Looking roughly southeast, with the diving cove in the foreground. The natural basin of the valley is evident, as well as one of the two dams, at right. The water level looks pretty high, with a little snow on the ground.
This is the remains of an unidentified vessel which we located in August of 1986. She appears to be an old paddlewheel steamship, but this is only speculation and has yet to be confirmed. The only artifact I've found on this little wreck was a perfume bottle with the name "Rickseckers Perfume" on it, hence the name, Rickseckers.
The Shrewsbury Rocks are a wide area of rocky bottom that stretches from fourteen feet of water out to the fifty-foot mark off of Monmouth Beach. Some of the formations are twenty feet tall or more and can be very pretty under good conditions, which are unfortunately seldom this far north. The stone itself is a type of sandstone known as Greensand.
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.