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

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

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

Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection

BLACK POINT

Originally named Fairmont, and later Nebraskan before being renamed Black Point, this steel hulled collier was built in Camden, New Jersey, in 1918. She was 369 feet long,55 feet wide and displaced 5,353 gross tons. The Black Point has earned herself a place in history due only to the time of her sinking.

On May 5, 1945,carrying 7,595 tons of coal, the 27 year old Black Point was en route from New York to Boston, and World War II was finally ending. Adolph Hitler had already committed suicide and Admiral Karl Donitz had issued a personal order to allU-Boats to "cease hostilities" Apparently, Commander Oberleutnant Helmut Froems dorf, of the U-853 didn't receive Donitz's orders or simply refused to obey them. At 5:40 PM, he sighted the Black Point and fired a torpedo into her stern. The tremendous explosion ripped 40 feet off of the coiler's stern. During all of the commotion, Stewart Whitehouse, a 29 year old oiler aboard the Black Point, saw a man hanging upside down by one foot in a fouled rope. Whitehouse managed to cut the man free and then go on to loosen a jammed life raft which prevented more from perishing. At 5:55 AM the Black Point rolled to port, capsized and went down taking twelve crew members to a watery grave. The Black Point has thetitle of the last ship sunk in American waters by a German U-Boat during World War II. As for the U-853, she was sunk by an American task force shortly after her attack on the Black Point and is now resting in 130 feet of water.

The Black Point is now resting in two sections. Her stern is about 80 feet long and sits on its side in 85 feet of water. The stern still has a deck gun which divers can easily recognize. Her bow lies a good distance away upside down in 100 feet of water. The bow has about 40 feet of relief and holds human remains of her crew. Capt Eric Takakjian reports that penetration is possible but warns that a diver with out the proper training and experience could easily get lost inside this wreck. Remember penetration into any shipwreck should only be done by those with proper training, experience and wreck diving equipment.

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WRECK VALLEY III
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.

Soft cover, 8x10", 188 pages
printed in full color. $39.95 +P&H

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.

WRECK VALLEY III Sample Pages

WRECK VALLEY III
By Capt. Dan Berg
Get your autographed copy of Capt. Dan's new book today.
only $34.95 + 4.95 (priority mail)

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15.9 MB instant download, printable PDF file

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WRECK VALLEY Vol II ebook
A Record of Shipwrecks off Long Island's South Shore and New Jersey.

NOTE: The 2nd edition is out of print but has now been made available as an instant download ebook.

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12.3MB instant download, printable PDF file

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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