No. 4 ASHMORE REEF Shipwreck site "The Sun".

Relatively close to the border between Australian and Papua New Guinea, in the northern region of The Coral Sea are a pair of coral reefs.**

Ashmore Reef and Eastern Fields are not include on regular dive tourism itineraries, being still a little too remote for time-conscious visits, but private yachts and vessels  en-route to Murray Island may call in.

At the northern corner of Ashmore Reef is an ancient shipwreck, positioned near a ledge which drops onto a shelf 40 meters below, and then falls away into presumably very deep water.

It was interesting country with hump head Maori wrasse and tuna. The sort of place where anything could swim by if you were in the water long enough.

The shipwreck scattered in shallower water is The Sun and has a connection to an early white settler, Frank Jardine of Cape York and his long-lost treasure of gold.

Shipwreck explorer Ben Cropp believes the two large iron anchors (pictured) were sitting on the deck of the ship – the timber having long since rotted away, which would explain why they are elevated from the surrounding flat coral platform.

There can be an eerie feeling around such a tragic site – which, in it’s era, would have been equivalent to an airline crash of today. Bit’s and pieces scattered everywhere. Time was against our brief visit as we were heading for Murray Island to film turtle hunters at work. We’d definately enjoy a return visit one day.

The Sun shipwreck, anchor surrounded by live corals.

Ashmore reef for 24 hours to dive  the shipwreck site of  The Sun. 

Ben Cropp (AM) with the camera - son Dean Cropp gives a size comparison alongside the cannon and anchors near a vertical drop-off.

Growth-rate of brain coral might be determined - growling slowly to a piece of wreckage, an L shaped iron 'beam' - but when did the coral lodge there?

 Spearing hazard - 1.5 meter bull shark did this to get at the coral trout inside.

Freedom III at Princess Charlotte Bay en route to Ashmore Reef and Murray Island - also known as Mer Island.  Another successful filming expedition for a TV documentary by Ben Cropp.

No.3 OSPREY REEF

Eastern side of North Horn  Osprey Reef

Eastern side of North Horn, Osprey Reef

Shark feeding site, North Horn - Osprey Reef.

Charter boat at North Horn of Osprey Reef (screen shot courtesy ABC TV) 

Western view (looking south) at North Horn, Osprey Reef

Walter A Starck  PhD  at Osprey Reef  (1972)

White tipped reef shark at North Horn - shark populations later increased dramatically with regular feeding.

Grape weed at Osprey Reef

  North Horn area - 1987 with former charter vessel Coralita

No. 2 MIDDLETON REEF- Border with Tasman Sea

International fishing vessel - on the bottom, near the Runic wreck.

Captain Wally Muller made use of this shipwreck anchor during a cyclone.

Calm morning on Lord Howe Island

Runic after a cyclone called 'Colin' had blown away the stern section. Also shows anchor chain damage to coral.

 Photo taken from Coralita when she anchored in water far too shallow.

Coralita departed from Port Macquarie for Middleton Reef but had to return via Coffs Harbour  due to heavy seas on the river sand bar.  
Coffs Harbour is slightly further north of Lord Howe Island's latitude position. 

Facebook entries 24 May 2016

No.1 SAUMAREZ REEFS - Francis Preston Blair LIBERTY SHIP

Coralita at anchor in the background the Liberty ship stranded in 1945

 Riversong made two voyages to Saumarez Reef, the last being in 1964

Built in 1947 in Mackay by former Tasmanian  M.Beatie.  Timber was Spotted gum with possibly a pole of Oregon.

Length was 42 feet, beam 12 foot 6 inches.  The 48 HP Gardner motor gave a speed of eight knots.

6" in width by 1.5" in thickness,  heavy planks were single planks the length of the boat.

The freezer held 4,500 pounds of fish fillets.   There was a gypsy anchor winch that used a former aircraft starter motor.

  

During WW2,  USA was supplying UK and Australia via merchant ships. The American shipbuilding effort was incredible, and worth a good documentary being made.

Liberty ships were being constructed at 16 shipyards. A new ship launched every day. At the peak, one ship was built and fitted out in just seven days. The secret was welding the ships together instead of using rivets.

2300 ships were built in 1942-43. The German U-boats could not sink them fast enough. Plenty survived.

Once the keel was laid, sections of the ship fabricated elsewhere would be brought to the site and assembled. The expected life of a liberty ship was five years if not sunk beforehand. Many survived 25 years of service.

These merchant ships were fitted with a 4″ rear deck gun. The anti-aircraft guns were one 12 pounder, 20mm and 40mm Bofors, and PAC rockets.

Francis Preston Blair wreck was purchased by the Australian government in 1952 for target practice, especially in later years by the RAAF flying F-111′s from Amberley air base near Brisbane.

Coralita was at Saumarez during one of these missions. Very exciting to have the swing-winged aircraft flying low above Coralita at high speed with wings folded back.  

