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Capt.
Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection
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BEACH 59th STREET WRECK
DIRECTIONS: (Far Rockaway, Queens)
 Take the Southern State Parkway to Exit 19 South, which is Peninsula
Boulevard. Drive south on Peninsula to Rockaway Turnpike and turn
left. Turn right on Burnside Ave and take Burnside to Beach Channel
Drive and continue to head west. The wreck is located at the base of
Summerville Basin on the bay side of 59th street. Parking is not
currently available to the public and special arrangements would
have to be made. As a side note I would like to forewarn anyone who
visits this area. This neighborhood is, to say the least, not the
best. One of our biggest concerns when diving here was whether or
not our car would be stolen while we were underwater.
CONDITIONS:
On the bay side of Far Rockaway just off 59th St is the remains of
an 80 foot long luxury yacht. The wreck appears to have sunk at its
slip and now sits upright and intact on a silty bottom in 25 feet of
water.
 This wreck is big and penetration is possible. Remember that
entering into any overhead environment should only be done by those
who have proper training, equipment and experience. In describing
the wreck's layout I will start in the bow and work my way astern.
Near the bow is a large square deck hatch, there is also a round one
but that one only leads to a rope locker. By entering the square
hatch and swimming astern you will pass a bathroom and a staircase
on the port side. This corridor leads to the vessel's engine room
where two diesels are located. The silt in this wreck is kicked up
very easily so be careful. Instead of entering the engine room, the
alternative is to head up the spiral staircase. These stairs lead to
her main salon. To exit this room swim to the far starboard corner.
This area also can be reached by entering the doorway on the
starboard side of her pilot house. If divers enter this doorway and
head forward the first left turn will lead into her pilot house, the
next room is the galley, and finally the large dining room. From the
stern, the only recommended way into the wreck is through the door
into the aft cabin. This is a large roomwith a silt covered floor.
In the forward port corner is another spiral staircase that leads
down to the sleeping quarters. At the bottom of the stairs divers
will find a corridor that leads aft, but be careful as this corridor
is very collapsed.
 I was first brought to this wreck by Darryl Steinhauser of Dive,
Inc. back in 1988. The wreck was located behind an old abandoned,
burnt down boat yard. On my first dive here I was lucky enough to
recover a brass porthole. Over the next two years we would dive this
wreck whenever it was too rough to get offshore. We have retrieved
more than twenty portholes of three different sizes, and an
assortment of cage lamps, fittings, horns and china. One of the
easiest portholes recovered was found by Steve Jonassen. He found
it inside a cabinet drawer, apparently set aside as a spare part.
Many of the portholes were found by swimming around the outside of
the wreck until a porthole with glass was spotted. Then one diver
would shine his light through the glass and the other would go
inside to look for the light beam. By using this method we located
several portholes that would have otherwise been missed. Some were
inside closets, some behind shelves and one was behind a large
electrical fuse box.
The whole area around the wreck is also very productive. In fact,
while navigating from shore to the wreck we found at least ten other
smaller cabin cruiser wrecks. In 1991, the old boat yard was sold
and a new boat yard was built. Many of the smaller wrecks were
raised and new pilings and floating docks were installed. Amazingly,
the 59th Street Wreck remained untouched. The wreck is under the
west side floating dock about 100 feet offshore. Unfortunately, I
do not believe the owners of the new boatyard would appreciate
divers swimming under their docks, but who knows, maybe in the
winter when all the boats are pulled they might give permission.
Remember
penetration into any shipwreck should only be done by those with
proper training, experience and
wreck diving equipment.
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Sketch of the 59th Street Wreck. Courtesy Long Island Shore Diver Collection.
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Dan Berg recovering a porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Photo by Joe Koppelman.
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Dan Berg recovering a porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Photo by Joe Koppelman.
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Bill Campbell finds an intact porthole. Photo by Dan Berg
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Dan Berg with a cage lamp from the 59th Street Wreck. Courtesy Long Island Shore Diver Collection.
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Dan Berg recovering a porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Photo by Joe Koppelman.
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Dan Berg recovering a porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Photo by Joe Koppelman.
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Dan Berg recovering a porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Photo by Joe Koppelman.
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Dan Berg recovering a porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Photo by Joe Koppelman.
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Dan Berg with portholes from the 59th Street Wreck. Courtesy Long Island Shore Diver Collection.
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Porthole. Photo by Dan Berg
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Bill Campbell recovered this porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Courtesy Long Island Shore Diver Collection.
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Dan Berg recovering a porthole from the 59th Street Wreck. Photo by Joe Koppelman.
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All
photographs, sketches, images and text |
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Copyright Capt. Dan Berg / Aqua Explorers Inc |
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2745
Cheshire Dr
Baldwin NY 11510
E-Mail Wreckvalle@aol.com |
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