Napatree Point, Rhode Island Mast

[Jonnyola87]

Not sure if this should go here or in local New England forum, but I've been researching the "Spindle" as local fishermen call it. If you don't know what it is, it's what appears to be a mast sticking above the waterline off Napatree Point in Watch Hill (Westerly), Rhode Island. All I can find so far is that it MAY be a shipwreck from around March of 1821, but no further information. Anyone ever try to dive it? I know the conditions near it would make it a tough dive, but I wonder if it could be done. I've attached a link to a good picture of the object in question.

https://i.redd.it/fjnj06606fp71.jpg

 

[tkaelin]

All I know about Napatree point is that it was devastated from the 1938 hurricane. All the homes were washed away or otherwise destroyed.

 

[Jared0425]

Not sure if this should go here or in local New England forum, but I've been researching the "Spindle" as local fishermen call it. If you don't know what it is, it's what appears to be a mast sticking above the waterline off Napatree Point in Watch Hill (Westerly), Rhode Island. All I can find so far is that it MAY be a shipwreck from around March of 1821, but no further information. Anyone ever try to dive it? I know the conditions near it would make it a tough dive, but I wonder if it could be done. I've attached a link to a good picture of the object in question.

https://i.redd.it/fjnj06606fp71.jpg

There would be no wooden mast sticking up for 200 years. From the photo it appears to be a very large tree limb that is stuck vertically in the bottom.

 

[CT-Rich]

That isn’t a tree or a mast. It has been there for years. My guess is it‘s what remains of a navigational tower of some sort. It marks a drop off from about 3-5‘ to 40’. Very popular with fishermen. The current in that area can be epic. So a boat with someone that knows how to make a pickup is important.

The wreck of the Onondaga is in that area, but not sure where in relation to the spindle.

Wreck of the Onondaga - SECONN Skin Divers

Site Depths: 35-60ft Dive Site: Wreck of the Onondaga, waters off Watch Hill, Rhode Island Site Overview: The Onondaga was a steel hull freighter built in 1905 that sank off of Watch Hill on June 28, 1918. Bound for Charleston, North Carolina, she and her cargo encountered heavy fog off the...

www.seconndivers.org

 

[Tom Winters]

We used to go by that thing in the '60's going from Mystic to Block Island. With the currents and boat traffic, it didn't look like that great a dive so we never bothered.