SS Manhattan-Ancestral Connection
SS Manhattan builders plaque recovered August 2009. Tim Terrey, Bart Malone, Rusty Cassway, Brian Sullivan and Andrew Nagle.
Morgan holds the Builders Plaque recovered by Andrew Nagle
Morgan & Rusty after the memorial plaque dive
Prequel to Morgan’s Story:
In August of 2009 we took the RV Explorer to Chincoteague, VA and then to Ocean City, MD. I asked the crew what they wanted to dive on the way home and Bart Malone suggested the SS Manhattan. Years ago, Bart Malone and Lou Sarlo found the safe on the Manhattan and therefore the wreck had a special meaning to Bart.
I didn’t have the coordinates, so at the last minute I called Bill Tattersall, legendary dive boat captain and friend who lives near Ocean City. At the last minute, Bill’s partner Dana tracked him down in the garage and he shared the numbers to the SS Manhattan.
On the dive Andrew Nagle, Bart and Brian Sullivan splashed first. Tim Terry and I went second, and our job was to pull the hook.
When we headed back to the anchor line, Timmy and I saw Andrew’s reel clipped to the anchor chain with the line extended to the wreck. Odd we thought, so we followed the line back to the engine.
The end of the line was tied near a brass oblong shaped brass plate. Initially, I thought it was the blade of a small lost propellor. When I looked over the plate to the far side, I could see script writing. I immediately knew it was the builder’s plaque. Timmy and I extended our dive and dug the plaque out with our scooters, bagged it and pulled the hook.
It was very satisfying helping Andrew recover his prize. The artifact is simply beautiful for being submerged for so long.
The real beauty in this story is we went to the wreck Bart picked, we got the numbers from an old and dear Friend Bill Tattersall and then we were able to help Andrew finish the job.
But even more special and lasting it that this artifact led to meeting Morgan Bodie. Morgan through an internet search, connected with Bart Malone. If you don’t know it, once you met Bart, he was a friend for life. Bart brought Morgan into my life and we remain dear friends to this day and beyond.
The rest of the story I will let Morgan tell you…
The following Story was written by Morgan Bodie The Great Great Great Grandson of John Roach, who built the SS Manhattan in 1879.
Today is a cool day... another chapter in a story that started in 1879 when the shipyard owned by my great great great grandfather, John Roach, the "Father of American Iron Shipbuilding", built a ship named the SS Manhattan. Like most of the 175 ships built at the John Roach and Son Shipyard the SS Manhattan was an iron hulled ship that was powered by both steam and sails. On November 22, 1889, the SS Manhattan collided with another ship in foul weather, and sank off the coast of New Jersey. Around 2000 I started charting the locations where several of my ancestor's ships had sunk as a result of terrible weather, collisions, and German torpedoes. I started SCUBA diving on the wrecks that I could get to. The wrecks are all over the world, but the ones I've been able to dive upon have been along the east coast from Canada to Florida. Researching my ancestor's history I learned that before he acquired his shipyard he built the Third Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River in New York back in the 1860s. While I was making a purchase of a large brass builder's plaque from the Third Avenue Bridge, the seller told me about a group of divers who were essentially the only divers who dove on the wreck of the SS Manhattan. I was given contact information for the late shipwreck diving legend Bart Malone.
Bart was a member of this amazing group of shipwreck divers who make weekly excursions to numerous shipwrecks, including the SS Manhattan, aboard their dive boat, the Research Vessel Explorer (RVX). Around 2010 I reached out to Bart, who invited me to start diving with the RVX guys. I made the trip from Fort Worth, Texas to Cape May, New Jersey on several occasions making weekend dives, and it wasn't until after a few of these trips with them that we actually headed out to the wreck of the SS Manhattan in July of 2012. I had a brass memorial plaque made to attach to the wreck so that any subsequent divers on the wreck might learn a little about the ship and my ancestor John Roach. The owner of the RVX, Rustin Cassway (Rusty), attached the plaque as I avoided the manual labor by taking photos of Rusty at work. It was an awesome couple of dives that day. It's a powerful feeling to touch the hull of a ship lovingly constructed by a favorite ancestor 133 years previously.
Morgan & Rusty attach the memorial plaque to the engine of the SS Manhattan
Some of the divers, including John Copeland, RVX co-owner Brian Sullivan, and Bruce Leinen brought up some cool artifacts and shared several of them with me so that I could take home pieces of my ancestor's ship. Bart brought some artifacts that he had recovered in previous dives, including coins he had extracted from the ship's safe, and he gave those items to me. Rusty gave me a bottle and other items from previous dives. Another cool thing Bart did was that he brought along the builder's plaque for the SS Manhattan that another RVX diver, Andrew Nagle, had recovered in a previous dive. I will always cherish these items, and my friendships among the RVX divers. I keep in regular contact with my "homie" Rusty, and yesterday he told me that the RVX would be returning to the wreck of the SS Manhattan again today, their first visit since the trip I joined them on in 2012. The photos I'm attaching are from that trip back in 2012... A photo of me and Rusty after attaching the memorial plaque, a two page article from the Cape May newspaper Star and Wave about the 2012 adventure, a photo of the memorial plaque before taking the plunge, a murky shot of me cruisin' the wreck site, and the builder's plaque that bears the name of John Roach and Son Shipyard, the hull number, and the year, 1879. We lost Bart on December 3, 2017, when he died aboard the RVX after diving the wreck of the US submarine S-5. He was truly a legend for his wreck diving accomplishments, and for his ability to create strong, lasting friendships. He was loved by many, and I am incredibly fortunate to have landed by fate in Bart's circle. I owe this entire SS Manhattan adventure, and the awesome friendships that I have gained surrounding this adventure, to Bart Malone.
Brass plaque commissioned by Morgan Bodie
Update 2020: The RVX team has returned from today's dive of the SS Manhattan and report that the memorial plaque is no longer present. We chained it to the wreck in a manner that would require significant force and some tools to remove. I guess some diver figured it was a precious artifact from 2012. The plaque was a tribute to my ancestor John Roach. Whoever has it hanging on their artifact wall is gonna' be the victim of some serious bad karma.
Morgan Bodie…