Dive Type: Wreck Dive
Typical Depth Range: 25 to 50
feet
Expertise Required: Novice to
Intermediate
|
 Located
between French Reef and Dixie Shoals in 25 to 45
feet of water lies the wreck of the Benwood. The
Benwood was built in England in 1910 and was a
360 foot long freighter that had a 51 foot beam.
Near Midnight, on the night of April 9, 1942,
the Benwood was enroute to Norfolk, Virginia
with a load of phosphate rock. Due to the war
and the threat of German U-boats in the area the
ship was traveling without lights during the
night. A ship named the George C. Tuttle, also
blacked out, was traveling along the coast
enroute to Texas. The ships collided in the
night and the
Benwood started to take on water. The ship was
run aground at her current resting place. The
ship was salvaged and then used by the U.S. Army
for aerial target practice.
The Benwood is an outstanding wreck dive for the
novice to intermediate diver. The ship can be
explored with one dive. Keep an eye our for many
larger fish such as Nassau grouper and
barracuda. There have also been sightings of
moray eels camped on the holes in in the depths
of the ship.
|
