SS Sapona was a concrete-hulled cargo steamer that ran aground near Bimini during a hurricane in 1926. The wreck of the ship is easily visible above the water, and is both a navigational landmark for boaters and a popular dive site. It is also a good place to see tropical fish attracted to it as an artificial reef.
Sapona was built by the Liberty Ship Building Company of Wilmington, North Carolina, founded by Max Shoolman of Boston, MA, as part of a fleet of concrete ships authorized by Woodrow Wilson during World War I, because steel was in short supply. Like many others in the fleet, the ship was completed after the end of the war, and Sapona was sold for scrap to Carl Fisher, one of the developers of Miami Beach. It was initially used as a casino and later for oil storage. The 1936 book Miami Millions claims that Mr. Fisher took it out to sea and sank it, but it was in fact purchased in 1924 by Bruce Bethel.
Bethel moved the ship to Bimini, using it as a warehouse for alcohol during the era of Prohibition. Bethel also intended to use the ship as a floating nightclub, although this plan never came to fruition. In 1926 the ship ran aground in a hurricane and broke apart.
During World War II, the wreck was used for target practice by the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Navy. Flight 19 vanished while returning from a bombing run to Sapona and the nearby Hens and Chickens shoals.
The wreck lies in about 15 feet (4.6 m) of water, the stern broken off and partially submerged by hurricanes that struck in 2004. Little concrete is left on the hull because of the effects of bombing and weathering.
A day snorkeling on the Sapona while sailing "Off The Grid" out of Bimini
In popular cultureedit
The wreck itself and the surrounding area is a popular site for scuba divers and snorkelers.
The ship was used as a backdrop in the 1977 horror film Shock Waves. It was also figured as a key setting in Ian Fleming's novel Thunderball.
sapona, concrete, hulled, cargo, steamer, that, aground, near, bimini, during, hurricane, 1926, wreck, ship, easily, visible, above, water, both, navigational, landmark, boaters, popular, dive, site, also, good, place, tropical, fish, attracted, artificial, re. SS Sapona was a concrete hulled cargo steamer that ran aground near Bimini during a hurricane in 1926 The wreck of the ship is easily visible above the water and is both a navigational landmark for boaters and a popular dive site It is also a good place to see tropical fish attracted to it as an artificial reef SS Sapona Sapona s port side August 2009History OwnerCarl Fisher 1924 Bruce Bethel 1924 1926 BuilderLiberty Ship Building Company FateGrounded 1926 NotesWreck 25 39 02 N 79 17 36 W 25 65063 N 79 29337 W 25 65063 79 29337 General characteristics TypeCargo ship Tonnage2 795 GRT 1 993 NRT Length86 m 282 ft Beam14 02 m 46 0 ft Draft8 61 m 28 2 ft Installed powerTriple expansion steam 1 520 indicated horsepower 1 130 kW Speed10 knots 19 km h 12 mph The starboard side as it looked in June 2010 Contents 1 History 2 In popular culture 3 References 4 External linksHistory editSapona was built by the Liberty Ship Building Company of Wilmington North Carolina founded by Max Shoolman of Boston MA as part of a fleet of concrete ships authorized by Woodrow Wilson during World War I because steel was in short supply Like many others in the fleet the ship was completed after the end of the war and Sapona was sold for scrap to Carl Fisher one of the developers of Miami Beach It was initially used as a casino and later for oil storage The 1936 book Miami Millions claims that Mr Fisher took it out to sea and sank it but it was in fact purchased in 1924 by Bruce Bethel Bethel moved the ship to Bimini using it as a warehouse for alcohol during the era of Prohibition Bethel also intended to use the ship as a floating nightclub although this plan never came to fruition In 1926 the ship ran aground in a hurricane and broke apart During World War II the wreck was used for target practice by the U S Army Air Corps and U S Navy Flight 19 vanished while returning from a bombing run to Sapona and the nearby Hens and Chickens shoals The wreck lies in about 15 feet 4 6 m of water the stern broken off and partially submerged by hurricanes that struck in 2004 Little concrete is left on the hull because of the effects of bombing and weathering nbsp A day snorkeling on the Sapona while sailing Off The Grid out of BiminiIn popular culture editThe wreck itself and the surrounding area is a popular site for scuba divers and snorkelers The ship was used as a backdrop in the 1977 horror film Shock Waves It was also figured as a key setting in Ian Fleming s novel Thunderball References edit S S Sapona Concrete Ships Shock Waves at IMDb nbsp External links edit Sapona Maritime Digital Archive Encyclopedia Link Broken Jumping off the wreck of the Sapona Florida Kitesurfing Association Inc 25 39 040 N 79 17 593 W 25 650667 N 79 293217 W 25 650667 79 293217 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SS Sapona amp oldid 1190976584, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
