Del Monte Beach Wrecks

[HaoleDiver]

Off of Del Monte Beach in Monterey, there are two wrecks right off shore, in maybe 30 feet of water, a sailboat and possible a halftrac or something similar. My friends and I often go there to goof around and relax, and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about how long they had been there, what they were for, who owned them?

 

[Scubaroo]

Yes, I dug up the history on the sailboat a while back, and have dived it a few times. never made it out to the halftrack, but was told it was not worth the effort by a dive shop owner. I will get back to you.

The sailboat was intended to be scuttled at the Breakwater, but legal wrangling saw it sit idle until it sank in a storm, in a really crappy spot. But hey, it's a wreck

 

[Scubaroo]

Okay, the wreck was called "The Rogue" - a 60' sailboat that sank in 1994 in a storm. It belonged to the former owner of Aquarius Dive Shop (not "H", the current owner), and was to be scuttled as a wreck at the Breakwater, but the city of Monterey was not willing to pay for the insurance for divers on the wreck. It sat derelict at the marina next to Del Monte beach for a few years, until it sank during a storm and ended up in it's present location. I had a writeup somewhere on the web with more info that seems to have disappeared. Oh well.

Tons of macro stuff to look at, but I've never seen more than 6-10' visibility on the wreck. Never penetrated it - not much point, and it's just plain murky - even with a HID you can't see squat inside the hull from outside because of the contrast in the shallow cloudy water.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

The "former owner" was Al Huelga. I've seen 15-20 feet
vis there (and it may have been better than that this
past weekend). It's made of concrete.

The other one isn't a half track (tires in front, treads in back),
it's an Amtrack (all tracked, WW II vintage APC). You can do
both the Amtrack and the sailboat in one dive. Start on
the Amtrack, then swim about 110' on bearing 40M to
the sailboat. The sail boat is a bigger target which is
why one would start on the Amtrack. Both will have kelp
soon.

More info and GPS numbers for both at:
http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/swell/gps.html

 

[HaoleDiver]

Yeah, the two wrecks are really close, we actually found them both on accident. We used to do impromptu cleanup dives along the pier, and one day we decided to head into open sand to look for rays, and we found a nice stalk of kelp to drop along, and came down along the amtrak. After losing one of our buddies, we surfaced, and after meeting up with him, found another stalk to drop on and found the sailboat.
The amtrak isn't much to see, but because of all the crevices and what not, there are often large fish and crabs around it to see.
The sailboat, again, isnt much to see, although there are some cool points to check out, with nice growths. Also, along the starboard side (I think, its the high side) there are always well camouflaged young spider crabs, and if you run your hand nearby the side, the whole carpet of growth starts to crawl around. Also, on the bow, there is an open hole in the side, and water rushes through the boat of it, its always an interesting sensation.

 

[Scubaroo]

Tons of little strawberry anemones on it as well.

 

[kevjl2]

While you guys are talking Delmonte, does anyone know what this is? I have seen a piece of something that is about 10' in diameter that looks something like a cage or frame of a large bell. I know thats a poor description but I can't figure what it is and thats kinda what it looks like.

Tons of little strawberry anemones on it as well.

 

[HaoleDiver]

While you guys are talking Delmonte, does anyone know what this is? I have seen a piece of something that is about 10' in diameter that looks something like a cage or frame of a large bell. I know thats a poor description but I can't figure what it is and thats kinda what it looks like.

I've seen a large frame, just four pieces of metal together, in the water, but I dont remember where. I'm guessing its about as far from shore as the boat, maybe halfway between the boat and the large barge? I remember stopping over it but moving on.
Another note about the amtrack. I dont know if anyone has ever seen it, but I think there's an octo living on that guy somewhere. If you go towards the top part of the wreck (closest to shore portion) you can see tons of shells and other discarded pieces of lunch, which can often be signs of an octo. Anyone else noticed this or seen the guy?
Also, if you get good viz at the boat, check underneath it from the shore end, I've seen some big critters under there.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

BTW, there's two more Amphtracks in 75' off Lovers.
They are larger and better preserved than the one off Del
Monte.

 

[HaoleDiver]

BTW, there's two more Amphtracks in 75' off Lovers.
They are larger and better preserved than the one off Del
Monte.

That's crazy, my buddy and I were just planning to head out to LP and find those, we had heard about them from another friend of ours. Where are they/how do we go about finding them?