Military Reefs (4/6) ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Military Reefs (4/6)

These are all reefs that have some connection to the military or Coast Guard, including DPC tugboats.

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Point Swift WPB-82312

Type:: artificial reef, cutter, US Coast Guard
Built:: 1961, US Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore MD USA
Specs:: ( 83 x 17 ft )
Sponsor:: Cape May County Party & Charter Boat Association
Sunk:: Thursday March 30, 2000 - Cape May Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°51.620' -74°40.600'

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Red Oak WLM-689

Type:: artificial reef, buoy tender / ice breaker, US Coast Guard
Built:: 1971, US Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore MD
Specs:: ( 157 x 33 ft )
Depth:: 65 ft
Sponsor:: USCG, Dick Weber & South Jersey Fishing Center
Sunk:: Monday September 13, 1999 - Cape May Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°53.125' -74°40.816'

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Reedville FS-278

Type:: artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
Built:: 1944, Wheeler Shipbuilding, 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

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Rothenbach I YON-97

Type:: artificial reef, barge, fuel oil, US Navy
Built:: 1944, DeKom SB, Brooklyn NY USA
Specs:: ( 165 x 35 ft ) 220 tons (empty) 1270 displacement tons (full)
Sponsor:: Rothenbach & Cape May County Party & Charter Boat Association
Sunk:: Wednesday June 11, 1997 - Cape May Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°53.368' -74°39.800'

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Rothenbach II YON-96

Type:: artificial reef, barge, gasoline, US Navy
Built:: 1944, DeKom SB, Brooklyn NY USA
Specs:: ( 165 x 35 ft ) 220 tons (empty) 1270 displacement tons (full)
Sponsor:: Rothenbach family, US Navy
Sunk:: Friday July 10, 1998 - Great Egg Artificial Reef
GPS:: 39°14.498' -74°21.483'

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salt barge

Type:: artificial reef, barge
Built:: circa 1940
Specs:: ( 150 x38 ft )
Sponsor:: US Navy, NJCDC, Carbon Services Corp, Artificial Reef Association, Cape May County Party & Charter Boat Association
Sunk:: Friday April 9, 1993 - Cape May Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°50.959' -74°42.385'

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Sea Transporter YF-879

Type:: artificial reef, trawler, USA
Specs:: ( 133 x 30 ft )
Built:: 1945, American Bridge, Ambridge PA, as YF-879
Sponsor:: Cape May County Party & Charter Boat Association, Atlantic Cape Fisheries, Artificial Reef Association
Sunk:: Friday August 21, 1992 - Cape May Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°53.118' -74°40.190'
Depth:: 70 ft

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Shearwater FS-411

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

Type:: artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
Built:: 1945, Hickinbotham Brothers, 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

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Tamaroa WMEC-166

Type:: artificial reef, fleet tugboat, cutter
Built:: 1943, Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR, as USS Zuni AT-95
Specs:: ( 205 x 38 ft ) 1,235 tons (light)
Sunk:: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°31.144' -74°30.747'
Depth:: 125 ft

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TD-21 DPC-21

Type:: artificial reef, tugboat
Built:: 1944, Lawley & Sons, Neponset MA, as DPC-21
Specs:: ( 86 x 24 ft ) 146 GT, 9 crew
Sunk:: Saturday June 22, 2024 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
GPS:: 38°40.427' -74°43.073'

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Military Reefs

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These crabs have the last pair of legs modified into paddles, with which they are remarkably fast and agile sideways swimmers. Apart from this, they retain the walking and burrowing abilities of other crabs. Swimming crabs are bad-tempered creatures that aggressively defend themselves. Large ones can pinch very painfully, so handle with care!

Blue Crab ( Blue-claw )

Callinectes sapidus

Profile by Bill Figley
and Ray Townsend

Size:
to 9" across

Range:
Cape Cod to Texas

Habitat:
Bays and estuaries, sometimes found in freshwater, spend their winters in the mud.

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