Dive Wreck Valley
CHINESE SCHOONER
By Daniel Berg
Ever dream about exploring a virgin shipwreck? Hidden for over 120
years the remains of this little wooded schooner lie in only 65 feet
of water off Bridgeport CT. The wrecks true identity is yet unknown
but due to the ornate china decorated with a magnificent Chinese
pattern she is now known to a handful of local divers as the Chinese
Schooner. If your looking for great visibility this wreck is
definitely not for you, but if you like artifacts and don't mind
poor conditions and a little hard work their are few better wrecks
in the area.
Lets go back a few months in time. Capt Noel Verobe who owns Orbit
Marine Dive Shop in Bridgeport CT, invited me to join him on one of
his week day wreck charters. He told of how they were digging on the
remains of a newly discovered shipwreck. At the time my boat was
suffering from engine problems so I happily signed on. The dive was
to say the least very interesting. Fred Bellise and I traveled to
Orbit Marine (only 45 minutes from NY's Throg's Neck Bridge). Before
heading for the boat, Noel showed us his assorted artifacts from the
wreck. The bottles were clearly from the early1800's, dead eyes,
spikes and the prettiest china I've ever seen. Now very excited to
start working we boarded one of Capt Noels 24 ft privateer charter
boats and headed into the sound. In fifteen minutes we were anchored
into the wreck and suiting up. Captain Noel explained that the wreck
was oriented on a North to South line. He and his divers had already
recovered over twenty pieces of Ironstone china. The china was
manufactured by Davenport in England. As aside note Jean Schwarz
looked up Davenport in a china collectors book. Davenport made china
from the late 1700's through to 1887. Depending on the condition the
china is valued at 100 to 200 dollars a piece. That value should of
course go up if or when the shipwreck is identified. Divers also
found a Chinese coin, several dead eyes, a cannon ball, black glass
bottles and a variety of hand forged brass spikes.
 Fred and I
descended together, we were both accustomed to the relatively good
visibility found on Long Islands south shore. What we found was silt
suspended just off the bottom, causing absolutely zero visibility.
It seems that because we were not the first divers on the bottom,
and their was no current, any kicked up silt just stayed like a
cloud over the wreck. We continued along feeling our way across the
bottom in a sense "Brail Diving". At times viability would allow us
to see two feet or so. Both Fred and I dug into the muddy bottom.
The digging wasn't easy. The bottom composition consists of a clay
like mud and oyster shell covered surface. By using a small rake we
dug down twelve inches, then surprisingly the bottom turned into a
very soft mud. We found thin wood boxes or possibly wood drawers as
well as ribs and planking buried as far as three feet down. Fred
and I also tried to cover as much of the wreck as possible. On the
North side, which we assume is her stern, we found high wreckage
then as we headed south we passed over a huge pile of rectangular
stones, presumably cargo and a pile of anchor chain. After some low
lying wood wreckage we crossed a pile of small stones (ballast).
Just ahead of this ballast is the remains of what looks like a winch
and capstain. Surprisingly, after talking with everyone on board it
seems that most of the artifacts were actually found only slightly
buried, so Fred and I probably wasted a lot of effort
digging holes
that were to deep. After our dive was over Fred did surface with a
beautiful porcelain toilet bowl and I had found a perfect three
holed dead eye. Not bad for the first dive on a shallow water wreck.
After our first dive I made several return trips to the wreck. I
tried to blast away the bottom with an underwater scooter and even
brought a powerful water dredge to the site but neither was overly
productive due to the clay type bottom. I found the best tool to be
a simple hand held garden rake and a little hard work. Each trip
with a rake resulted in artifacts being recovered. I never hit a
mother load but was always rewarded with one or two nice pieces. On
one trip I found a black glass bottle, another dive produced a
intact coffee cup. Others were even luckier. On one trip Steve Jonnassen recovered three perfect little miniature dead eyes and on
another my friend Jim Fassalorie found two intact china cups. The
precise location of the Chinese Schooner is a well guarded secret.
Only a few private boats from Long Island and Connecticut and
charters from Orbit Marine frequent the site. If possible plan your
dive during an incoming tide, for the best visibility. This way the
mild current will carry away any kicked up sediment.
Dive reels are
considered mandatory equipment for navigation. The only other advise
would be not to waste any time sightseeing and to just lye down, dig
and keep a close watch on your air supply.
Remember that most shipwrecks, have been explored for years. Most
still produce artifacts but the Chinese Schooner is basically a
virgin shipwreck. Divers have only been working her for a few
months. Pretty soon some lucky diver is going to find the key to her
identity. Possibly her bell, capstain cover or some other artifact
that will lead researchers to her name and the story behind her
demise. Did this wood hulled sailing ship sink in a storm ? Was her
sinking a result of a collision ? Only time and the efforts of
recreational divers will help to solve the mystery. Exploring the
Chinese Schooner is a dive into history. The dive with its limited
visibility is definitely not for everyone but for avid wreck divers
who enjoy digging for artifacts and don't mind the poor conditions,
it can't be beat. For information on diving the Schooner contact
Capt Noel at Orbit Marine (203) 333-3483. Who knows you could be
the lucky diver to identify this intriguing little shipwreck
Dan Berg with a dead eye
recovered from the Chinese schooner. Photo by Rick Schwartz
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