SHIP NOTES: (Sources: 21, Gentile)
Name: NORTHEASTERN	Type: Cargo converted to "tanker" - carried barrels of oil
Builder: 1901, Chicago Ship Building Company	Owner: Northwestern Steam Ship Company
Date Sunk: 12/27/1904	Cause: grounded on Diamond Shoals
Size (ft.): 254 x 42 x 23	Tonnage: 2157 tons
Propulsion: Triple-expansion steam	Location: Diamond Shoals, 0.5 miles from the Hesperides wreck site

The Northwestern, a sister ship of the Northeastern. She was sunk off of Cuba by the U-507 on April 30, 1942. (Bowling Green University via 21)

SHIP HISTORY; (Gentile, 21)

The Northeastern was traveling from Port Arthur, TX to Philadelphia, PA when she approached the Diamond Shoals on December 27, 1904. She was carrying a crew of 22. A gale, which had blown her off course, combined with bad visibility and rough seas, resulted in her grounding on the Diamond Shoals before midnight. The waves breaking on and over the ship in the shallow waters of Diamond Shoals beat down on the vessel, quickly breaking it in two, and destroying the lifeboats being launched by the ship's crew. Gathering on the stern, they fired signal rockets hoping to attract the attention of the one of the life saving stations on the North Carolina coast...and waited, hoping the ship would not break completely apart before rescue arrived. It was two days before the gale and its large waves subsided enough to allow members of the Cape Hatteras and Creeds Hill (Frisco area) Life Saving Service to row the miles out to the stricken vessel. It was still dangerously rough, prompting one of the keeper of the Hatteras Station, Patrick H. Etheridge to advise "The Blue Book says we've got to go out and it doesn't say a damn thing about having to come back" Approaching the remains of the Northeastern through the breaking waves, the Hatteras boat and Creeds Hill boat took the 22 survivors off the stern section of the ship and brought them back to shore.

DIVING NOTES:

Diving Depths: 30-45 ft. Bottom mostly at 40 ft with rising wreck structure

Current: The current and surge makes this wreck not divable most of the time

Visibility: If currents and waves allow diving, you will generally have good viz on the site due to the shallow water and white sand...though it may tend to be milky if there is a lot of sand kicked up into the water column.

Summer Temperature: hi 70s to 80s

Points of Interest:Bow, windlass, anchor, boilers, engine, stern, rudder post

Fish/Animal Life: More shallow water fish: spadefish, triggerfish, oyster toadfish, sea bass, sheepshead, small grouper

Description: When you have that rare combination of conditions on Diamond Shoals that allows you to dive this wreck, don't pass up the chance. The wreck sits on its keel and unless covered up by the shifting Diamond Shoals sands, the parts are contiguous and without gaps. Collapsed hull plates come and go with the shifting sands and lay scattered having fallen into and outside the wreckage. The wreck was positively identified when one of the initial divers on the wreck, Steve Lange of Hatteras, recovered brass letters spelling the ships name from the stern fantail. What you get to see on this wreck is often determined by the level of the sand waves that get deposited on the wreck site. Sometimes the stern is completely covered up. The shallow depth allows very long bottom times so the wreck can be explored completely at a very leisurely pace. There can be a surge running through the wreck so have your buoyancy and shallow water skills ready - especially if carrying a big dome on a camera housing!

PHOTOS:
The bow of the Northeastern and anchor windlass still sitting on the remains of the deck
Article from December 29, 1904 New York Times reporting the Northeastern rescue.	Head on view of the bow in its final resting place on Diamond Shoals
Looking back towards the bow structure	The top of the engine with boilers in the background
Starboard port bow anchor still sits in hawse pipe	Two boilers midships
Rudder post sticks up above the stern fantail	Looking back towards the stern with rudder post sticking up in the center