1999 Sebastian Photos

The Sebastian is a British tanker which sank in 1918 due to a fire. It lies 250 feet under the North Atlantic, 100 miles off Montauk, New York. Although the hull is mostly intact, much of the superstructure has collapsed, with a large debris field in the middle covered with nets, but containing many artifacts. The main deck is at 230 fsw. The 1999 Seeker expedition to the Sebastian took place on June 26 - 27, Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, the Saturday was blown out due to weather, and we ended up leaving Saturday night at about 9 PM, arriving on site early Sunday morning.

We had a really great day out there. Gary Gentile recovered a brass sign reading "1st Engineer". Tom Packer recovered a fork and a spoon -- the spoon had "Motorship Sebastian" engraved in the handle. Christina Young and Petie Wohlleben recovered other, less prominent, assort brass items. Pieces of broken china were also recovered, but these had no identifying marks or writing on them. No large caches of china have yet been found on the Sebastian. A couple of portholes were seen, but there was not enough time to free them from the wreck by the time they were found. For the most part, visibility on the wreck was similar to average New Jersey Mud Hole visibility -- not good! The wreck is covered with nets, and the ones in the stern are particularly dangerous, since they are billowing.

Greg Mossfeldt, also terrorizing people with his video camera, on the Seeker at Star Island Yacht Club (Montauk, New York) on the afternoon prior to our departure. He also got some nice underwater video. I elected to leave my camcorder back on the boat due to the less than optimal visibility (Mud Hole -like on the first dive, slightly better on the second), a decision that I wonder about after seeing Greg's video.
	Steve Brozyna holds up page 1 of the Sebastian deck plans during the long 8 hour boat ride out to the wreck.
Gary Gentile and Greg Mossfeldt assist Will MacBeth and Tom Packer in suiting up, prior to going down to set the hook into the wreck. Time was about 5:45 AM, and the sun was just coming up over the horizon.
	Tom Packer takes the plunge!
Bill Cleary takes the plunge!
	Gary Gentile emphasizes the importance of a good manicure before going to pull the hook. As Gary points out, you have to look your best when you ascend to the top of the wreck diving community!
Gary Gentile jumps in to pull the hook at the end of our time out there (about 3 PM).
	Bill Cleary and Kevin Lymn discuss how rock music is responsible for all of society's drug problems, on the trip back home.
Another lucky trip: the long voyage back home!