New Jersey Scuba Diving

Warships

Warships

A number of warships are sunk in New Jersey and New York waters:

HMS Pentland Firth

Shipwreck Pentland Firth

Type:: shipwreck, trawler, Royal Navy
Name:: Pentland Firth is the channel between the northern tip of Scotland and the Islands that form Scapa Flow, the great British naval base, and today one of the best wreck diving locales in the world.
Built:: 1934, England
Specs:: ( 164 x 27 ft ) 485 gross tons
Sunk:: Saturday September 19, 1942
collision with minesweeper trawler USS Chaffinch (400 tons) - ? casualties
GPS:: 40°25.433' -73°52.204' (AWOIS 1991)
Depth:: 70 ft

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Texas Tower TT-4

Texas Tower #4

Type:: collapsed radar platform, USAF
Built:: 1955, Portland ME USA
Specs:: ( 67 ft above water) 6000 tons, 14 crew (minimum)
Sunk:: Sunday January 15, 1961
storm/structural failure/design deficiency - no survivors
GPS:: 39°47'56.43" -72°40'08.00" (US Navy 2004)
Depth:: 180 ft, starts at 110 ft

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USS Akron ZRS-4

airship wreck USS Akron — In flight over the Goodyear plant in Akron Ohio, where she was built.

Type:: shipwreck, dirigible ( rigid airship ) , U.S. Navy
Built:: 1931, Akron OH USA
Specs:: ( 785 ft ) 200 tons, 76 passengers & crew
Sunk:: Tuesday April 4, 1933
atmospheric storm - 3 survivors
Depth:: 105 ft

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USS San Diego ACR-6

Shipwreck USS San Diego — USS San Diego photographed 28 January 1915, while serving as flagship of the Pacific Fleet. Her name had been changed from California on 1 September 1914. Note two-star Rear Admiral's flag flying from her mainmast top.

Type:: shipwreck, armored cruiser, U.S. Navy
Built:: 1904, Bethlehem San Francisco, San Francisco USA, as U.S.S. California
Specs:: ( 503 x 70 ft ) 13680 displacement tons
Sunk:: Friday July 19, 1918
explosion, probably struck a mine laid by U-156
officially 6 casualties, probably 30-40 in reality
GPS:: 40°32.433' -73°02.484' (AWOIS 2008)
Depth:: 110 ft, starts at 65 ft

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Captain Henry LCM-6

Captain Henry reef — "Captain Henry" - the bow ramp appears to have been welded up

Type:: artificial reef, LCM-6 (Landing Craft-Mechanized) used as buoy tender
Built:: 1943 New Orleans LA USA
Specs:: ( 56 x 14 ft ) 64 tons
Sponsor:: Bureau of Coastal Engineering, Fish America &
Cape May County Party & Charter Boat Association
Sunk:: Sunday May 6, 1990 - Cape May Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°51.200' -74°42.280'

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Ida K SC-1282

subchaser fishing — A subchaser converted to fishing - Ida K might have been similar

Type:: submarine chaser, later trawler, scallop boat, USA
Built:: 1943, Elizabeth City Shipyard, Elizabeth City NC USA
Specs:: ( 112 x 18 ft ) 99 gross tons
Sunk:: ???
Depth:: 90 ft

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Dive Sites Contents

Dive Sites - pick your starting point

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Submarines

Submarines

Shipwreck USS Bass — There is something unique about diving a submarine - USS Bass

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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.

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