Come join us on a great Ocean Diving Adventure on the Pinta Wreck. We will be diving on the Dive Vessel “John Jack” out of Pt. Pleasant, NJ. The trip is scheduled for June 19th. The trip leaves the dock at 7:00 AM so you need to be there by 6:15. Directions to the John Jack can be picked up at Scuba Venture. This is a great dive for both New and Advanced Divers. Artifacts, Lobsters, and fish life can be found on this wreck. Teresa Franke will be leading the trip from Scuba Venture.
Ship’s Name: Pinta
Owner’s: The Pinta, operated by Heide’s Shipping and Trading, was registered in Rotterdam
Design: 500 ton motorship, 194′ long, built in 1959 in Denmark
Circumstances:
The Pinta was small in size compared to most of the ocean going freighters. She had picked up her cargo of lumber in Nicaragua and after a stop in Norfolk, was headed for Port Newark. At one minute after sundown on May 7, 1963, with a 17 knot wind, 3-4 foot seas, and 15 mile visibility, the Pinta mysteriously collided with the 7,547 ton British freighter, City of Perth. The 485′ long City of Perth was out of New York bound for Adelaide, Australia.
The bow of the City of Perth cut into the port side of the Pinta. The Pinta would remain afloat for only 48 minutes, but it was time enough for the twelve man crew to safely abandon ship and be taken aboard the lightly damaged City of Perth. The City of perth safely would deposit the Pinta’s crew in Hoboken and ten days later sailed again for Australia, after modest repairs.
How could these two ships, both with radar, collide in such mild weather and good visibility? The Coast Guard never investigated the incident as it involved international ships in international waters. Diver John Dewhurst researched the collision through the ship’s insurance carriers to try to solve the mystery. The loss of the PINTA was small by maritime standards, damages to the City of Perth minimal, and there was no loss of life or serious injuries. John discovered that for these reasons the parties involved found it financially prudent to bear their own losses in silence rather than take the matter to court. No explanation of how the collision occurred has ever been offered to this day.
In 1968, the City of Perth, now with the new owners, and renamed the ELENI-F, sank after hitting a submerged wreck off Alexandria, Egypt. She was declared a total loss.
Location: 6.5 miles NE of Asbury Park
Depths: Top of the wreck is in less than 60′ of water. Depth at the sand is 90′
Condtions: Mostly intact, lying on her partially buried port side. Some of her cargo of lumber is pilled out onto the sand.
Goodies: The wreck is pretty easy to get around on, and just about always produces lobster. This is one of Mark’s favorite New Jersey wrecks.
Cautions:
1. Watch your depth and time. Plan up to 90′ tables.
2. Ascend on anchor line.
3. Penetration is not recommended. Lumber suspended overhead in the cargo area that creates a very dangerous situation. This wreck is dangerous to penetrate.
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