Shinnecock Artificial Reef

Shinnecock Artificial Reef

Depth: 76 - 84 ft
2.0 Nautical miles south of Shinnecock Inlet

Shinnecock Reef was originally very small, but has been expanded greatly. The pink region is the historical area, and the blue region is the new deployment zone, while the full permitted size of the reef is roughly a square that encloses the deployment zone. Below is the historical area:

Shinnecock Artificial Reef (old)

Shinnecock Artificial Reef

Not Shown:

  • 46 ft pleasure craft - 1987
  • 2 tugboats
  • 9 barges
  • 1,000 tire units

In the old version of the website, I had the names Marlu and Maroca recorded for this reef. When I got the new photos off most of the reefs, Maroca became apparent - it is spray-painted on the transom of the vessel. Marlu was harder, but I think I have that one figured out as well. I also had a second drydock at Fire Island that I think belongs here. New York's reef program was moribund for so long that the records are unclear.

Reef site coordinates differ from NOAA Navigational Charts.

side-scan sonar image of Shinnecock Reef, click to enlarge

Note the remains of the drydock at lower-left, the square lighthouse at top-center, with Marlu and Mandy Ray to the right. The freckles at the upper-left are Army tanks.



Type:
artificial reef, trawler
Built:
1968, Master Marine, Inc., Bayou La Bâtre AL USA
Specs:
( 72x20 ft ) 131 gross tons
Sunk:
1999-2000 - Shinnecock Artificial Reef
Depth:
GPS:
40°48.149' -72°28.501'


M60 tanks reef
M60 tanks undergo a thorough cleaning before use as reefs

The Artificial Reef Program used four types of obsolete Army armored vehicles as artificial reef materials off the New Jersey coast. These were cleaned at local military bases, loaded onto barges for transport, and pushed off at their final destination. Once the Army had disposed of its excess inventory, the program ceased, around 1999. The Artificial Reef Program has sunk almost 400 tanks altogether, far too many to list them here in this website.




Sub Chaser
WW I submarine chasers
Type:
shipwreck, submarine chaser, U.S. Navy
Built:
1917, New York NY USA
Specs:
( 110 x 14 ft ) 85 tons
Sunk:
Tuesday October 1, 1918
collision with tanker Fred W. Waller - 2 casualties
Depth:
45 ft

Printed from njscuba.net