|
Wreck of the Wandby
Kennybunkport, ME
Max Depth: 41-50ft/12-15m
Entry Type: Shore
Bottom Composition: Sand
Aquatic Life: Plenty To See
|
Rating: 3.33 by 3 divers
Winter: Under 50°F/10°C
|
|
|
|
Wreck of the Wandby is a shore accessible salt water dive site, located in Kennybunkport, ME. This dive site has an average rating of 3.33 out of 5 from 3 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 41-50ft/12-15m.
For an advanced wreck diver, this is a great site. The Wandby ran aground here in 1921, and has since been mostly scavenged for its metal. Large and small pieces, however, are still around for investigation. We recommend you be guided through your first dive here, as the swim to the wreck can be challenging in even calm conditions.
Parking: Just past Walkers Point(Bush compound) you will find a dirt parking lot, park as far to the left as you can, as this is the best entry point to the water.
Entry: There is a short walk from the parking area to the entry. You will need to cross over a seawall of boulders and is accomplished easier from the left end of the parking area. Entry/exit is moderately easy, over some small rocks.
Dive Info: At low tide this site is very shallow so you will have to walk out a little ways to get to water that you can swim in. Dont try to walk all the way out to the end of the rocks, snorkel out it is easier. To find the wreck stand on the beach and look at the cove in front of you, you will see large ledges in the middle of the cove. Stay to the left of those ledges and take a compass heading of 160 Degrees. You will find that it gets shallow near the end of the ledges (there is a small slot that you can pull yourself through to get over the ledge.) Once over the ledge you will start to find pieces of the Wandby, follow these pieces down the ledge and you should find big hull sections, keep going and you will run into the boiler. Look closely, because with all the kelp it looks like a ledge at a quick glance. The boiler is about 18 ft high and 18 ft long, on the northeast end there are 2 big holes. The right hole will take you up inside the boiler, dont enter unless you have a person out side of the hole, you can get trapped inside if you are not careful. There is an air pocket at the top, a large lobster lives up there so watch yourself when you get up there. When you are facing the holes turn around 180 Degrees and 6 ft away from the boiler is a big tank. On the west end of the tank is a opening with 3 pipes about 10 in diameter crossing each other about 5 inside, another large lobster lives behind those pipes. You must have a flashlight to see in both the boiler and the tank. To find the rudder, line yourself up between the tank and the boiler take a compass heading straight out to sea, stay close to the bottom and swim until you see a ledge rising up, follow the ledge to the left and you will find the rudder propped up on the ledge. At this point I usually turn around and head back to the boiler and work my way back up the ledge to shore swimming back and forth on the hull plates. Beyond the wreck it gets deeper the ledges rise and fall into deep crevasses with swaying kelp all around you. (Information from the diverslocker.net)
Cautions & Restrictions: This site can become rough when the wind blows out of a southerly or easterly direction. It can get surgy fast, getting over that ledge that you first went over can be tricky on the surface, you must stay on the bottom and grab on to the ledge on an out surge. Try not to exit the water on the Bush Property as you will be turned away by the Secret Service.