Bunker Boats ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Bunker Boats

Atlantic Mist

Type:: artificial reef, purse seiner, formerly Navy patrol craft
Built:: 1943, Albina Enine & Machine Works, Portland OR USA
Specs:: ( 185 x 33 ft ) 850 tons
Sunk:: Saturday, Jan 16, 2010 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°31.063' -74°30.271'
Depth:: 100 ft

More: Atlantic Mist ...

Beach Haven

Type:: artificial reef, purse seiner, clam dredge, USA
Built:: 1949, RTC Shipbuilding Company, Camden NJ USA
Specs:: ( 125 x 21 ft )
Sponsor:: Gifford Marine Company, Fish America Foundation, Artificial Reef Association
Sunk:: Thursday August 6, 1992 - Atlantic City Artificial Reef
GPS:: 39°15.340' -74°14.017'

More: Beach Haven ...

Carter's Creek

dis-masted, cleaned, and ready for sinking

Type:: artificial reef, trawler, purse seiner
Built:: 1948, RTC Shipbuilding, Camden NJ, USA, as Absecon
Specs:: ( 140x25 ft ) 198 gross tons
Sunk:: Wednesday May 19, 2021 - Manasquan Artificial Reef
GPS:: 40°05.010' -73°59.632'
Depth:: 75 ft

More: Carter's Creek ...

Gregory Poole

Type:: artificial reef, minesweeper, US Navy, later converted to purse seiner
Built:: 1944, Tampa FL USA as AM-215 Cruise
Specs:: ( 184 x 33 ft ) 650 tons
Sunk:: Monday, Dec 10, 2007 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°30.910' -74°30.597'
Depth:: 120 ft

More: Gregory Poole ...

John S Dempster Jr. (FS-355)

Type:: artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
Built:: 1944, JK Welding - Yonkers NY, as FS-355 (US Army)
Specs:: ( 166 x 32 ft ) 542 tons
Sunk:: Thursday, Jan 21, 2021 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°31.340' -74°30.671'
Depth:: 125 ft

John S Dempster Jr. is sister to Shearwater and Reedville, see those vessels for details, links in the sidebar. All three vessels were originally small Army transports, converted to Menhaden fishing by Omega Protein company. FS-355 was USCG-manned, and retained by USA as PVT Carl V. Sheridan (see below) until sold in 1972.

The aging Shearwater and Reedville were retired when Omega got two new modern vessels in 2017, but Dempster was kept as a reserve. Finally, almost 80 years old, the Dempster was sent to her reward as well. Another sister, Tangier Island, was reefed off Georgia in 2020. As of 2023, one old sister remains - Smuggler's Point, FS-400, launched in 1944!

More: John S Dempster Jr. (FS-355) ...

Pauline Marie (FS-???)

Type:: artificial reef, freighter, USA
Built:: 1944/1945 USA as FS-??? (US Army Design 381)
Specs:: ( 176 x 32 ft ) 560 tons
Sponsor:: Seacoast Products Inc, Fisherman Magazine
Sunk:: Friday March 29, 1985 - Atlantic City Artificial Reef
GPS:: 39°13.763' -74°12.182'
Depth:: 85 ft

More: Pauline Marie (FS-???) ...

Reedville (FS-278)

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) ...

Shearwater (FS-411)

USNS Shearwater reef — *Shearwater*, with *Tamaroa* behind

Type:: artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
Built:: 1945, Stockton CA USA as FS-411 (US Army)
Specs:: ( 166 x 32 ft ) 542 tons
Sunk:: Dec 11, 2015 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°31.661' -74°30.607'
Depth:: 120 ft

More: Shearwater (FS-411) ...

Harbor Seal

Phoca vitulina

by Larry Sarner

Wild seals conjure up images of northern or even Arctic climates. But few people know that more than a hundred harbor seals call New Jersey home during the winter months, coming ashore into isolated estuaries and even upstream into a few rivers.

New Jersey is near the southern limits of the range for harbor seals on the East Coast. However, these seals are frequent visitors offshore in winter and even have been reported as far south as the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and off the coast of North Carolina. The winter seal-sighting season runs from December through March. Seals generally leave the New Jersey coast by the second week in April, probably responding to rising air and water temperatures and the increase in human activity.

More: Harbor Seal ...