061601
Thought you all might find this interesting.
Maybe I can get some photos to post.
Maybe I can meet some of these guys.
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AUE Weekend Trip Report
June 16-17, 2001
AUE documents the final resting spot of the Pan Massachusetts
Realizing the fantastic potential off the Canaveral area, AUE has been
hitting these wrecks hard lately. After getting used to the local
conditions on the Cities Service Empire during the past two weekends, on
Saturday we decided to visit an unknown wreck in deeper water that we were
made aware of by some local fishermen. I have been working with some local
fishermen to get coordinates for some undocumented wrecks. As an aside, it
is always humorous to hear divers claim to have "discovered" a new wreck
when, odds are, it has been fished for years; I always tap into this
valuable information source. Several large wrecks caught my attention, so
we decided to check out one in the vicinity of the Empire tanker on
Saturday. We had been told it was a large wreck that sat in ~270-280 feet
of water. It has been known as the Copper Wreck for years, though I believe
this name has been perpetuated amongst the fishing community from an error
published in a local book. Initially, I thought the wreck may be the
Elizabeth Massey, a British freighter believed to have been sunk in the same
general location and on the same exact date as the Pan Massachusetts. The
456-foot long Pan Massachusetts, built in 1918, was torpedoed by the U-128
on 19 February 1942. The loss of the Pan Massachusetts is notable due to
the fact that she was the first war casualty off Florida during World War
II. The Elizabeth Massey, much smaller in size than the Pan Massachusetts,
was supposedly carrying a cargo of copper, hence the connection. However,
further investigation has led me to believe that the Massey did not sink on
the reported date and is a record-keeping error; conflicting information
indicates that the Elizabeth Massey apparently arrived on scene after the
Pan Massachusetts was torpedoed and recovered some of the survivors.
On the way out, luck would have it that our LORAN unit went out.
Fortunately, we had some converted latitude/longitude coordinates that we
hoped would put us in the ballpark. Arriving on the site, I began a search
pattern and soon marked a large wreck in 285 feet of water. I began trying
to determine the orientation of the wreck which proved to be a frustrating
task with the west wind and strong northward current. Eventually, I felt
comfortable with the site and we made preparations to drop the first team in
the water. A local charter boat arrived on site and began fishing the wreck
as it drifted over the site. I radioed over to the boat to let him know of
our intentions and to see if we could share the wreck after one of his
passes. He was more than cooperative and remained on station while we moved
up current. I overheard several conversations on the VHF regarding our
exploration dives, as the local charter fleet had heard of our recent visits
to the Empire. Once in position, we dropped the first team in who finned
for the bottom. Unfortunately, my first drop was off the mark a bit and the
poor visibility experienced on the bottom did not allow for any error. After
a brief sand dive, the team surfaced and were recovered, enthusiastic for
another drop. Again, we motored upcurrent and deployed the divers.
Soon, we saw a decent wake behind the poly balls, indicating that they were
either on the wreck or working to reach it. However, a few minutes later
the ball floated directly over and off the wreck. After watching the poly
ball and determining the divers were not on it, we recovered the shotline
and then moved into position downcurrent of the wreck in anticipation of
their liftbags. After their planned bottom time, the team drifted off and
eventually shot their bags for decompression. Joe and I patiently stayed on
station, eager to hear the details of their dive.
Upon their recovery, the team told us that the massive wreck was turtled.
The conditions were less than spectacular, with "blurry" 20-30 feet of
visibility and chilly 63 degree water. Again, there was a nasty layer from
100'-160' feet that blocked out a lot of the ambient light, making it very
dim on the bottom. While inverted, there were massive portions of the wreck
that allowed penetration into the interior, though they did not venture too
far inside. The first team reported a depth around the base of the wreck to
be 296-297'. They did note that the wreck appeared to have been sliced in
two, as the stern was missing; the section they visited was estimated to be
approximately 300-350 feet in length.
Joe and I geared up and prepared for our drop as Mikey motored into
position. I jumped over the side with the bitter end of the shotline in
hand. Soon, Joe sped past me with his scooter as I held on and enjoyed the
ride straight down. In short order we found ourselves whipped along by the
current just off the bottom. Eventually, we saw the dark shadow of the
wreck loom up in front of us. We were headed straight towards the edge of
the wreck so Joe and I moved to gain a better interception angle. I saw the
wreck quickly approaching and soon realized, "this is going to suck."
SPLAT. I slammed into the edge of the wreck with a tight grip of the line,
trying to hold it against the wreck while Joe disappeared under an overhang
to try and tie in. After a few moments that felt like an eternity, I saw
his mask poke around the corner as he communicated that he couldn't find a
good tie-in spot. I was readily prepared to let this burden go, so I slowly
released my grip on the shotline. It did not move. Fortunately, the force
of our impact wedged the line into a portion of the wreck and locked it into
place.
We collected ourselves and appraised our surroundings. The wreck was indeed
broken in two. We had slammed into the fracture point of the bow section at
the point of the aftermost tank, just in front of where the boilers and
engine would be found. Sections of the wreck were spread out in the sand to
the south around this point. One piece appeared to be a portion of bulkhead
with portholes. With the wreck laying NE-SW, we began to circumnavigate the
wreck.
