Lost At Sea ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Lost At Sea

Lost at Sea

Adriatic
Beth Dee Bob
Cape Fear
Ellie B

In January 1999, four clam boats were lost in separate incidents in the span of less than three weeks. First, on January 6, the Beth Dee Bob sank in rough weather with all hands. Two days later, the Cape Fear sank under similar circumstances. On January 18, the Adriatic went down with all hands, one day after the Ellie B ran up on the rocks at Manasquan Inlet. In total, 10 lives were lost, sparking a major Coast Guard investigation into safety practices on commercial fishing vessels.

Fishing Vessel Casualty Task Force Report, March 1999

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Adriatic

"This picture was taken several years ago by my wife, Debbie. We were searching for the Adriatic's lost clam dredge that day. Later, after the sinking, my group of divers was the first to dive on and identify her. I used this picture at the dive site to set the dive plan and objectives."

- Capt. Duane Clause, Porthole II

Type:: shipwreck, clam dredge, USA
Built:: 1977, Master Marine, Bayou La Bâtre AL USA
Specs:: ( 74 ft ) 134 gross tons, 4 crew
Sunk:: Monday January 18, 1999
foundered in rough seas - no survivors
Depth:: 65 ft

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Beth Dee Bob

Type:: shipwreck, clam dredge, USA
Built:: 1990, Bock Marine, Beaufort NC USA
Specs:: ( 84 ft ) 96 tons, 4 crew
Sunk:: Wednesday January 6, 1999
foundered in rough seas - no survivors
Depth:: 120 ft

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Cape Fear

Under tow to the reef, with crushed wheelhouse and no masts

Type:: artificial reef, clam dredge
Built:: 1983, James K Walker Marine, Moss Point MS USA
Specs:: ( 112x24 ft ) 188 gross tons
Sunk:: Wednesday March 8, 2000 - Moriches Artificial Reef
Depth:: 75 ft
GPS:: 40°43.505' -72°46.386'

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Ellie B

Type:: shipwreck, clam dredge, USA
Built:: 1978, Ancient City Boat Yard, St. Augustine, FL USA
Specs:: ( 68 ft ) 3 crew
Sunk:: January 17, 1999; ran up on jetty
no casualties
Depth:: 15 ft

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Visibility

I have found no correlation between good visibility and anything else at all. Calm seas certainly don't hurt, but the worst visibility I have ever been in was with a 1-foot surf on the beach. There is however a very good correlation between bad visibility and storms, which is why a single hurricane can end the season.

Other factors which influence visibility are: algae blooms, spawning seasons of some invertebrates, which can fill the water with tiny swimmers, jellyfish ( yes, so many you can't see through them, luckily they don't sting, ) other divers churning up the bottom, and just plain gunk in the water. I don't know how to predict most of these, except to say that if you dive a lot, sooner or later you will see some good visibility. Sometimes in the ocean, the visibility will be different in different depth layers. I have seen the viz go from 3 ft on the way down the anchor line to 20 ft on the wreck.

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