Ayuruoca - May 25, 2008

The pinch of gas prices was evident Sunday as the Independence II was the lone boat leaving the inlet in calm flat seas on a holiday weekend. This made a leisurely 14 mile cruise to the Mudhole where we hooked into the stern section of the Ayuruoca also known locally as the “Oil Wreck”. The Ayuruoca sits perfectly upright on the muddy bottom 170 feet below the Atlantic and if it weren’t for the prevailing poor conditions of the mudhole would be one (if not THE) best wrecks off the Jersey coast. The hook was thrown and Dave and Bill wasted no time getting us tied into a boom right next to the aft mast.

Hitting the water I was tempted to reach for my knife to help getting through the sludge on top which was thick as molasses and limited the visibility to a couple feet. Further down the visibility opened up and was quite clear which gave a nice view as I passed the top of the mast at 80 feet and the crow’s nest at 90 feet. Following the anemone carpeted mast down to the tie in at 140 feet about 10 feet off the main deck where the water was 45^oF. Down on the wreck the visibility dropped again depending on how close you got to the silty deck. High off the wreck it was probably a solid 20 feet but closer to the deck it was a very dark 10 feet. Still not bad for this wreck.

It took me a couple minutes to figure out we were at the aft mast and not the forward mast. I tied off my reel and headed off (turned out I was going forward) and found the dog house on deck and got oriented. I swam back along the port rail at around 150 feet to pay a visit to the beautiful helm at the aft steering station. As the rail started to round off at the fantail, I cut in to the steering station under the gun tub. I was confused for a minute thinking I went the wrong way somehow, but I finally realized I was indeed staring at the 7 foot teak and bronze helm. It has become nearly completely overgrown with colorful anemones with only hints of teak peaking through and the spokes barely discernable through the growth. I popped up to check out the deck gun and was pleased to find it still standing intact and picturesque as ever. I quickly swam over the decaying live shells and headed forward to the main break in the wreck. I took my time heading back and took some time poking my light into some rust holes that have opened up in the deck and noted some spots for future exploration. I got to play Jack and the bean stalk on the ascent as the anchor had wrapped around the mast which made for a cool way to end the dive. After a final goodbye to the lone bergall peeking out of the top of the mast at 80 feet I finished my deco in the pea soup which at least was ~10 degrees warmer than the bottom at a comfortable 55^oF.

The Oil Wreck

Ayuruoca pictures including the helm when it wasn't so covered

First China

6/17/2006 – Independence II trip to the Oil Wreck

I said it last week, I’ll say it again this week… the Oil wreck (Ayuruoca) is absolutely one of my favorite wrecks! Today I joined Capt’s Bartone and Tempe on another cruise to this massive intact Brazillian freighter in the Mud Hole of New Jersey. We had beautiful weather and calm seas making for an enjoyable (almost too short) ride out to the wreck. Arriving on site I splashed with Capt Jay and Christina Young to tie-in. We found the shot in the mud (172fsw) right next to the wreck at the break of the stern section and I was able to scout out openings in the decks I could enter on the way down. We quickly retrieved the chain and brought it up to 135’ in the same general location we were last week. Once my working portion of the dive was complete I set off to explore. The visibility was a decent 15 feet or so at the main deck level but I tied off my reel and headed inside. I headed a good ways down a corridor which had many doors tempting my way off here and there but this being my first time in this section of the wreck I decided to keep it simple and stay straight. On the way out my light reflected bright white off the edge of something under what appeared to be a fallen table. I carefully reached down and plucked it from the muck and managed to keep the black cloud to a minimum. I inspected my find and sure enough my first piece of china! It was just a broken saucer but it still had most of the Rio de Janeiro stamp on the back so I gingerly placed it in my bag. I thought maybe there would be more and hopefully intact pieces in the area so I did some minor excavation of some tables and after plunging my hand into the muck and feeling around all I accomplished was a completely blacked out room and some pissed off eel pouts. After my 30 minutes was up I reluctantly headed up but had a pleasant deco reflecting on another awesome Oil Wreck dive.

Not much, but its mine ;-)

6/10/07 - Ayuruoca (Oil Wreck)

6/10/2007 - Independence II trip to the Oil Wreck (Ayuruoca)

Today I joined the group from Village Divers on a trip to what is probably one of my favorite wrecks – the Oil Wreck. The Ayuruoca is a large freighter sitting upright and intact in 2 separate pieces in the Mud Hole of New Jersey. The mud bottom is at about 175fsw but the main deck is at ~150 and in areas the superstructure comes up to as high as 120fsw. The best part is that even though it is in deeper water it is still a short boat ride and we were on site well under an hour even with some slightly bouncy seas.


I splashed in with John Yurga to tie in. Coming down the shot line (which landed in the mud) we passed right down the side of the wreck which is covered in anemones, and it was like descending down a beautifully carpeted 30’ wall. The visibility was a dark 10’, which isn’t too bad for this wreck. We secured the tie at about 135’ near a railing which made navigation pretty easy. Cruising down slightly off deck level I noticed that the railing was bent in more, almost like the wreck caved in towards the middle some and that some of the deck appeared to have opened up. My heart skipped a beat when I saw through one rust hole a large piece of porcelain that looked like a nice bowl, but as soon as I grabbed I realized it was just a broken off toilet still attached to the tiled floor . I got as far as one of the trucks sitting on the deck (part of the cargo when she went down) and decided to head back before I got myself thoroughly lost. Back near the tie I found an entrance to a room and took a quick peak inside. There was a brass backing plate from a porthole still in place but it probably wont be going anywhere for quite some time. There is so much to see on this wreck that is really unbelievable.

Back on board we compared notes and decided we were on the bow section near the bridge, which may have collapsed some over the winter. One buddy team surfaced with one of the buddies having a large rust spot on his hood and reported getting clonked in the head by falling debris. This seemed to give supporting evidence to the collapse theory until they said they were OUTSIDE the wreck when the debris came raining down on them. This mystery was solved when Frankie reported finding a “loose” porthole backing plate still on a small beam that required some “man-handling”, but he was unable to float it with his bag. With a set of directions Capt Dan and Mark Clark were able to go in and finish the job and within minutes a lift bag popped up with a nice backing plate that still had one dog on it. All in all it was another great weekend out and under the Atlantic.

Capt's Clark and Bartone with porthole

Capt's Clark and Pellegrino with porthole

(photos courtesy M. Clark)