Ss Casino Wreck
The SS Governor was a 417-foot passenger liner built by the New York Shipbuilding Company in 1907 in Camden New Jersey. The deck plans list her beam at 46 feet, depth 29 ft. 6 in., Draft 22 ft. 6 in., and her max speed at 16 - 25 knots. The steamship SS Casino served the Western District of Victoria for almost fifty years during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A popular cargo ship, the Casino was a regular sight on the Moyne river and along the coast.
Ten lives were lost when the old coastal steamer Casino capsized and sank in sight of the Apollo Bay pier just after 9 o'clock on Sunday morning. Seven members of the crew and the two passengers were saved. Some of the bodies have not yet been recovered. Approaching the Apollo Bay pier in a heavy sea the vessel bumped the sand heavily. SS Sapona was a concrete-hulled cargo steamer that ran aground near Bimini during a hurricane in 1926. The wreck of the ship is easily visible above the water, and is both a navigational landmark for boaters and a popular dive site. It is also a good place to see tropical fish attracted to it as an artificial reef.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Owner: |
|
| Builder: | Liberty Ship Building Company |
| Fate: | Grounded 1926 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage: |
|
| Length: | 86 m (282 ft) |
| Beam: | 14.02 m (46.0 ft) |
| Draft: | 8.61 m (28.2 ft) |
| Installed power: | Triple-expansion steam 1,520 indicated horsepower (1,130 kW) |
| Speed: | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
SS Sapona was a concrete-hulled cargo steamer that ran aground near Bimini during a hurricane in 1926. The wreck of the ship is easily visible above the water, and is both a navigational landmark for boaters and a popular dive site. It is also a good place to see tropical fish attracted to it as an artificial reef.
History[edit]
Sapona was built by the Liberty Ship Building Company of Wilmington, North Carolina, as part of a fleet of concrete ships authorized by Woodrow Wilson during World War I, because steel was in short supply. Like many others in the fleet, the ship was completed after the end of the war, and Sapona was sold for scrap to Carl Fisher, one of the developers of Miami Beach. It was initially used as a casino and later for oil storage. The 1936 book Miami Millions claims that Mr. Fisher took it out to sea and sank it, but it was in fact purchased in 1924 by Bruce Bethel.
Bethel moved the ship to Bimini, using it as a warehouse for alcohol during the era of Prohibition. Bethel also intended to use the ship as a floating nightclub, although this plan never came to fruition. In 1926 the ship ran aground in a hurricane and broke apart.
During World War II, the wreck was used for target practice by the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Navy. Flight 19 vanished while returning from a bombing run to Sapona and the nearby Hens and Chickens shoals.
The wreck lies in about 15 feet (4.6 m) of water, the stern broken off and partially submerged by hurricanes that struck in 2004. Little concrete is left on the hull because of the effects of bombing and weathering.
In popular culture[edit]
The wreck itself and the surrounding area is a popular site for scuba divers and snorkelers.
The ship was used as a backdrop in the 1977 horror film Shock Waves. It was also figured as a key setting in Ian Fleming's novel Thunderball.
References[edit]
- 'S. S. Sapona'. Concrete Ships.
- Shock Waves on IMDb
External links[edit]
- 'Sapona'. Maritime Digital Archive Encyclopedia. - Link Broken
- 'Jumping off the wreck of the Sapona'. Florida Kitesurfing Association, Inc.
Coordinates: 25°39.040′N79°17.593′W / 25.650667°N 79.293217°W
SS Monte Carlo wreck visible at low tide near Coronado Shores 30 January 2010 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
|
| Owner: | Associated Oil Company (1923-1932)[1] |
| Ordered: | 1918 |
| Builder: | Liberty Ship Building Company in Wilmington, North Carolina (later the Newport Shipbuilding Company)[1] |
| Launched: | 1921 |
| Completed: | 1921 |
| In service: | 1923 |
| Out of service: | 1932 |
| Fate: | Wrecked 1937 |
| Notes: | Hull built out of reinforced concrete |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Concrete oil tanker based on an incomplete EFC Design 1070 cargo vessel |
| Type: | Oil tanker |
| Length: | 300 ft (91 m)[1] |
| Beam: | 44 ft (13 m)[1] |
| Height: | 24 ft (7.3 m)[1] |
| Propulsion: | Single Nordberg triple expansion steam engine[1] |
| Notes: | Started construction as the EFC Design No. 1070 concrete oil tanker Old North State |
The SS Monte Carlo was a concrete ship launched in 1921 as the oil tankerSSOld North State. She was later renamed McKittrick. In 1932 she became a gambling and prostitution ship operating in international waters off the coast of Long Beach, California, United States, and was relocated to Coronado, California in 1936. The Monte Carlo was grounded on Coronado Island on New Year's Day 1937 during a storm and her wreck remains on the beach.
