Revision 8/31/2009 9:47 PM
Type: Passenger steamer, France
Name: Iberia is Latin for Spain or the Spanish peninsula.
Built: 1881, Scotland
Specs: (255 x 36 ft ) 1388 gross tons, 30 crew
Sunk: November 10, 1888 - Collision with the liner Umbria - no casualties
Depth: 60 ft
In a dense fog, 14 feet were sheared off the Iberia’s stern by the Umbria. She sank the next day, and was later partially salvaged.
This is a popular dive site because of its inshore location and easy depth. Visibility, however, tends to be poor, and can drop to zero if you or another diver are careless and stir up the silty bottom. Under such poor conditions, I pretty much just blundered around the wreck at first, following the southern edge from near the bow back. I didn’t really getting any impression that this was a ship, until I reached the 3 1/2 bladed propeller. Then, turning around, it was easy to follow the propeller shaft up to the 25 foot tall engine, over the top of that and down onto the boilers, and eventually back up to the chain pile in the bow. The aft part of the wreck is linear, while the fore part is broken up and can be confusing.
This wreck is known for the embossed crate boards that may be found by digging in the stern area. Otherwise, lobsters are few and the fish are small. There were a great many crabs - all dead, probably due to a low oxygen event, common in near shore waters. Much of the wreckage, especially the higher areas, is covered with white hydroids and even some encrusting corals, and might make a nice photo op on a clear day.
http://www.northeastdiver.com/iberia.html http://www.aquaexplorers.com/Iberia.htm http://njscuba.net/sites/site_iberia.html