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The Shinnecock Inlet is located in the Hampton Bays on Long Island. The inlet is one of the only major inlets on the south shore and sees a great deal of boat traffic during the summer months. With that in mind, this inlet also sees a great deal of diver traffic as well.
More: Shinnecock Inlet ...
There are two actual Ponquoque bridges, the new one and the old one. You crossed the new bridge to get to the former Foster Road. The old bridge is where you will probably dive, although nothing is stopping you from diving the new bridge. Don't get caught in the channel between the two bridges, however, because it is considered a channel and it is illegal to dive in a channel in the town of Southampton. With that in mind, there is usually good parking at the bridge, but you will have to do some walking in order to get into the water.
More: Ponquogue Bridge ...
- Type:
- freshwater artificial reservoir
- Depth:
180 ft , but less than 60 ft in the usual area
More: Round Valley ...
- Type:
- bay-side saltwater cove
- Depth:
- 20 ft max
More: Sandy Hook ...
- Type:
- tidal river / inlet
- Depth:
- 30 ft max
More: Navesink River ...
A tugboat is a small sturdy and powerful vessel designed to push or tow other vessels and barges
You will see them in every sizable port; smart, businesslike small ships, low in the water and surging out to a large inbound ship. Tugs represent power for pushing and pulling, an engine with just enough hull for adequate buoyancy. Thick fenders for close-quarters work, pushing a big ship alongside the quay against the wind, hauling her off at the end of a towing wire.
More: Tugboat ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat
- Built:
- 1950 - Gulfport Shipbuilding Corp, Port Arthur, TX USA
- Specs:
- ( 102 ft ) 197 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Tuesday November 26, 2019 - 12-Mile Artificial Reef
- Depth:
- 125 ft
- GPS:
- 40°37.104' -72°31.388'
More: Relentless ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat, USA
- Built:
- 1939 Wilmington DE USA
- Specs:
- ( 70x18 ft ) 65 tons
- Sunk:
- Wednesday, September 16, 2020 - Hempstead Artificial Reef
- Depth:
- GPS:
- 40°31.030' -73°31.800'
More: Jane ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat
- Built:
- 1936 - Jakobson Shipyard Inc, Brooklyn, New York NY USA
- Specs:
- ( 80x24 ft ) 146 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Tuesday November 26, 2019 - 12-Mile Artificial Reef
- Depth:
- 125 ft
- GPS:
- 40°37.073' -72°31.094'
More: Dauntless ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, ferry, Central Railroad of New Jersey, USA
( sometimes incorrectly identified as a barge ) - Name:
- All CRRNJ ferries were named for New Jersey towns - Lakewood, Bound Brook, Red Bank, Plainfield, Elizabeth, Wilkes Barre, Cranford, Somerville, Westfield, and Bound Brook
- Built:
- 1905, Wilmington DE USA
- Specs:
- ( 191 x 44 ft ) 1197 tons
- Sponsor:
- Ashley Development Corporation
- Sunk:
- Tuesday March 30, 1982 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°07.447' -73°56.227'
- Depth:
- 70 ft
More: Cranford ...
1980 - 2021: The End of an Era
Sadly, 2021 is Dutch Springs' final year of operation. The owner has retired after 40+ years of building and running the facility, and the property has been sold to a developer to become warehouses. See the link in the sidebar.
lakehydra.com
More: Dutch Springs (Lake Hydra) ...
- Type:
- helicopter, heavy-lift transport
- Sunk:
- 1995
- Depth:
- suspended between 25 and 40 ft
- Sponsor:
- Keystone Helicopter
More: Dutch Springs S-56 Helicopter ...
Don't know how I missed this, but back in August, Stu retired and sold Dutch Springs to a developer who plans to put two warehouses on the property:
As you can see, one warehouse fills the small wooded area (lower-left) that was basically unused, while the other obliterates the entire area between the quarry and the road. This leaves no room for parking or facilities. The property is approximately 95 acres, but more than half of that is water.
Sad, but Stu built the place and ran it for 40 years, and he has a right to retire. As we all know, anything having to do with diving brings insurance into the mix, and thus far no other solution has been found.
The quarry will be fenced-off, and Dutch Springs will enter the history books.
More: Dutch Springs - The End of an Era ...
- Type:
- shipwreck, steamer, USA
- Built:
- 1848, NY USA
- Specs:
- ( 275 x 32 ft ) 984 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Saturday December 27, 1866
beached to prevent foundering in a storm; old age & decay - no casualties
More: Horton's Point / Commodore ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
- Built:
- 1944, JK Welding - Yonkers NY, as FS-355 (US Army)
- Specs:
- ( 166 x 32 ft ) 542 tons
- Sunk:
- Thursday, Jan 21, 2021 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°31.340' -74°30.671'
- Depth:
- 125 ft
John S Dempster Jr. is sister to Shearwater and Reedville, see those vessels for details, links in the sidebar. All three vessels were originally small Army transports, converted to Menhaden fishing by Omega Protein company. FS-355 was USCG-manned, and retained by USA as PVT Carl V. Sheridan (see below) until sold in 1972.
