts strewn about.
Thursday September 21, 1944 collision with tanker British Harmony, then with freighter Voco ( 5090 tons) while at anchor, then with tanker Empire Garrick - no casualties
Satellite image, showing the jetties and the never-used nuclear power plant.
Now, most people would look at the heading on the page and think that I was crazy for diving near a nuclear power plant. Just to calm your fears, this power plant was never brought online, so there is no chance of getting radiated at this location (barring a nuclear war while you're diving). With that said, Shoreham can be a very interesting dive. Located on the north shore of Long Island (I don't know the name of the town, look on a map), it is a shallow dive with an average depth of around 16 ft. Visibility tends to be anywhere from 3 to 10 ft.
