I finally added two "new" artificial reefs, the Carrabassett on the Axel Carlson Reef and the New England Coast on the Shark River Reef. I have been waiting patiently for the numbers to be released, and was just informed that these two sites are undergoing "a period of successional development and monitoring" before publication. These studies were never announced at the time, in fact the New England Coast was kept out of the newspapers entirely, obviously so the science would not be tainted by the public. I imagine this study is a lot like this one, conducted by NJDEP fisheries biologists Jennifer Resciniti and Bill Figley over the course of 8 years, concluding in 2005.
More: "New" Artificial Reefs ...
I started this site way back in 1996 for my new hobby. In all that time, I gladly carried the annual cost of hosting and domain name. But it's time to admit that my diving years are over, and my interest has waned.
I have kept the site up as a service to the diving community, but I don't know how much longer that makes sense.
If you would like to make a small donation to help defray that cost, it would be greatly appreciated, and help to keep the site online.
Simply click the PayPal button below or anywhere else you find it:
More: Support NJScuba.net ...
The Susan Rose has been raised and is presently at a dock in Point Pleasant. Hopefully it will be sunk on a New York reef, for all to use.
Dragger Susan Rose Raised One Year After Sinking
National Fisherman Staff
Mid-Atlantic Northeast News
November 22, 2024
Resolve Marine's RMG 400 lift barge raised the trawler Susan Rose from where it sank off Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. in November 2023. Jersey Shore Fire Response Photo.
The Rhode Island steel trawler Susan Rose was raised from the sea floor this week a year after sinking off Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., removed as a hazard to navigation.
Resolve Marine’s RMG 400 lift barge brought the Susan Rose to the surface Nov. 19, a year and two days after the 77-foot dragger ran aground on the beach while heading in for Manasquan Inlet.
After the 2023 grounding, the fishing boat’s crew of four safely got off onto the beach, dropping down from the deck with help from Point Pleasant Beach emergency responders.
Efforts to defuel, lighter and salvage the boat began that day and the Dann Towing 85’x30’x11.5’ tugboat Shannon Dann got underway from Staten Island in anticipation of a high tide for the recovery effort. The initial salvage was commissioned by The Town Dock of Narragansett, R.I., owners of the Susan Rose.
That original plan last year was to move the boat off the beach after its fuel and oil tanks were safely emptied, then tow it to a Staten Island shipyard for repair. But during the move, the boat took on water and sank in 48 feet of water about 3,000 feet off the beach.
Built in 1977 by Steiner Shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Ala., the 77’x23’ 142 gwt Susan Rose was one of the Town Dock commercial fleet, homeported at Point Judith, R.I., and frequently working out at other Northeast ports depending on fishing seasons.
The week-long salvage work by Resolve and Northstar Marine also involved the Coast Guard and local partner agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, state police Office of Emergency Management, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Office of Emergency Management and the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department.
Before any next steps those authorities will assess the material condition of the Susan Rose, tied up at a dock on Channel Drive in Point Pleasant Beach. That fueled speculation in the port that the Susan Rose could be bound for the sea floor again, as an addition to an artificial reef.
- nationalfisherman.com
Dive Sites - pick your starting point
I figured out how to customize the map graphics and made them much better for the purpose here.
More: Not Quite Done ... ...
Weather Stations
... I hope. There may still be an old-style chart lurking somewhere, but I think I got them all. Above is the new weather chart, with extant stations and buoys. The old chart still showed ALSN6 - the Ambrose Tower that got knocked into the water so many times that they finally gave up on it. The replacement buoy is in the exclusion zone of the shipping lane, where it should be safe.
More: Just About Done ... ...
Dive Sites
Actually, the shape of things that have come. While re-doing the artificial reefs charts, I refined and extended the mapping plugin to the point where it seemed like it could do the shipwrecks charts as well. There is a structure and order to the artificial reefs while the shipwrecks are a big jumble, but I figured I'd give it a try, and it worked.
More: The Shape of Things to Come ...
Artificial Reefs
The charts on this site have always been a pain to update. Starting with a spreadsheet of coordinates, converting DMS to decimal and then to pixel coordinates, then precisely placing markers in an image editor. Then generating a corresponding html image map for the links, and putting the whole thing in WordPress in such a way that WordPress doesn't simply eat it, as it is prone to do with a lot of things.
More: New Reef Charts ...
Lake Hydra, formerly Dutch Springs, has re-opened. However, it is strictly for certification classes, and all the land-side facilities are gone. Still, much better than nothing!
Fishing vessel Susan Rose was bound from her home port of Port Judith, Rhode Island to Manasquan to begin fluke fishing off New Jersey. Instead, just before 5AM * Friday November 17, 2023, she ran aground approximately 350 yards ** south of the inlet centerline. All four crew were safely gotten off. After de-fueling and de-watering, she was successfully pulled off the beach on the second attempt, at about 2AM Sunday morning, after rolling in the rough surf for almost two days. The vessel rapidly filled with water, capsized and sank, a few hundred yards ** off the beach, in approximately 50 feet of water. Again, everyone was gotten off safely.
* about 90 minutes after low tide
** news reporters said half a mile, but ... well, reporters
More: Susan Rose ...
I ran across this article that frankly shocked me until I read it. See the "Dive Planning" link below, second page.
I took a look at Dutch Springs on Google Earth, and it is pretty much all gone, as you can see above. All the buildings have been torn down. Sad. The plans to re-open are delayed by construction.