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Between Morristown and Ogdensburg is Oak Point, directly across the river, in Canadian waters lies the Henry C. Daryaw.
The Henry C. Daryaw sports a large gash on her starboard side from November 21, 1941 when she struck a shoal. The ship’s mechanic went down with the ship when the cables holding her on the shoal broke. As she slipped off the shoal she flipped upside down. The Daryaw lies upside down bow into the current, wedged in a 90’ deep valley between Union Park Shoal and Cole shoal just upstream of the Five Mile Light. She is usually buoyed by a like connected to her prop as shown above. The current can be fairly strong over the wreck requiring you to pull yourself down the line to the wreck and exiting the same way. Have a contingency plan in place in case you do get blown off the wreck. This is not a dive for novice divers.
The Henry C. Daryaw is a steel freighter 219’ x 35’ x 13’ built in France as the bulk freighter Mainier in 1919. In 1923 her owners converted her to a combination bulk and package freighter in Monteal and renamed Oakbay. A small irony that her final resting place ends up to be directly across the river from Oak Point, NY. In 1935 she was fitted with a crane and renamed the Henry C. Daryaw, by Captain Henry Daryaw, Kingston.
It was Henry Daryaw at the helm of his namesake, who used a shoal to carve his final mark into the hull on November 21, 1941. All hands, with the exception of the ship’s mechanic, were able to make is safely ashore. There are those who believe the wreck is haunted by the mechanic to this day. Odd things are reported to happen by even the most qualified divers as they penetrate this wreck.
This wreck provides additional interests and challenges for divers. First is the 4 knot plus current that flows over the upside down steel freighter. There nothing on the smooth hull to grab until you get to the prop and rudder or under the wreck. If you are being blown down the sides of the wreck, do not get wedged between the wreck and the walls of the valley.
The cargo holds are wide open spaces out of the current, however, the ship is upside down and therefore there is no way out straight up and wreck diving certifications and rules apply. never dive beyond the qualifications and comfort of the least qualified or comfortable person in your party.
The ship is so large, that despite the improved clarity of the water, there are not many meaningful photo angles of the vessel itself. The wildlife is plentiful on this unnatural reef. Some distance upstream from the Daryaw, Lake Sturgeon are reported to be frequently sighted. Walleye, bass, sheepshead, bullhead, channel cats, burbot and others each have setup home around the vessel. The complete absence of a thermocline creates a unique environment for fish to use other criteria to pick their homes.
Another way to dive this site is as a drift dive. Being dropped some significant distance upstream from the wreck you can drift into it. The two shoals assist in getting you onto the wreck. Again, as with all drift dives in the St. Lawrence, go with someone that is familiar with this specific drift dive. My first drift dive was with an experience person accustomed to diving this wreck. We dropped fast, like skydivers out of a plane, we were still dropping as we saw the propellers and nearly missed the wreck entirely. The current in the river is highly variable, and a good location for a drop on one day, may not be the best location the next.
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