New Jersey Scuba Diving

Malta

Shipwreck Malta
As Queen of the South, with a steam engine
Type:
iron-hulled steamer, converted to sail
Built:
1852
Specs:
( 244 x 40 ft ) 1600 displacement tons, 24 crew
Sunk:
Saturday November 24, 1885
ran aground in bad weather - 1 casualty
Depth:
20 ft
Shipwreck Malta
The whole aft part of the ship was demolished by the waves,
leaving just the stern post ( see below. )

The remains of the Malta are low scattered debris, 100 yards offshore in Belmar. Given the amount of beach replenishment that has taken place and the fact that the remains of this wreck are pretty small, I would not expect to find much.

Shipwreck Malta stern post

The sternpost of the Malta juts from the surf at low tide off 9th Avenue. There is more small wreckage below, but hardly worth a dive. Note surfer for scale.

Shipwreck Malta mast
Probably the largest remaining piece of the Malta is her iron foremast, planted in the sidewalk near the 7-11 at 8th Avenue. Hidden in plain sight. The old mast is actually a standpipe for the sewage system!

* I hope it is buried, the government sure spends enough of our taxes on this!

Tides

Dive Sites, Manasquan Dive Sites, New Jersey Dive Sites, Sandy Hook Dive Sites,

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Schooner Barge

schooner barge
A beached schooner barge. Compare the hull form with a square barge.

The schooner barge was the final development of the working sailing ship. The design originally evolved in the 1870s on the Great Lakes, where it was found that sailing ships could be more profitably towed from place to place than sailed. No longer subject to the vagaries of the wind, such trips could be made on a scheduled basis, and with reduced labor costs. The idea spread into general use, resulting in the conversion of many sailing ships into barges. Ironically, most of the vessels that were converted to schooner barges were not actually schooners, but square-rigged ships. Square-riggers, with their large and expensive crews of skilled sailors, became uneconomical to operate in the face of ever-improving steam power, while more efficient schooners managed to compete for a few years longer.

More: Schooner Barge ...

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