1. SS Satara - The Satara was a steel single screw steamer of 5272 tons
gross,
built by W.Denny & Sons of Dumbarton,
Scotland, and launched in December 1901. The vessel was ordered by the
British Steam Navigation Company Ltd.
And had
been successfully employed in the trade between Australia and India. The
Satara was regarded as "a splendid vessel", being equipped with electric
lighting.
The Satara has a length of
125.21 metres, breadth of
15.45 metres, depth of
8.87
At about 12.45 am
on 20 April 1910 the Satara struck Edith Breakers, a submerged reef, At 1.10 am
the Satara sank dramatically by the bow and disappeared beneath the
waves.
wreck site - The Satara lies on sand in forty two
metres of water. The stern buts onto a small
section of reef on its outermost edge. The wreck faces East-West with the
bow to sea (East). It appears the vessel settled upright with extensive
damage to the bow which apparently hit the bottom first. Most of the
superstructure is missing with only a small amount of deck plating remaining
on the front third of the vessel. The immediate stern hull is intact
for approximately fifteen metres in length, with the propeller in an upright
position, still attached to the drive shaft. The deck and hull have
collapsed and all but rusted away, leaving the main outline of the ship and a
large amount of twisted and protruding girders, pipes and rubble. Two
boilers sit upright amidships with a third lying on the sand approximately
fifteen metres off the port side. Several winters are still recognisable
along with some parts from the engine near the boilers. The bow is split
and collapsed, exposing the chain locker with some chain running out of the port
side hull, attached to an Admiralty pattern anchor.
2. Catterthun - (1881-1895)
Of 2179 tons gross, her dimensions are length
302 feet, beam 36 feet, draught 23 feet, was lost on 8 August after hitting
rocks 2.25am southeast of little seal,
she
slipped beneath the surface at 2.45am. The Catterthun had 9,000 gold sovereigns on board
that night plus personal wealth of the passengers on
board the Catterthun. Of the cargo 9,000 gold sovereigns, 7944 were retrieved approx at that point in time. Over the years
divers have found coins on the wreck, some have been found near the stern
section where the saloon was located and others have been located amidships. For
the divers that have dived the Catterthun it is a great experience.
Depth is approx 56 metres.
3. Shark cave - The Cave on the Western side of Big Seal is a very good dive for
the novice
diver in calm seas with nil
current. The grey nurse sharks
gather in the cave and makes a great photo or divers with their video cameras
great footage. Depth is approx 18 up to 12 metres at the cave
entrance.
4. The over hang - On the South Eastern side of Big Seal is a great place for the grey nurse sharks. Depth is approx 21 metres up to the over hang is 12 metres approx.
5. Little Seal - Another good diving spot for divers
6. Skeleton rock - Just North of Seal rock, good dive for grey nurse sharks and sea turtles and other sea life.