The Malta Shipwreck New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)

The Malta Shipwreck New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)

Historical and current New York and New Jersey Shipwreck Information and images for scuba divers and fisherman.

Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection

MALTA

DIRECTIONS: (Belmar, Monmouth County)
Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 100 and head east on Rt 33. Turn right on Main St, then left on9th Ave. The wreck is off Ocean Ave at the base of 9th.

CONDITIONS:
The Malta was originally built in 1852 as the Queen Of The South. She was then re-named Milford Haven. In the early 1870s she was converted to sail and renamed Malta. The Malta was 244 feet long, had a 40 foot beam and displaced 1,600 tons.

The Malta was en-route from Antwerp to New York with thousands of empty petroleum barrels. At3:30 AM November 24, 1855, the Malta ran aground during a fierce northeast gale. Within minutes of running aground the surfmen from the nearby Lifesaving Station came to the rescue and attempted to shoot a rescue line across the bow of the stricken vessel. On the third try, the crew aboard the Malta caught the line and secured it twenty feet up the foremast. Lifesavers used a breeches buoy to rescue 23 of the 24 crew. One sailor apparently delirious with fear attempted to swim to shore rather than waiting for his turn on the breeches buoy. His body was found six miles away the next day.

After many futile attempts to pull the Malta into deeper water the ship finally gave in to the constant pounding of the surf and broke amidships on December 11, 1885.

Today, the wreckage of the steamer lies about 100 yards off the beach in 20 feet of water. Visibility around the wreck ranges from one to 15 feet. The Malta's cargo included wood barrels, some of which can still be observed on the site. According to Bill Davis, the exposed section of the wreck is metal and measures approximately ten feet by five feet wide. Her anchor can still be seen rising from the sand off the wreck, but is often overlooked due to the marine growth that disguises it. Diver Bill Schmoldt tells us that her rudder was standing up for years and that not too many artifacts have been recovered from the site, probably because most the wreck is always buried.

No diving is permitted off the shore here between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Best conditions are at high tide and divers should wait for a calm day. Captain Kevin Brennan reports that at low tide her rudder post protrudes through the surface, which makes locating the wreck site simple.

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By Capt. Dan Berg
The most comprehensive, accurate, illustrated collection of information, photographs, sketches and stories ever written about the shipwrecks that lie off Long Island, New York and New Jersey.

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The original Wreck Valley book was published back in 1986. At the time it was not only the first but the only book for area divers that detailed local shipwreck history and dive conditions. Capt. Dan's 2nd edition was printed in 1990 and became the most popular of his shipwreck publications. Wreck Valley III is a completely new update, expanded and enhanced edition of the Wreck Valley books. Wreck Valley's 3rd edition covers the history, legend, present condition, aquatic life, and pertinent dive information on over 140 shipwrecks. This text includes over 550 illustrations, comprised of over 400 color photographs, 111 black and white historical photographs, 35 sketches, 20 side scan sonar images and nine 3D underwater shipwreck illustrations. Capt. Dan completely changed the books format and design to accommodate all of the research and images collected in 30 years of local shipwreck diving. The collection of historical photographs alone would take years of archive research to locate and would cost a small fortune if purchased separately. Many of these rare images have never before been published. Wreck Valley III includes a GPS list of accurate artificial reef and shipwreck locations. Divers, fisherman, marine historians, armchair sailors or anyone with a general interest in history, diving or the sea will surely find this book informative, fascinating, and the perfect addition to their library.

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This is the most comprehensive, accurate, illustrated collection of information, photographs, sketches and stories ever written about the wrecks that lie off the Long Island, New York, and New Jersey shores. This ebook is a completely new updated, expanded and enhanced edition of Daniel Berg's original Wreck Valley book. Wreck Valley Vol II covers the history, legend, present condition, aquatic life and pertinent dive information on over 90 shipwrecks. This text includes over 265 illustrations comprised of 137 color photographs, 97 black and white historical images, 32 sketches, plus one map. The collection of historical photographs alone would take years of archive research to locate and would cost a small fortune if purchased separately. Many of these rare photographs have never before been published. Divers, fisherman, marine historians, armchair sailors or anyone with a general interest in history, diving or the sea will surely find this ebook informative, fascinating and the perfect addition to their library.

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