Chester A Poling - costal tanker
Date Sunk: January 10, 1977.
Cause: foundered.
Location: Gloucester, off Eastern Point.

Poling´s bow came to rest upside down in 190 feet of water 4 miles off Eastern Point. Due to it´s depth it is considered a technical dive. Originally the stern sank in 75 feet of water off the Dog Bar Breakwater. Mountainous seas from the Blizzard of ´78 pushed the stern to its present location. Although deeper, it is still the most popular wreck dive off Cape Ann.
The wreck sits upright on a sand/silt bottom. Sediment has built up around the fantail, completely covering the prop. Some of the interior spaces are also silting up including the engine room and rear storage area behind the galley. Penetration can be made into the cavernous opening where the ship broke in two, as well as the vessel´s cargo and ballast tanks. Many local dive shops use this wreck for shipwreck certification and most of the area dive charter boats will take properly certified divers to the vessel.
Marine life has turned the tanker´s hull into an artificial reef. A centerline catwalk is festooned with anemones and other hydrozoans. Caution is advised due to the amount of monofilament and lobster lines that have snagged on the wreck.
www.mass.gov/czm/buar/shipwrecks/ua-cap.htm