Irish Wrecks On-Line - Santa Maria SS (No. 684)

Diving Information:

Lies half a mile off Fair Head on her starboard side.
Broken into two sections.
One section sits on a ledge at a depth of 60m.
The other is at the bottom of the cliff, at about 72m.
Area is subject to about 15 minutes slack water during neaps.
This is a very dangerous dive! Several divers have been bent on this wreck.

Historical Information:

Owned by Sun Company of Philadelphia, she was built in 1902 as the "Minnetonka" by American Shipbuilding Co. of Cleveland, Ohio.
Powered by triple-expansion engines producing 477nhp., she measured 430 x 43.7 x 29.4ft., and grossed 5,318 tons.
Cargo was 2 million gallons of fuel oil.
She was torpedoed by a German submarine, UB-19, after becoming separated from a convoy on route to the Clyde.
Her Master was John V. Olson.
All of the crew were rescued.
UB-19 also sunk the "Tiberia" the next day.
The builders brass plate was recovered by Tommy Cecil in the 1980s.

© by kind permission of wrecksite.eu web site

Source Publications:

"Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam *1824 - 1962*"	by	Charles Hocking
		*London Stamp Exchange 1989 - ISBN: 0948130474*
*"Shipwreck Index of Ireland"*	by	Richard & Bridget Larn
		*Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2002 - ISBN: 1900839970*
*"Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast 932 - 1997"*	by	Dr. Edward J. Bourke
		**Edward J. Bourke 1998 - ISBN: 0952302713**
*"Shipwrecks of the Ulster Coast"*	by	Ian Wilson
		*Impact Printing 1997 - ISBN: 0948154993*
*"The Harsh Winds of Rathlin"*	by	Tommy Cecil
		*Impact Printing 1990 - ISBN: 0948154659*

Other Sources:

Norman Woods

Portstewart SAC (2000)

Last update - 01-Apr-2003