Smithtown Artificial Reef

Smithtown Artificial Reef

Depth: 30 - 40 ft
1.6 nautical miles northwest of Stony Brook Harbor

Smithtown Artificial Reef

Not Shown:

  • 22,000 automobile tires

rock reef
A hopper barge full of rock

All manner of concrete, steel, and stone rubble from dredging, demolition projects, and other construction is used as artificial reef materials. This material is generally available at very low cost or free from construction companies who are more than happy to get rid of it. Transportation costs determine where this material is used by the Reef Program.



the big one goes down
Type:
artificial reef, barges
Depth:
38 - 40 ft
Name Description Sunk GPS
190’ wood 1979 40°55.977'
-73°10.921'
350’ steel 1981 40°55.943'
-73°10.955'
270’ wood 1982 40°55.876'
-73°11.111'
340’ steel 1984 40°55.991'
-73°10.950'
80’ wood 1984 40°55.972'
-73°10.872'
80’ steel (226) 2021 40°55.970'
-73°11.048'


By Bob Halstead

Buddies are not essential for a safe dive. On the contrary, buddies often increase the risk of a dive, either directly through unpredictable or unreliable actions, or indirectly, through an unfounded belief that security is enhanced by numbers alone, regardless of the training or state of mind of the buddy. In most instances, a competent solo diver would be much safer than the average buddy dive.

Most textbooks do not define the buddy system - an interesting point in itself. I define it as the situation that occurs when two divers of similar interests and equal experience and ability share a dive, continuously monitoring each other throughout entry, the dive, and the exit, and remaining within such distance that they could render immediate assistance to each other if required.

Obviously, this definition represents the ideal, and upon honest examination, it's clear that it has little to do with the reality as practiced by most divers. The truth is that on most dives, the buddy system fails.

Printed from njscuba.net