WILLIAM R. FARREL

According to Captain George Hoffman the William Farrel was a 61 foot steel hulled tug boat that sunk outside Barnegate Inlet around 1979. The tug was apparently being used as a private vessel at the time. George goes on to report that he and his crew were the first to descend to the new wreck. They found tools scattered all over her engine room, possibly indicating the problem that caused her to go down. George also recovered quite an assortment of prized artifacts from the wreck, including her brass bell.

Today the William Farrel lies upright in 50 feet of water with her bow facing East.

Photo Above left: Gene Peterson and Capt. George Hoffman with bells recovered from the William Farrel. Photo courtesy Atlantic Wreck Divers.

In 2010 John Moyer sent the following email.

I was with George when we first dove the Farrel a few days after it sank in 1979.  I was one of the first ones down to the wreck and found the wooden name board [about 8 ft long x 1 1/2 ft high].  It was buoyant, so I just let it float up and didn't put a lift bag on it.   When it hit the surface right next to the boat, it was upside down and George didn't see the name.  He thought it was just a piece of wood and let it drift away.  I didn't come up from my dive until about an hour later and by then it was long gone.  At the end of the day, we drove down current and searched for hours, but never found it.

Capt. George Hoffman with the helm from the William Farrel. Photo by Dan Berg.	Porthole from the William Farrel. Photo George Hoffman.	Bell from the William Farrel. Photo by George Hoffman.