The aging Shearwater and Reedville were retired when Omega got two new modern vessels in 2017, but Dempster was kept as a reserve. Finally, almost 80 years old, the Dempster was sent to her reward as well. Another sister, Tangier Island, was reefed off Georgia in 2020. As of 2023, one old sister remains - Smuggler's Point, FS-400, launched in 1944!
More: John S Dempster Jr. (FS-355) ...
The dive site is between 8th and 9th Streets (marker at upper-left)
Atlantic Beach bridge at right, inlet and ocean to the left (west)
In Queens borough, New York City!
East Rockaway Inlet is also known as Deb's Inlet, while New Yorkers optimistically, or perhaps ironically, call the Beach 8th Street dive site Almost Paradise. (Actually the name of a long-defunct dive shop there.) It is also referred to as Beach 9th Street. If that's not enough names for the same place, the waterway is officially called Reynold's Channel. So I suppose you could make six different entries in your logbook.
Beach 8th Street is the only part of the inlet that is accessible to divers, the rest is either private property or state park land where diving is prohibited. You can zoom, pan, and maximize the map above. The inlet is off to the left, marshland to the right, and Kennedy Airport above.
More: East Rockaway Inlet / Beach 8th Street ...
- Type:
- inland tidal river
- Depth:
- 20 ft, mostly a lot shallower
This spot is upstream on the Manasquan River. The diving area is rather small and not very deep. Visibility tends to be poor, and this is worsened whenever an O/W training class is in session, which is often. Also, the current under the bridge becomes very strong, so slack water is essential. For a long time, a dredge barge has been anchored in the channel, but otherwise, there is no boat traffic.
More: Manasquan River Railroad Bridge ...
Point Pleasant on the left /south
Manasquan on the right / north
- Type:
- tidal river inlet with stone jetties or bulkheads on both sides
- Depth:
- 30 ft
This inlet has a long slightly L-shaped jetty on the north side and a longer straight jetty on the south side. Both jetties are made of large stones and concrete, and the ends are built out of man-made concrete "jacks", shaped like an H with a 90-degree twist in the middle.
More: Manasquan River Inlet ...
Carcharhinus leucas
Size:
to 12 ft, perhaps larger
Habitat:
coastal waters, bays, rivers, into freshwater
Notes:
dangerous
The Bull Shark can be recognized by a combination of characters including a stout body, short blunt snout, triangular serrated teeth in the upper jaw, and no fin markings as an adult. This species has a second dorsal fin about one-third the height of the first, a small eye, and no skin ridge between the two dorsal fins. It is gray above and pale below, sometimes with a pale stripe on the flank.
More: Bull Shark ...
- Type:
- inland tidal bay
- Depth:
- 20 ft max, 15 ft in most places
This dive site, formerly known as 'L Street' has changed completely, and for the better. The town of Belmar has done something really nice for us divers and installed wide wooden steps down the bulkhead in Maclearie Park. This more than makes up for the loss of the boat ramp area, which is off-limits to all swimmers since it was rebuilt. I suppose the little cove by the ramp is still accessible from the beach, but the new site is much better, and far from all the dangerous boat traffic around the ramp and marina.
More: Shark River - Back Bay ...
- Type:
- smallish tidal river inlet with stone jetties or bulkheads on both sides
- Depth:
- 15 ft
The Shark River is your best bet for shore diving in the northern half of the New Jersey coastline, far better than the Manasquan River. Shark River offers at least four different locations to dive: either side of the inlet, with rock jetties to explore, slightly upstream at A Street in Belmar, and upriver in the back bay area at L Street, Belmar. The wreck of the Malta is also just a few blocks south on the beach, but hardly worth diving.
More: Shark River ...
- Type:
- Adonis - shipwreck, wood-hulled bark
Rusland - shipwreck, iron-hulled steamer, England - Built:
- Adonis - 1853, Germany
Rusland - 1872, Scotland, as Kenilworth - Specs:
- Adonis - 550 tons, 12 crew
Rusland - ( 345 x 37 ft ) 2538 gross tons, ~200 passengers & crew - Depth:
- 25 ft
- Sunk:
- Adonis - Tuesday March 8, 1859 - ran aground in bad weather, no casualties
Rusland - Saturday March 17, 1877 - ran aground in bad weather, no casualties
More: Dual Wrecks ...
Once you get there, suit up at your car and walk down the small stretch of beach till you get near the jetty. Enter the water at your leisure. Once in the water, you can swim north along the jetty to the tip. You may see fish, lobster, crabs and the sort. There are large openings in the rocks that form the jetty. Large enough in fact that you can almost swim into one. I don't advise doing this because getting stuck might be a frightening experience.
More: Mount Sinai Harbor / Jetties ...
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- Gear & Training ...
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Welcome to NJScuba.net, a website dedicated to exploring the New Jersey / New York region underwater -- "Wreck Valley". Here you will find information on dive sites, marine biology, artifacts and activities, gear and training, and many other subjects.
More: Home ...
