The Shipwreck Rangitoto
Nine Dives, Essons Valley, Picton, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand
03 573 7199 or 021 1146997
archive picture of the Rangitoto
The Rangitoto, history and dive information
The Rangitoto was built in Whiteinch, Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1869, it was a iron steamer ship of 449 net register tons and underway to Wellington.
The ship measured 209' ( 63.4 meters ) long, Beam 25'1" ( 7.6 meters )
and Depth 15'6" ( 4.72 meters ) with a 140 hp engine.
She was used at the time of sinking as a general cargo and passenger ship between Nelson and Wellington.
The Rangitoto struck shortly after noon on the 30th of November 1873, on a uncharted rock near Cape Jackson point which ripped a hole four feet long and nine inches wide, the vessel was beached on the nearby East shore and there it then gradually became completely submerged and slid into deeper water.
And so she so sank in 1873 in a calm sea at Cape Jackson, at the entrance of Queen Charlotte Sound thankfully without loss of lives.
The ships population was saved by the ship Wellington. Many of the rescued passengers were women and children. The Wellington spotted a distress signal, and a rescue boat filled by some of the survivors, coming to the Wellington to raise the alarm. The remaining ships company was safely on dry land.
The ship was abandoned in a relatively controlled manner with the mail, most of the passengers luggage and crews personal effects saved.
At the end though, the chief officer had to swim for it, eventually rescued by the nearby Wellington life boat.
The position of the wreck was re-confirmed and located in 1960 after a dive at Cape Jackson on the East side, about 20 meters off shore.
She is lying in approx 12-16 meters of water on a shell and sandy bottom with some kelp covered rocky and boulders formed reefs nearby and a usual good visibility generally of about 9-10 meters.
This is a collapsed and broken apart but coherent hull, still recognizable in it's main shape. With the wooden deck rotted away, it is possible to swim under some of the collapsed ships sides which form artificial cave spaces. The shapes are in many places obscured with kelp and in other spots clearly defined especially the side laying on the area between the sand and the kelpy bits.
Even with poor visibility it is a fascinating area with kelp covered rocks in a purple haze.
The iron of the hull is now covered with various growths, weeds, soft corals, anemones, shells, sea urchins and aquatic plants.
All the main portions of the hulk are quite recognizable, and it is possible with some careful observation to navigate the hull and deck area, see the propeller and prop shaft and spot the large engine and boiler quite clearly as a good wreck dive.
Some interesting items were taken off the ship, a signal gun, ship's fittings, ships and passengers general bits and bobs and bottles both full and empty with Hennesy brandy have been found. At the time of sinking the locals were reported to stocked up on booze for years to come.
Plenty of crays are to be found in the area around the wreck with depths fairly quickly going to the 20's and 30 meter mark.
The fish life on and near the wreck contains marble fish, blue-cod, spotties, blue- and red- moki, triple fins, gobies, sea perch, butterfly perch, banded wrasse, scarlet wrasse, leather jacket, nudi-branchs and tarakihi.
With a bit of luck you can also spot stingrays and eagle rays.
Some seals can sometimes be found on rocks nearby, and the area is occasionally visited by dusky- and hectors -dolphins and small penguins. If you are very lucky you might even see Orca.
Normal precautions taken into account, it is usually a safe dive for confident open water level divers onwards, anchor needs to be used here, some currents always present, no nets but the kelp can be a hazard, another thing to watch for is reduced visibility due to over-enthusiastic finning. Also advisable to keep a good eye out for the weather here on this exposed coast line.
Rated as a top dive, with good viz, an interesting wreck and full of a variety of abundant marine life.
Rangitoto artifacts recovered from the vicinity of the wreck, note the empty booze bottle
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International on 0064 3573 7199 or 03 573 7199 or 021 1146997 in New Zealand
