Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection   

LONG ISLAND (Bahamas)

Long Island is located 160 miles southeast of Nassau and has a population
of about 3,500. The island is 60 feet long by about 1.5 miles wide. Most
activities on Long Island are operated by the Stella Maris Inn and Estate.
Diving arrangements are easily made on Long Island. One of the more
popular dives is a site called Shark Reef which is often visited by Stella Maris
dive boats. Divers can witness shark feeding done by the dive masters in
about 35 feet of water. As you can imagine, this makes quite an exciting
photo opportunity.

For more information about the Bahamas visit the Bahamas Board of Tourism’s official website –
www.bahamas.com

MV COMBERBACH

Bow of the Comfurbach. Courtesy Stella Maris Diving.

The MV Comberbach was a 103 foot, British, steel hulled freighter built
in 1948. She was last operated by the Stella Maris Inn from 1980 through
1986 and then sunk in the summer of 1986 to form an artificial reef off
Cape Santa Maria. She now rests in 100 feet of water off the west side of
Long Island.

The vessel had been prepared for safe diver exploration prior to her sinking.
For example, all of her compartments were opened allowing for easy and
safe wreck penetration. There are usually no currents at the site, and water
clarity is excellent. The Comberbach is sitting upright and intact. Some marine growth has
already developed on her structure. Visibility at a norm is exceptionally
good, so photographers naturally visit the site often. According to veteran
diver J Friese, there is a family of six very tame Nassau Groupers
living on the wreck. Joerg goes on to say that the top of the wreck, the
roof, smoke stack, etc. is in 65 feet of water, and inside her cargo hold is
a 1975 Ford, which was formerly a Bell Telephone utility van.
Nearby are the remains of a 45 foot pleasure craft. Stella Maris Diving is
also planning to sink another vessel on this site plus an aircraft.

NO NAME WRECK

Scattered remains of the No Name Wreck Courtesy Elizabeth Koch, Stella Maris Diving.

This unidentified shipwreck is known as the No Name Wreck. The name
was originated by photo journalist Stephen Frink. Steve had photographed,
and written an article on the area referring to the site as "No Nome Wreck",
and since then the name has stuck.

This wreck is assumed by some to be the H.M.S. Southhampton. The
Southhampton was a 32 gun English Frigate that wrecked on a reef under
the command on Captain Sir James Lucas Yeo on November 27, l8l2.
The wreck was located when spotted from an airplane being flown by Stella
Maris Diving. It was first dove back in 1970 and appears to be from the The wreck is flattened and scattered out except for her boilers, engine frame, piston, and crank shaft which can still be recognized. The No Name Wreck stretches out over a huge area of some 300 feet in width, and almost 800 feet in length. On the site are four anchors, three propellers, and a
pile of anchor chain.

Since the location is exposed to the prevailing winds it should only be dove
in good weather. It is also a good site for beginner divers as well as
snorkelers.

The Tropical Shipwreck E-Book  The Complete Vacationing Scuba Divers guide to Shipwrecks of the Caribbean and Bahamas The Shipwreck Diving E-Book The Complete Online Downloadable Divers handbook to mastering the skills of wreck diving.

Basic shipwreck information and images for the Bahamas section of this site was taken with permission from the book Tropical Shipwrecks by Daniel and Denise Berg. You are invited to submit your shipwreck related articles, images and information. As long as the text, photographs, sketches etc are of professional quality we will showcase them. Full credit will be provide and a same page link to your web site can be arranged.
 

LONG ISLAND Hotel Guide Find the perfect hotel accommodations for your Bahamas vacation

All photographs, sketches, images and text

Copyright Capt. Dan Berg / Aqua Explorers Inc

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Baldwin NY 11510
E-Mail Wreckvalle@aol.com