Scuba Venture Blog

We had a great turnout for our Oyster Dive. Everyone had a great time and loads of Oysters were brought up. Hope you can join us on Dec. 19.

We now have a buddy finder for those looking for a new dive buddy. Hopefully you will be able to find someone to dive with on your day off. We have promised you this for a while now so we hope you enjoy it. Please follow the directions on how to use it.   Click here to got to the Scuba Venture Buddy Finder.
 

Ocean Dive on October 18th
: The Immaculata:  The Immaculata lies in 95 feet of water, 18 miles south of Jones Inlet. She was a 270 foot sailing vessel decommissioned to a garbage barge. She sunk in the 1920s. This wreck, or wrecks, contains many old bottles buried in and around her broken remains. Today, years later, the wreck is still producing artifacts for divers who explore her scattered ribs. There is also a large fluted anchor in an area of the wreck that appears to be the bow section. The bottom composition is very silty, so divers should make a conscious effort not to stir it up. In my time spent on the bottom I have only seen three sets of ribs which indicate a single schooner wreck. This wreck is excellent for lobsters and spearfishing. Though low lying and scattered over a large area the location is excellent for lobsters, fish and artifacts. This area was the location of the dump for the garbage from New York City in the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s. That is why there is an abundance of old bottles in and around this wreck. The wreck seams to be in three sections, or it may be three different wrecks.

The Tolten Formerly named the S.S. Lotta, the Tolten, a 280 foot by 43 foot Danish steamer, was taken over and renamed by the Chilean government when WW II began in Europe. She was built in 1938, displaced 1,858 gross tons and had the distinct misfortune of being the first Chilean vessel sunk during the war. On March 13, 1942,the Tolten, having unloaded her cargo of nitrates a day earlier, was traveling in ballast to New York when she was struck by a pair of German torpedoes fired from the U-404. The subsequent explosions ripped the ship apart, sending her to the bottom within six minutes. At the time of her sinking, Chile was a neutral country and had been assured by Germany that none of her ships would be attacked as long as they traveled with their running lights on. The Tolten had been stopped before her attack by a U.S. Navy patrol boat and had been warned to be on the lookout for submarines and to travel "Blacked Out". Much to her demise, the Tolten took the patrol boat’s advice. Out of 28 crew members, only the electrician, Julio Faust, survived to tell the story. Julio managed to cling to a life raft for nearly twelve hours before being picked up by a Coast Guard vessel. Today, The Tolten’s broken up hull can be found lying on her starboard side in 90 feet of water, 40miles out of Debs Inlet and 16 miles from Barnegat Inlet. Since her sinking, she has been wire dragged clear to a depth of 50 feet, so as not to be a hazard to navigation.

Presently, Dutch is 53 degrees and Willow Springs is around 59 degrees