History[edit]
To reduce the utilization of steel during World War I, on April 12, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved the construction of concrete ships, overseen by the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC).[3] In total, 24 ships were approved for construction. Only 12 ships were completed by the 1918 armistice.[4] Although the remaining unbuilt ships were cancelled, a 13th and final ship was under construction at the Newport Shipbuilding Company yard in Wilmington, North Carolina. Known as the ´´Old North State´´ this vessel was the third Design No. 1070 class concrete oil tanker constructed, after the previously completed Sapona and Cape Fear. Author Norman Lang McKellar believed construction was completed in 1921 under the temporary name of Tanker No. 1, probably heavily modified from its original EFC design.[1]Tanker No. 1 was used by the U.S. Quartermaster Corps until 1923, when the vessel was purchased by the Associated Oil Company of San Francisco and re-purposed as the commercial oil tanker McKittrick.[1][2]McKittrick was powered by a single Nordbergtriple expansion steam engine which was the same unit for other EFC concrete vessels.[1]
In 1932, McKittrick was sold to Ed V. Turner and Marvin Schouweiler and renamed Monte Carlo.[5] Her hull was mostly filled with concrete to reduce motion and the former oil tanker was converted for the purpose of gambling, prostitution and drinking, all of which were illegal during Prohibition.[5] Under the operation of Anthony Cornero,[5] she became the largest gambling ship operating off the California coast. Monte Carlo opened for business off Long Beach on May 7, 1932 coinciding with the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics along with two other gambling ships of the fleet.[5]Monte Carlo was moved to international waters off Coronado Island in 1936. California law enforcement was unable to shut down the ship's operations as she was just beyond their jurisdiction. The water taxis and ferries that carried customers to and from Monte Carlo were subject to high taxation in an attempt to undermine the financial viability of the business.[2]
Grounding[edit]
In 1937, Monte Carlo was anchored 3 miles (4.8 km) in international waters off Coronado Beach in San Diego during a storm on New Year's Day when the anchor lost its hold. The ship drifted onto the beach in front of what is now the El Camino Tower of the Coronado Shores condos. Because this vessel was illegal once on shore, no one claimed ownership. The wreckage can be seen underwater at low tide, and is occasionally exposed during strong storm tides. The surrounding beach where she came to rest was coined locally as 'Shipwreck Beach' by a Coronado writer and historian in 2005.[2]
It is speculated that there may be $150,000 worth of silver dollar coins remaining in the wreckage. According to the late lifetime resident of Coronado, Edward 'Bud' Bernhard[6] who retrieved hundreds of dollars from the shipwreck as a child: 'I’m convinced there is $100,000 in gold and silver coins deep in that wreck'.[2]
Ss Casino Wreck Detroit
From time to time the wreck becomes visible on the shore of the Silver Strand.[7][8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Ss Casino Wreck Ralph
- ^ abcdefghijklMcKellar, Norman (2007) [1960]. Roberts, Stephen (ed.). 'Ferro-Concrete Ships'(PDF). Shipscribe.com. Steel Shipbuilding Under the U.S. Shipping Board, 1917 - 1921. Belgium: The Belgian Shiplover.
- ^ abcdeDitler, Joe (February 3, 2016). 'Coronado's Shipwreck Exposed: New History Also Revealed'. Coronado Patch. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- ^Eberhardt, Robert (1995). Crawford, Richard (ed.). 'Concrete Shipbuilding in San Diego 1918 - 1920' (Web Article). San Diego, California: San Diego History Center.
- ^Bender, Robert (2011). 'A Brief History of Concrete Ships'. Concrete Ships.org.
- ^ abcdDitler, Joe (March 10, 2014). 'Shipwreck Monte Carlo Visible - New History Comes To Light'. Coronado Times. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^'Edward 'Bud' Bernhard'. Coronado Eagle & Journal. June 7, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^'El Nino Storms Unearth 1930s 'Sin Ship' Wreckage in Coronado'. NBC San Diego. January 27, 2016.
- ^'The Amazing Shipwreck At Coronado Beach Is Exposed For A Short Time!'. About ThereSanDiego.
External links[edit]
- SS Monte Carlo at Shipwreck World
- Graham, David E. (January 2, 2007). 'Busting the House'. Union Tribune.
- 'S.S. Monte Carlo shipwreck'. Wikimapia.
- 'Photo of SS Monte Carlo'. San Diego Historical Society. 1937.
- LaFee, Scott (January 31, 2010). 'Tide, storms expose gaming ship'. Union Tribune. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)....web article preserved at -->
Ss Casino Wreck Yesterday
Coordinates: 32°40′26″N117°10′23″W / 32.674°N 117.173°W