Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
Delaware has quite an active Artificial Reef Program for such a small state. Most of its reefs are located in Delaware Bay and consist of concrete, rock, and rubble, not really of interest to divers. Three of the reefs, Numbers 9, 10, and 11, are in the ocean. Of these, Number 11 is of special interest, since, in addition to three "wrecks" and numerous Army tanks, it contains 619 Redbird subway cars - cars that New Jersey turned away. At least they didn't go very far - these cars were actually closer than some of the 250 that New Jersey eventually sank in our own reefs!
Fells Point, Cittie Pointe, and William C Snow
The Red Bird reef site was begun in 1996, taking its name as a derivation of the "Redbird" paint-schemed subway cars donated in 2001 by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. To build the Red Bird Reef, 619 of the obsolete subway cars were sunk, each of them 51 feet long by nine wide, making a substantial bottom structure for an artificial reef.
- Type:
- 250 "Redbird" subway cars - NYC Subway system - steel bodies / frames
- Built:
- 1959-1960 - American Car & Foundry - Model R26 # 7750-7859
1960-1961 - American Car & Foundry - Model R28 # 7860-7959
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R29 # 8570-8805
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R33 # 8806-9345
1963-1964 - St. Louis Car - Model R36 # 9346-9769 - Specs:
- ( 51 x 9 ft ) 15,000 to 18,000 pounds (body)
- Sunk:
- 50 cars - Cape May Reef on July 3, 2003
50 cars - Deepwater Reef on July 16, 2003
50 cars - Atlantic City Reef on July 25, 2003
50 cars - Garden State North Reef on Sept 3, 2003
50 cars - Shark River Reef on Oct 14, 2003
619 cars - Delaware Reef 11 from Aug 2001 to Nov 2003 - Sponsor:
- New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
- anti-
Sponsor: - Environmental group Clean Ocean Action lobbied aggressively and almost successfully to prevent the use of these subway cars as artificial reefs in New Jersey, resulting in most of the cars going to other states.
- GPS:
- too many to list, and all gone anyway
- Depth:
- Depths vary by location between 80 ft and 130 ft.
More: Redbird Subway Cars ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tanker, US Navy
- Built:
- 1945, RTC Shipbuilding, Camden NJ USA
- Specs:
- ( 174 x 33 ft ) 1390 tons
- Sunk:
- Monday June 25, 2007 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°40.590' -74°43.957'
More: YOG-93 ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, scallop dredge
- Built:
- 1977, Halter Marine, Lockport LA USA, as Southern Prince
- Specs:
- ( 156 x 39 ft ) 269 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°40.494' -74°43.868'
- Depth:
- 85 ft
The Texas Star was built in 1977 on a multi-purpose supply ship hull, probably to service offshore oil platforms. The vessel was refitted as a floating casino in 1986, originally named Millionaire’s Casino, out of Savannah Georgia, but later moved to Texas and renamed Texas Star Casino. "The 12,000 square-foot vessel featured games such as craps, blackjack, roulette, poker and slot machines, with a bingo parlor situated on the nearby dock."
More: Texas Star ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat
- Built:
- 1958, Port Arthur, TX, as Margaret C
- Specs:
- ( 110 ft )
- Sunk:
- Tuesday Jan 30, 2009 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°40.540' -74°43.957'
More: Bay Tide ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat
- Built:
- 1956, Madisonville, LA
- Specs:
- ( 110 ft )
- Sunk:
- Monday June 2, 2008 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°40.540' -74°43.957'
More: Fells Point ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
- Built:
- 1944, Brooklyn NY USA, as Army FS-278
- Specs:
- ( 166 x 32 ft ) 542 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Friday, August 14, 2020 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°40.423' -74°44.295'
- Depth:
- 80 ft
More: Reedville (FS-278) ...
