AH-WR-0869

M/V J.B. Eskridge

Tugboat · United States · Lost October 2002 · Chesapeake Bay

A 1950-built railroad tug renamed for a Virginia reef program coordinator and deliberately sunk in 2002 as one of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay's most durable artificial reefs.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1950 as the tug Lehigh for the Lehigh Valley Railroad, the vessel worked the harbor and coastal trades for half a century. In 2002 the Virginia Marine Resources Commission sank her at Tower Reef near the Chesapeake Light Tower, renaming her J.B. Eskridge in honor of the reef program's longtime field coordinator, who had died the year before. She remains one of the most intact and popular wrecks on the reef.

Vessel

Built: 1950
Builder: Jakobson Shipyard
Yard: Oyster Bay, New York
Material: Steel
Length: 106 ft
Beam: 27.33 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Single screw, diesel-electric
Owners: Lehigh Valley Railroad (originally); later Virginia Marine Resources Commission

Loss

Date: October 2002
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Tower Reef, Chesapeake Bay entrance, Virginia
Water: Chesapeake Bay
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 42-60
Condition: Intact, considered a durable reef structure
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 36.90° N 75.73° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Tower Reef, near Chesapeake Light Tower, Virginia
Region: Chesapeake Bay

General area only: coordinate of the Tower Reef artificial reef site from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission's official reef registry, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.