Dragging Anchors
The previous weekend I had a group of divers on our boat, ‘Stingray’, who were diving on the wreck of the N.G. Petersen. The Petersen is a small wreck which carried a cargo of iron ore and sank after a collision with another ship. It’s all right as a dive but most of the boat structure has rotted away and apart from a few bits and pieces all you can really see is the cargo. There’s a lot of life though, congers, wrasse, bib, crabs, starfish and scallops. I had asked the last divers down to fold up the anchor. They hadn’t been down long when I realised the shot was moving, I hadn’t expected much current and the wind wasn’t that strong as to drag a folded anchor with 5m of chain attached. I went over to the shot and gave it a tug, it was free! I pulled it a bit more until I found the end loop free, broken away from the chain and anchor. The shackle must have come undone or broken.
N.G Petersen Wreck
ss N.G. Petersen, built 1898 and owned by A/S Dampsk. Selsk. Vendila (Svendsen & Christensen), Copenhagen. She was lost while at anchor in Falmouth Bay on March 13, 1918, due to a collision with Norwegian ss SIRI while in convoy. The vessel was carrying a cargo of iron ore, which is most of what remains. Maximum depth is around 22m on high water. Recent ships at anchor have disturbed parts of the wreck making it a little more interesting. read more →
