New Jersey Scuba Diving

Cornelia Soule

The Cornelia Soule was a 306-ton three-masted schooner. She was bound from Maine to Philadelphia, heavily loaded with a cargo of cut granite jetty stones at the time of her demise.

On April 26, 1902, during a heavy sea and gale-force wind, the vessel ran aground on Rockaway Shoals. Because of the heavy sea, lifesavers could not reach the schooner until the next morning. At that time, Captain Bennett and his entire crew of five men were rescued and treated for exposure ailments.

Because of the cargo she was carrying, this wreck is better known as the Granite Wreck. She lies inshore and west of the Warrior Buoy in 25 feet of water. Most of her wood hull has become deteriorated or buried, but some ribs and planking can be seen on the west side of the wreck. The stern can be distinguished by some remaining steering machinery, but most of the wreck left to be explored is her cargo of granite slabs. This little wreck has become a good spot for spearfishing, especially Blackfish. She has also been a fairly productive, shallow water site for lobsters.

Excerpted from Wreck Valley CDROM by Dan Berg