Also interesting to see three aircraft simultaneously attack the ship - each aircraft coming from a different direction and all crossing the wreck at the same moment.

HISTORY The Francis Preston Blair (7 196 tons) was built by Sudden & Christensen, San Francisco. Launched 8 January 1943, hull number 1230,  grounded on Saumarez Reef at 9:30 am 15 July 1945 while traveling between New Guinea and Sydney.

Our captain, Wally Muller, first visited the wreck shortly after the stranding and found a number of empty 4″ shell cases near the rear deck gun, summarizing the ship had been firing when it went aground – perhaps being followed by a Japanese submarine. 

This might have explained an explosion hole in the bow, below the water line.

The military has no knowledge of any enemy action having occurred causing the the stranding.

Liberty ships were being launched at the rate of one every day to ferry supplies for the war effort. Many were sunk by submarines.

Cameraman Walt Deas reported in August 2005 “Francis Preson Blair" has totally collapsed”.  Captain Peter Sayre visited the remains of the wreck in 2016 with his drone photography posted on Facebook 13 June 2016.  

Liberty Ships built by the United States Maritime Commission in World War II

Liberty ship was the name given to the EC2 type ship designed for “Emergency” construction by the United States Maritime Commission in World War II. Liberty ships, nicknamed “ugly ducklings” by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The first of the 2,751 Liberty ships was the SS Patrick Henry, launched on Sept. 27, 1941, and built to a standardized, mass produced design. The 250,000 parts were pre-fabricated throughout the country in 250-ton sections and welded together in about 70 days.

One Liberty ship, the SS Robert E. Peary was built in four and a half days. A Liberty cost under $2,000,000.

The Liberty was 441 feet long and 56 feet wide. Her three-cylinder, reciprocating steam engine, fed by two oil-burning boilers produced 2,500 hp and a speed of 11 knots. Her 5 holds could carry over 9,000 tons of cargo, plus airplanes, tanks, and locomotives lashed to its deck. A Liberty could carry 2,840 jeeps, 440 tanks, or 230 million rounds of rifle ammunition.

 Sand cay at Saumarez reef.  One of many and typical of The Coral Sea.  This picture shows a submerged coral reef surrounded by live coral (underwater).

On top of the reef this sand cay is slowly developing, wind and waves are constantly altering the shape.

Eventually the sand cay may become an island and later some vegetation and nesting sea birds.  That may take a few thousand years to eventuate - if at all.

The sand cay is made from dead coral pieces and sea shell fragments.  Eventually this become white sand.


CAPTAIN WALLY MULLER fillets a coral trout - something he has done a thousand times or more.

About 55% of a coral trout is recovered as fillets, for frying.  In Asia this specie is used for steaming and in soup to minimize waste, chefs will not fry this fish by choice.

SAUMAREZ REEFS.Wikipedia

• Recent communications (daughter of a crew member) reveal the Francis Preston Blair stranded during a cyclone.  Military sources deny the stranding was due to enemy action.  An explosion hole in the ships' starboard bow below the waterline was thought initially to have been caused by a mine or torpedo.  Practice bombs caused holes in the deck and starboard side of the ship. 
• The following tells how the Liberty ship became stranded on Saumarez Reef during a cyclone.  The author is the daughter of a crewman who was aboard.
• The family consensus is that: Dad said that “It was the typhoon that put the Blair on the reef.”  They had been trying to avoid the typhoon for some time, and it got them off course.  There were high winds on this trip.   He would say that the ship would toss as the water heaved over the bow.  There was always the fear of Japanese subs. For some reason, they were not in a convoy on July 15.

How she looked in October 1964 - propeller attached - later salvaged by unknown persons.

 1964

	STARBOARD SIDE VIEW OF THE AMERICAN LIBERTY SHIP FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR. A 5 INCH GUN IS MOUNTED AFT AND A 3 INCH AA GUN IN THE BOWS. 20 MM OERLIKON AA GUNS ARE MOUNTED AFT, AT EITHER END OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE AND NEAR THE FOREMAST. THIS SHIP WAS WRECKED ON SAUMAREZ REEF, OFF QUEENSLAND, ON 1945-07-15 AND SUBSEQUENTLY USED AS A TARGET BY THE RAAF. (NAVAL HISTORICAL COLLECTION)

STARBOARD SIDE VIEW OF THE AMERICAN LIBERTY SHIP FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR. A 5 INCH GUN IS MOUNTED AFT AND A 3 INCH AA GUN IN THE BOWS. 20 MM OERLIKON AA GUNS ARE MOUNTED AFT, AT EITHER END OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE AND NEAR THE FOREMAST. THIS SHIP WAS WRECKED ON SAUMAREZ REEF, OFF QUEENSLAND, ON 1945-07-15 AND SUBSEQUENTLY USED AS A TARGET BY THE RAAF. (NAVAL HISTORICAL COLLECTION)

The liberty ship is a speck in the distance (1983)

Ron Taylor's Saumarez Reef (1964)  360P