City Of Portland - New England
Diving New England wrecks often means battling conditions, but the *City of Portland* makes the effort worthwhile. This isn’t a pretty reef dive, it’s a journey into history, cold and dark, but utterly captivating. We think it’s one of the region’s standout wrecks, a ghost ship frozen in time. The *City of Portland* rests deep, around 85 metres, so this is serious technical diving territory. You’ll need the training and the gear, but the rewards are immense. We’ve been down when the thermocline hits, and the world above disappears, leaving you in a ghostly blue twilight. Visibility can be decent, sometimes 15 metres, enough to appreciate the scale. The bow, draped in fishing nets like a shroud, is particularly haunting. You’ll see the massive propeller, the rudder, and parts of the engine room if you’re up for a penetration. It’s colonised by anemones, their tentacles waving in the slight current, and often we’ve seen cod lurking in the shadows, big, curious fish that seem to guard the wreck. It’s an advanced dive, no question, but for those with the skills, it offers an incredible, tangible connection to the past. Go on a slack tide, if you can, to really soak it in.
- Location
- New England, United States, North America
- Coordinates
- 44.037872, -69.063230
- Type
- wreck
Marine Protected Area: Harbor Island
Nearby Dive Sites in New England
- Ahern State Park - 10m
- Andrea Doria (wreck)
- (Approximately 65 ft long steel fishing trawler) - 27.400000000000002m (wreck)
- Brace Cove (reef)
- Brant Rock
- Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park
- Burlington Bay Horse Ferry - 15.24 (wreck)
- Burnham Rocks
- Cape Neddick Nubble
- Cathedral Rocks
- Cedar Island Ledge
- Champlain II (wreck)
- Chester E Poling Wreck (wreck)
- City of Rockland Wreck (wreck)
- Classroom Rock - 6m
Nearest Dive Centres to City Of Portland
Marine Life in New England
Home to 35 recorded species including 26 reef fish, 4 sea snails & nudibranchs, 2 other, 1 sharks & rays, 1 octopus & squid, 1 clams & mussels.
Notable Species
- sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
- Banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus) - Reef Fish
- Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus) - Reef Fish
- brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) - Reef Fish
- Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) - Reef Fish
- Sea Trout (Salmo trutta) - Reef Fish
- Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) - Reef Fish
- salmon (Salmo salar) - Reef Fish
- American eel (Anguilla rostrata) - Reef Fish
- Cisco (Coregonus artedi) - Reef Fish
- pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) - Reef Fish
- Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) - Reef Fish
- Great Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) - Reef Fish
- Atlantic oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) - Reef Fish
- Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas) - Reef Fish
- Longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus)
- White Sucker (Catostomus commersonii) - Reef Fish