New Jersey Scuba Diving

Type:

artificial reef, barge

Name:

Named for the Delaware Valley Divers club, who sponsored it,
and their peculiar aversion to nature's perfect packaging.

Specs:

( 140 x 40 ft )

Sponsor:

Delaware Valley Divers club & Peter King

Sunk:

Monday September 14, 1998 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef

GPS:

40°06.400' -73°57.080'

Depth:

65 ft

Far from being a big boring box, the DVD Barge is actually a very interesting dive. The sides of this big steel barge have fallen away and lie nearby in the sand, forming large overhangs where huge schools of Blackfish, Sea Bass, and Porgies can be found. But what makes this reef really interesting is that from bow to stern, the entire interior is exposed along both sides.

Inside is a jungle-gym of diagonal braces and struts - dark, but not confining, with outside light always in view. The bottom of the interior is covered with sand, giving the impression that you are under a pier rather than inside a barge. The top of the barge is also covered with sand, and looks just like the surrounding bottom. Pink hydroids carpet much of the structure.

The concrete pictured above came from a retaining wall situated along the East River in New York City.

A great deal of concrete rubble has been dropped around and on the barge. Big pieces and piles seem to be in every direction. Along with this, there are a large number of lobster traps around, most of them lost. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be many lobsters around, but the traps are also very effective on fish, and it is easy to scoop a trapped fish right into your bag. ( Lost traps will go on killing fish for a long time unless they are opened up. )

The only downside to this site is the unavoidable web of monofilament that seems to snag you wherever you go, but this is much more of an annoyance than a danger. Other than that, the DVD barge is a diver's playground at only 65 feet.