FRAN S

The Fran S was an 84 foot tug boat built in 1899. She sank in Jones Inlet during a dredging operation in the early 1970's. Sunk in 18 to 20 feet of water, the tug was a hazard to navigation, but after four unsuccessful salvage attempts, she remained in the same spot. Two years later, she was finally raised off the bottom, towed out to sea and re-sunk on the southwest corner of the Atlantic Beach Fish Haven.

This picturesque little three dimensional wreck has always brought back fond memories to me. When I first learned how to dive, this was the only wreck I could find without any sophisticated electronics like a loran or depth recorder. My buddies and I would just take a compass heading off buoy four and drag a grappling hook around for a while. In some cases, we would swim down buoy four's mooring chain to the cement block holding her in place, then navigate to the wreck, leaving a tether line to allow us to return to the chain. I wouldn't recommend either method to anyone. We spent so much time looking for the wreck that I've come to the conclusion it would have been much more time efficient to travel on one of the charter boats.

The Fran S now sits upright in 70 to 80 feet of water, six miles out of Debs Inlet. Her hull serves as an artificial reef, providing refuge for a wide array of aquatic life as well as an interesting dive location. The area is excellent for big black fish and sea bass. It's almost commonplace for divers to see eight to twelve pound black fish swimming in and out of her upper structure. This wreck is only a few hundred feet from the Buoy 4 Barge and Good Humor Barges
 

Sketch of the Fran S wreck by Capt. Dan Berg.	Capt. Dan Berg with blackfish and a lobster caught while diving the Fran S Shipwreck. Photo by Jim D'Alessio.