The wreck lies parallel to the beach, and is almost always covered in sand and rarely visible. Occasionally the sand shifts enough for the upper part of the wreck to be seen in 1-2 m of water very close to the shore. H.L. Hartman writing in 1975 stated that some 50 years previously an exceptionally low tide combined with considerable scouring away of sand had uncovered a large amount of the hull. He saw a stern post sticking up about 6 feet (1.8 m) which he described as being of steel. He later referred to this ‘steel wreck’ to distinguish it from the nearby wooden wreck of the whaler Runnymede. Over the years this reference has led to claims of there being both a steel or iron wreck and a timber one at Goode Beach. As noted above, the Fanny Nicholson was composite built, i.e. with an iron keel, stem post, stern post and frames but planked with wood. There appears to be a substantial amount of the below waterline section of the hull buried in the sand.