The Wreck of the Schooner Third Sea

The Third Sea is a seventy-one foot long, concrete hulled, Schooner that was built by Harold Stephens in 1975.  Harold grew up reading the tales of Jack London, especially the The Cruise of the Snark, and had always dreamed of following in those legendary foot steps.  Using volunteer labor and sheer will power, he was able to build his dream boat in Singapore, then motored the bare hull to Thailand for outfitting.

Upon completion, the Third Sea sailed the oceans of the world for 18 years, in search of adventure, visiting many of the South Pacific Islands that Harold had read about as a boy.  The amazing voyage of this graceful schooner are detailed in The Last Voyage: The Story of Schooner Third Sea (by Harold Stephens).  I highly recommend this book for divers visiting this wreck.  Harold is an excellent writer and the adventures he had aboard this vessel are brought to life in his book.

The Third Sea originally sank in Hawaii during a huge hurricane in 1993.  It was salvaged and then brought to Budd Inlet in Puget Sound for refurbishment.  At some point, the refitting project went down hill and the now famous Schooner sank to the bottom, where it rests today.  The masts have since toppled, taking part of the port hull with them and the rigging is a snarled mess amidships. 

The large vessel has beautiful lines and the hand crafted interior teak work is holding up to the salt water quite well.  The pulpit and bowsprit still stand proud of the upright hull and give visiting divers a visual image of how majestic this twin-masted schooner must have been.