15/11/14: Historical records of a divers discovery in 1976 lead to the re-discovery of 4 (or more or less?) skeletal remains of small ships about 5 km west of Galle Face. This is the hydro-graphic note that lead to the re-discovery "Date 29.4.76 Wreck two barges lying in hundred feet of water seen by divers while working on the tanker 'NORTH AMERICA'. POSN 268DEGS, 3.7M FROM GALBOKKA. (LONDON, Letter Dated 20th of April 1976, & 'NORTH AMERICA' dated 8th of April 76).

Searches for new wrecks can be frustrating. Specially when they are based on historical records. They are at best mildly inaccurate and at worst they can be completely misleading. For example the locations of ship wrecks marked on Admiralty maps are completely off.

I was was jubilantly surprised when, the echo sounder showed a sharp spike indicating a sunken object. Throwing anchor and diving in I was thrilled to find remains of two barges just as indicated by the historical accounts. Not only that swimming around I find two more barges and their skeletal remains. Apparently these turn out to be "Work Barges" from a different era. It is highly probable that this is a dump site.

The site is quite prolific with fish and is quite an interesting dive despite the fact that the wrecks are really run down and only few structural remains can be seen