New Jersey Scuba Diving

Carlson II

Carlson II reef
Type:
artificial reef, trawler
Specs:
( 70 ft )
Sponsor:
Axel Carlson Jr.
Sunk:
June 1973 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
GPS:
40°06.805' -73°57.176'
Depth:
70 ft

If the date is correct, then this would be the earliest "modern" artificial reef sunk off New Jersey, sunk by the Artificial Reef Committee before the state's reef program began. I've never been able to find a newspaper record of the sinking.

While this vessel has always been referred to as a trawler, it looks a lot more like a tugboat to me. I don't see any deck space for fishing, and the large cutout in the roof is typical of a tugboat reef - to remove the engine. Nor do I see a cargo hold. It looks like maybe the pilothouse has been cut off and placed in the stern. The stubby hull and rounded stern also look a lot more like a tugboat than a fishing boat.

By now, all the upper works will be gone, the hull will be basically a bathtub. The towing bits will last a thousand years, and if I'm right, they're still there. If anyone ever dives this spot, please let me know. I really see a tugboat in this picture.

Carlson is almost certainly not the vessel's real name.

Artificial Reef Sites, Artificial Reefs, Early Artificial Reefs, New Jersey Artificial Reef Sites, New Jersey Artificial Reefs, Sea Girt Artificial Reef, Trawlers,

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Snorkel

no snorkel

Here is an item that is useful in the tropics, but much less so around here. This is because the water here is not nearly as crystal clear as in the tropics, and the depths are often greater. Therefore it is unlikely you will be able to see anything interesting below from the surface.

On a boat dive, a snorkel is totally useless - leave it home. Chances are, the captain and crew will tell you to take it off anyway. The same is generally true for inlet diving where the entry is steep. A snorkel is just one extra thing to get tangled up, and you will probably have enough of that already. A snorkel might be useful in a surface swim from the beach out to a close-in dive site, if it is a good one with purge valve or a dry valve to keep the water out entirely. Even then, you are better off doing a backstroke out to the site, with your head out of the water so you can navigate by landmarks, or an underwater swim if the currents are favorable.

More: Snorkel ...

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