Long Island Wreck Valley · United States · Wreck
HMS Culloden
Keel timbers of a 1776 ship of the line, 46 m off the beach in 3 m of water
Area photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain
A 74-gun Royal Navy ship of the line that ran aground off Montauk in January 1781 and was burned to the waterline. What is left — keel timbers, large beams and cannon — lies about 46 m off Culloden Point in 3 to 7.6 m of water, reached by swimming out from the beach. Little of it usually shows above the sand, so the dive is a search over a marked debris field rather than a tour of standing structure.
Also known as Culloden Point Wreck.
Where it is and how deep
41.0724° N, 71.9606° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
Everything starts from the beach. The park is reached on a single-lane gravel road at the west end of Soundview Drive, and divers line up on a large rock with pebbles on top of it, north of the bluff stairs, before swimming out on a heading of 333 degrees. The wreck lies about 150 feet (46 m) off shore and the debris field is marked by buoys, so the surface swim is short and the navigation is the whole skill of the dive.
The keel and large wooden beams sit in between 10 and 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 m) of water, and other cannon are still on the bottom closer to shore, about 20 to 25 feet (6.1 to 7.6 m) below the surface. Usually little of the wreck is visible — typically just rust stains in the sand — though some portions of the hull can be seen after storms, so what you find on any given day depends on what the last blow uncovered. Nothing may be lifted: the site has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
The wreck
- Vessel
- HMS Culloden
- Type
- 74-gun third-rate ship of the line
- Length
- 52 m (171 ft)
- Built
- 1776
- Sunk
- 1781
- Cause
- Ran aground in severe weather chasing French blockade runners, then salvaged of her guns and burned to the waterline
- Lies
- Keel and large beams on sand 46 m off Culloden Point, in 3 to 7.6 m of water
Culloden was launched at Deptford Dockyard on 18 May 1776. On 23 January 1781, trying to intercept French ships running the blockade at Newport, she met severe weather and grounded at North Neck Point in Montauk. The crew were saved but the ship could not be refloated: the British salvaged her guns through March, taking all 28 eighteen-pounders from the upper deck and all 18 nine-pounders from the quarterdeck, pushed the larger cannon into the sea and burned the hull to the waterline. In 1971 undersea archaeologist Henry W. Moeller, working with Dowling College, found the keel and beams, along with a gudgeon stamped with the ship's name.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Long Island Wreck Valley: Offshore charters run roughly April through November, picking up from mid-June; winter Atlantic swell, cold and short daylight shut the fleet down from December to March.
Know before you go
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: divers may not take artifacts from or otherwise disturb the wreck, and the protected circle runs roughly 200 ft (61 m) in radius.
- Most of the wreck is buried. Usually only rust stains in the sand show, so plan on searching a marked debris field rather than following visible structure.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the HMS Culloden wreck?+
The keel and large beams lie in 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 m) of water. Cannon closer to shore sit about 20 to 25 feet (6.1 to 7.6 m) down, so the whole site is inside normal Open Water limits.
Can you dive the Culloden from shore?+
Yes. Reach the park by the single-lane gravel road at the west end of Soundview Drive, then swim out about 150 feet (46 m) on a heading of 333 degrees from the pebble-topped rock north of the bluff stairs, and look for the buoys marking the debris field.
Can divers take artifacts from the wreck?+
No. The site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979, which prohibits divers from taking artifacts from or otherwise disturbing the wreck. Cannon recovered from the ship are displayed at the East Hampton Marine Museum in Amagansett, New York.
Sources
- HMS Culloden (1776) — Wikipedia
- Culloden Point — Wikipedia
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