The Amelia C was a working prawn trawler of about 25 m from the Northern Prawn Fishery. After decommissioning she was stripped, cleaned and made ready for sinking by Darwin Sub Aqua Club members – removing fuel, oils, loose fittings and hazards – and scuttled at Fenton Patches in 2013 as part of the NT artificial reef program. She went down the same year as the Merindah Pearl, and the two hulls, together with the older Antares and its steel barge, form the densest cluster of wrecks in the Fenton field.

The trawler landed upright on sand at about 25–28 m. Her profile is classic Top End prawner: a high flared bow, a long working deck with fish-hold hatches, and the wheelhouse and trawl gantry aft. Because she was cleaned specifically for divers, the hull is relatively open, but the holds have since accumulated silt and should be viewed from the hatch rather than entered. Marine growth after a decade is well established – sponges, soft corals, whip corals, hydroids and oysters coat the rails and gantry – and the hull has become a home for resident fish.

Fish life is what brings divers here. Golden snapper and saddletail snapper school in the lee of the hull, black jewfish and estuary cod occupy the holds and the space beneath the stern, and trevally, queenfish and Spanish mackerel pass through on the moving tide. Batfish often escort divers on the ascent.

DSAC's account records the Amelia C's port bow resting against the Antares' starboard bow; the NT Government reef list gives her a position shared with the Merindah Pearl, about 100 m from the Antares. Either way, on a clear neap-tide day several wrecks can be combined in one or two dives. The site suits advanced divers comfortable with open-water descents, 25 m-plus depths and a tight slack-water window. It is a good example of how volunteer preparation has made Darwin's offshore artificial reefs accessible to recreational divers rather than just anglers.

Fenton Patches lies about 17 nautical miles (roughly 31 km) north-west of Darwin in open water beyond the harbour mouth, so it is a boat-only site. Club and charter boats usually launch from the Cullen Bay ramp and marina (Marina Boulevard, Larrakeyah – ample trailer parking) or from Dinah Beach / Sadgroves Creek ramps inside the harbour, then run out past East Point and across Beagle Gulf. In a fast 6–7 m trailer boat allow roughly an hour each way in trade-wind chop; slower in a southeasterly above 15 knots.

There are no public moorings: the site is found on GPS and sounder, and a shot line or grapnel is dropped on the structure. Private boats need a competent skipper who can work the tide and keep a boat cover on the surface while divers are down.

Fenton Patches is open water in Beagle Gulf with no shelter. Dive it only on neap tides and time the dive for slack water (typically a window of 30–60 minutes around the turn; Darwin's tidal range reaches 7–8 m on springs and currents at Fenton run hard outside slack). The dry season (May–October) brings the south-east trades: mornings are usually calm, but a 15–20 knot south-easterly by late morning makes the run back uncomfortable, so plan an early start.

The build-up (October–December) brings glassy days but storms in the afternoon; the wet season (December–April) brings north-westerly monsoon winds, heavy run-off that cuts visibility, cyclone risk (November–April) and box jellyfish in the water. Visibility is best after several days of neaps and no rain.

Descend the shot to the upright hull, check the current and move to the upstream end. Circuit the trawler at 22–25 m, looking into the open fish hold and around the trawl gantry and stern, then rise over the wheelhouse at about 18 m. If the Merindah Pearl or Antares is visible, a short navigated swim links them; otherwise return to the shot, keep a gas margin for the turn of tide and complete the safety stop on the line.

No daily operator. Darwin Sub Aqua Club (DSAC) runs member boat dives to Fenton Patches on suitable neap-tide weekends in the dry season; Dive Darwin (learntodivedarwin.com.au) and Western Blue Dive Charters offer outer-harbour/offshore wreck trips on demand when tides and weather line up. Otherwise private boat only.