Just forward of the line, a cavernous opening allowed penetration into the
interior. Due to the massive size of the hole and presence of debris
adjacent to this area, it is feasible to assume that this may be the point
where one of the torpedoes slammed into the hull. Joe and I ventured
inside, noting the abundant Oculina coral that adorned the interior
surfaces. This appeared to be one of the tanks; vertical ladders along the
separating bulkheads were the only noticeable structure. I noticed some
brass valves and piping in the sand under and around these tanks, more
evidence that this wreck was a tanker. A solitary Warsaw grouper, perhaps
60 pounds, closely followed us with curiosity through the interior and back
outside to the exterior of the wreck. He playfully followed us as we swam
along the hull during the rest of our dive. The wreck has a near vertical
bow, the obtuse angle providing more clues that the wreck is the tanker Pan
Massachusetts.
Turning the corner and finning along the other side, I soon saw the large
starboard anchor tight in its hawse pipe. As our allotted time was nearing
its end, I hitched a ride with Joe and his scooter as we motored along the
hull towards the line. Eventually reaching the fracture point, I saw a line
running along the sand bottom. At the time, I didn't realize that it was
our upline; the current had pulled the balls under the water and the angle
of our line was actually running down into the sand instead of up! We were
able to pry the line loose from the wreck as we were flung off the wreck and
out over the sand, the poly balls eventually popping to the surface. Upon
our exit, I noticed a debris trail heading off to the west which may lead to
the missing stern section ? something to check out on our next visit. We
worked our way up the line, happy to reach the warmer and clearer topside
waters. Decompression was uneventful, aside from a visit from a pod of
dolphins, a solitary shark and a large, frisky remora.
Exiting the water, we all enthusiastically discussed the dive and compared
notes. While we were not able to find any positive identification to the
wreck's identity, due to the architecture and size of the wreck, as well as
the absence of any other large wrecks near the reported sinking location, we
are pretty confident that the wreck is that of the Pan Massachusetts.
However, we plan on returning soon to obtain conclusive proof for any
skeptics out there...
Sunday proved to be another excellent day on the water as the team headed
out to the wreck of the Cities Service Empire. Reaching the site, a boat
was already fishing the wreck. While we made preparations, I ran alongside
after one of their drifts to make them aware of our plans. Apparently, they
already knew who we were and asked if we would be taking video. After a
brief conversation, we motored upcurrent to deploy the first team. The
fishing boat paced alongside, curious to watch the show. We dropped the
first team in and they soon drifted into the stern of the wreck. After
their allotted dive time, they pulled the line and drifted off the Empire.
After recovery, Joe and I suited up and prepared for our turn. Mikey
motored us to the desired position and we hit the water. Again, Joe led the
way with his scooter as we descended Kamikaze-style to the bottom. We
eventually leveled off and waited to drift into the wreck.
Soon, I observed the remains of a large, square "float-free" raft in the
sand just off the stern. A large 50-pound gag curiously eyed us from under
the raft as we drifted past. The scene of the stern coming into view is
incredible. We had great visibility and we could see the large screw and
rudder just above the sand, while looking upwards you could see the barrel
of the deck gun pointing off the stern. Joe scootered over and secured the
line to a starboard-side bollard while I worked the line off the lower
fantail which got wrapped around by the current. Once secure, I motioned to
Joe that I would stay near the line and had no intentions of swimming
against the current back to the line from the bridge area. I poked around
the stern, noticing brass objects everywhere. Underneath the gun, the brass
hubs of the auxiliary steering station still remain. I swam forward a bit
and then dropped down an aft-facing "ramp" that had been formed from the
collapse of the deck. As I swam about the interior of the lower deck, I
noticed several portholes laying about after collapsing inward from the
deteriorating bulkhead. I happened to notice a glint of white and swam over
to find a nice china dish laying amongst the debris and shell hash. I swam
about, eventually swimming forward into the engine room. From inside the
wreck, seeing the huge engine is definitely impressive. The skylights have
collapsed so the engine is exposed from above, providing substantial ambient
light. From the angle I was at, it was a very cool scene. As I turned
around, I spotted yet another telegraph stand pinned under some wreckage.
There is cool stuff all over this wreck! I swam aft a ways into some other
compartments. With the collapsed bulkheads and weird light filtering
through, it was definitely an eerie feeling cruising about the interior. I
eventually headed back up the ramp, happening upon the remains of what
appeared to be a large compass. It, too, was smashed with only bits of
glass remaining. It was a very large compass, approximately the size of a
dinner plate, with only the brass frame and gimbal mount remaining. I
puttered around a bit longer around the top deck until the 59-61 degree
water chilled me to the point that I opted to end the dive a few minutes
early. I motioned to Joe who unanimously agreed, also noting that he was
cold, and we moved over to free the line. We drifted off the stern and
along the portside of the hull. The visibility allowed us to observe the
massive hull and various deck levels, including the row of portholes from
the lower deck. We followed along the hull to the damaged area, whereupon
we started up the line for our decompression.
It was an incredible weekend and I am sure we all can't wait to return to
these awesome wrecks.
Cheers,
Michael C. Barnette
Association of Underwater Explorers
Because it's there...somewhere...maybe.