Long Island West Dive Sites (10/11) ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Long Island West Dive Sites (10/11)

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Shoreham

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.

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Shrewsbury Rocks

The Shrewsbury Rocks are a wide area of rocky bottom that stretches from fourteen feet of water out to the fifty-foot mark off of Monmouth Beach. Some of the formations are twenty feet tall or more and can be very pretty under good conditions, which are unfortunately seldom this far north. The stone itself is a type of sandstone known as Greensand.

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Smithtown Artificial Reef

Depth: 38 - 40 ft

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Steel Wreck

Type:: shipwreck
Depth:: 80 ft

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Stolt Dagali

Type:: shipwreck, tanker, Norway
Name:: Stolt is the name of the line that owned the ship; it translates "proud". Dagali is a mountain valley in Norway.
Built:: 1955, Denmark, as Dagali
Specs:: ( 582 x 70 ft ) 12723 gross tons, 43 crew
Sunk:: Thursday November 26, 1964 ( Thanksgiving day )
collision with liner Shalom ( 25,338 tons ) - 19 casualties
Depth:: 130 ft, starts at 60 ft

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Three Sisters

Type:: shipwreck
Depth:: 80 ft

The "Three Sisters", as she is called, is an unidentified wooden-hulled vessel. She sits in 80 ft of water some 13 miles south of Atlantic Beach Inlet. She sits on a sandy bottom, spread out over a small area. Her boiler and a 4 bladed propeller are still visible. Wooden beams and planking spread out from the boilers aft towards the propeller. Occasionally some artifacts are found, mostly brass fittings. This is generally a decent wreck for lobsters and spearfishing. This wreck is in a main shipping channel, and large vessels make large wakes, so secure all gear.

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Train Wheel Wreck

Type:: shipwreck, schooner
Depth:: 120 ft

The Train Wheel Wreck is another unidentified wooden schooner. She is located in 120 feet of water only a few miles from the G&D Wreck. According to Jimmy Fazzolare divers will find a pile of train wheels and wooden debris. The Train Wheels must have been cargo. In the center of the wreck is a depression where divers can usually find big lobsters.

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USS Algol AKA-54

USS Algol reef — The *Algol* just prior to sinking, November 1991.

Type:: artificial reef, Andromeda class attack transport ( freighter ), U.S. Navy, also known as a "Victory Ship", although often incorrectly referred to as a Liberty Ship
Name:: One of a series of Navy transports named for stars;
Algol is a star in the constellation Perseus, also known as the Demon star.
Built:: 1943; Oakland CA USA, as James Barnes
Specs:: ( 459 x 63 ft ) 13910 displacement tons, 429 crew *
* this figure almost certainly includes embarked Marines
Sponsor:: Federal Aid in Sportfish Restoration
Sunk:: Thursday November 22, 1991 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
GPS:: 40°06.545' -73°41.450'
Depth:: 145 ft +, starts at 70 ft, main deck at 110 ft

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USS San Diego ACR-6

Shipwreck USS San Diego — *USS San Diego* photographed 28 January 1915, while serving as flagship of the Pacific Fleet. Her name had been changed from *California* on 1 September 1914. Note two-star Rear Admiral's flag flying from her mainmast top.

Type:: shipwreck, armored cruiser, U.S. Navy
Built:: 1904, San Francisco USA, as U.S.S. California
Specs:: ( 503 x 70 ft ) 13680 displacement tons
Sunk:: Friday July 19, 1918
explosion, probably struck a mine laid by U-156
officially 6 casualties, probably 30-40 in reality
GPS:: 40°32.433' -73°02.484' (AWOIS 2008)
Depth:: 110 ft, starts at 65 ft

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USS Tarantula SP-124

Type:: shipwreck, patrol boat, converted yacht, U.S. Navy
Built:: 1912, Neponset MA USA
Specs:: ( 129 x 19 ft ) 160 gross tons
Sunk:: Monday October 28, 1918
collision with steamer Frisia - no casualties
Depth:: 115 ft

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Long Island West Dive Sites

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Northern Tilefish

Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps

Size: to 42" and 50 lbs.

Habitat
Deep waters around offshore canyons

These strange deep-sea fishes are found in the walls of the offshore canyons, far below the range of scuba divers, although they are caught by deep-sea fishermen. Their population is extremely cyclical, with large die-offs from excessively warm water, and this precludes any long-term commercial fishery.

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