Long Island Sound Dive Sites (3/4)

Long Island Sound - West

Long Island Sound - East

Long Island Sound averages 60 ft in depth, with the greatest depth of over 300 ft at the eastern end. Tidal effects are strongest at the narrow western end, where all the inrushing water flow piles up and makes tidal variations of up to 7 ft. Strong tidal currents are also prevalent, and visibility tends to be poorer than the open ocean, especially at depth.

Long Island Sound Dive Sites

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Mount Sinai Harbor / Jetties

Once you get there, suit up at your car and walk down the small stretch of beach till you get near the jetty. Enter the water at your leisure. Once in the water, you can swim north along the jetty to the tip. You may see fish, lobster, crabs and the sort. There are large openings in the rocks that form the jetty. Large enough in fact that you can almost swim into one. I don't advise doing this because getting stuck might be a frightening experience.


Type:
shipwreck, three-masted schooner, USA
Specs:
( 118 ft )
Sunk:
Monday August 12, 1907
collision with steamer Tennessee- 4 casualties
Depth:
60 ft

wooden ribs and timbers


Shipwreck Olinda
Type:
shipwreck, steamer, Portugal
Built:
1887, England
Specs:
( 250 x 36 ft ) 1479 gross tons
Sunk:
Tuesday June 11, 1895
ran aground on Fisher's Island - no casualties
Depth:
20 ft

Shipwreck Poling Brothers #2
Type:
shipwreck, tanker, USA
Built:
1863, USA
Specs:
( 116 x 23 ft ) 159 tons
Sunk:
Wednesday February 7, 1940
struck pack ice - no casualties
Depth:
65 ft


Port Jefferson Artificial Reef

Depth: 88 to 94 feet
1.79 nautical miles northeast of Port Jefferson Inlet


Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
Satellite image, showing the jetties and the never-used nuclear power plant.

Now, most people would look at the heading on the page and think that I was crazy for diving near a nuclear power plant. Just to calm your fears, this power plant was never brought online, so there is no chance of getting radiated at this location (barring a nuclear war while you're diving). With that said, Shoreham can be a very interesting dive. Located on the north shore of Long Island (I don't know the name of the town, look on a map), it is a shallow dive with an average depth of around 16 ft. Visibility tends to be anywhere from 3 to 10 ft.


Smithtown Artificial Reef

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


Type:
shipwreck, tugboat, USA
Built:
1885, USA
Specs:
( 55 ft )
Sunk:
autumn 1973; foundered - no casualties
Depth:
100 ft

Type:
shipwreck, steamer, yacht, USA
Built:
1906, Morris Heights NY USA as Galatea
Specs:
( 140 x 18 ft ) 157 tons, 9 crew
Sunk:
Sunday April 29, 1923
grounded on Fisher's Island - 1 casualty

Long Island Sound Dive Sites

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I love the part where they dynamite the coral reef to get the boat through. For science! They also run over a baby whale, and kill the poor thing. At least they didn't fondue it. I have so say though, science was manlier in those days, and scientists weren't afraid to wear short-shorts.

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