﻿Coming up! The Blue World team explores the dark and cold wreck of
the Chester Poling in the Atlantic Ocean. Welcome to Jonathan Bird’s Blue World!
In January, 1977 The coastal tanker Chester Poling left Everett, Massachusetts on its way
to New Hampshire. Captain Charles Burgess knew it would be a rough passage as the National Weather
Service forecasted 35 mph winds with 20 foot seas. Captain Burgess knew the ship could handle
that kind of weather. Unfortunately, the weather service was wrong. The winds hit 50 mph and the
waves exceeded 30 feet. One of those waves hit the ship at the worst possible angle, and broke
the Chester Poling right in half. Conditions made it difficult for the coast guard to rescue
the crew. While they did eventually manage to affect a rescue, one member of the crew was lost
to the sea. The bow sank in 190 feet of water, while the stern now rests in about 100 feet.
It’s a beautiful spring day in New England.
We are diving with Captain Fran out of Cape Ann Marina in Gloucester MA.
Cameraman Todd with a sandwich!
But before we can get to the fun diving part, we have the lugging gear to the boat part.
With the boat loaded, we make our way to the wreck.
The marina is connected to the harbor through a small canal
with a drawbridge. So the traffic has to wait occasionally while the boats pass through.
Out in
Gloucester harbor, we are protected from the open ocean by a breakwater.
At the end of the breakwater is Gloucester lighthouse.
The wreck of the Chester Poling is just around the corner, outside of the breakwater.
Fortunately, we have nice calm day to pop out there for a dive.
With the water in the mid-40s, we are all wearing our drysuits to stay comfortable.
Whoa! 1, 2, 3
go! Captain Fran has anchored right on the wreck, so we just roll in and sink straight down.
The visibility might not look that great, but for New England, this is actually pretty good.
The wreck is covered in what looks like fuzz. It’s thousands of hydroids,
which are actually tiny plankton-eating animals.
Since the wreck has been down so long, much of the plate steel has rusted through,
creating huge holes in the bulkheads and the hull. The wreck is surrounded by
thousands of fish, which seek refuge around the wreck. There are lots of Cunnar
on the wreck. They are a type of wrasse that feeds on just about anything they can catch,
and they are often quite curious about divers too.
Lobster trap lines, fishing nets, and monofilament
fishing lane create entanglement hazards so we have to be careful.
Zach and I decide to take a look inside the ship, so we pop down the staircase.
The floor is covered in random debris. There’s a fan shroud,
a sink,
and a tube of toothpaste.
Even though we are technically inside the ship,
there are so many holes in the hull that we can see a dozen ways out.
Out on deck we find a Sea Raven, which is a cold water form of a scoripionfish. When it
realizes that its camouflage isn’t working, it swims away
and discovers the current coming over the side of the wreck. Whoa!!
While it’s easy to identify steps on a shipwreck, a lot of the other things are a mystery to me.
A catwalk runs down the middle of the ship. It’s hardly recognizable with all the marine growth.
Soon we are getting low on air and it’s time to ascend back to the surface.
After a short decompression stop on the line, we can head to the boat.
The Chester Poling is one of the most popular wreck dives in New England,
mostly due to its location, right outside Gloucester harbor. Its medium depth makes
it great for technical dive training, and the ample marine life make it enjoyable
for a deeper recreational dive too. Even though I have made this dive many times,
I never get tired of this classic New England adventure in the Blue World.
Hey you guys! Check out that video! It’s a really good one!
Also this one’s pretty good too! Oh and don’t forget to subscribe!