Len Bateman: Messages

There are nearly 40 wrecks within easy reach of the launch sites here. My favorite wreck, and that of many other visiting divers too, has to be the 450-ton two-hold Dutch coaster, the Lucy. This 168ft long vessel sank in 1967 with a cargo of calcium carbide (used in making acetylene gas). Having struck Cable Rock in the middle of Jack Sound on Valentine's Day, the 7-man crew and one Collie dog promptly abandoned ship to avoid the results of the sea water/calcium carbide cocktail they had produced.

This upright small coaster wreck, situated at depths exceeding 30 meters, is easily penetrated. Experienced wreck divers can swim through the deck levels via a staircase inside the main superstructure. Most scuba divers will enter the vessel at one of the external doorways and exit through another seen on the opposite side. The aft deck rails are festooned with pastel-shaded plumose anemones. The currents here in North Haven are generally mild, but care should be taken when tides exceed 6 meters.