Sailing Ships (5/5) ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Sailing Ships (5/5)

A packet ship of the early 1800s. Of note is the way the sails on the mainmast are set backward, against the sails on the fore- and mizzen- masts. Known as "backing", this was how a square-rigged ship "put on the brakes" to slow or stop without actually furling the sails.

Wind power has been used by mankind for millennia. Almost every human culture has constructed sailing vessels of some kind, from crude log or reed rafts to the highly developed wind-jammers of the early twentieth century. Many of these vessels were the most complex and technologically advanced machines of their time - equivalent to our jet airliners.

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Sindia

Type:: shipwreck, sailing ship, USA
Built:: 1887, Ireland
Specs:: ( 329 x 45 ft ) 3068 gross tons, 34 crew
Sunk:: Sunday December 15, 1901
ran aground in storm - no casualties
Depth:: 0-5 ft depending on the tide

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USS Ohio

Type:: shipwreck, 74 gun ship-of-the-line, U.S. Navy
Name:: that place next to Indiana
Built:: 1820, New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn NY USA
Specs:: ( 208 x 54 ft ) 2757 gross tons
Sunk:: April 1884
set adrift and grounded by storm while being dismantled, later deliberately burned
Depth:: 20 ft

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Vivian

Type:: shipwreck, schooner
Built:: 1891, New London, Connecticut, USA
Specs:: ( 188 x 39 ft ) 922 gross tons, 10 crew
Sunk:: Saturday December 27, 1907
collision with schooner Elizabeth Palmer, 1 casualty
Depth:: 80 ft

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Western World

Type:: shipwreck, sailing ship, England
Specs:: ( 287 x 38 ft ) 2458 gross tons, 300+ passengers & crew
Sunk:: Saturday October 22, 1853
ran aground in heavy fog - no casualties
Depth:: 25 ft

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Sailing Ships

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From Day to Day

The North Atlantic is extremely changeable. The aspect that most governs where and when you will ( or even can ) dive is the wave height or the surf. If the surf is pounding on the shore, then it is a good bet the inlet will not be a good dive, let alone the beach. A big surf will even ruin conditions way up the river, say at the Railroad Bridge.

The wave heights on the open ocean will dictate your boat diving. In 1-3 foot seas, the boats can go just about anywhere, all the way out to even the farthest wrecks. In 3-5 foot seas, some boats will do that anyway, but don't count on it. Instead, a closer-in site will be your most likely destination, although perhaps as far as the Pinta or the Mohawk. In 5-6 foot seas you are going to the Delaware, and you'll wish you'd stayed home. Bigger waves than that, and you shouldn't even leave port, although some captains will try. While this may seem like admirable determination on their part ( more like irresponsible greed in some cases! ) you're better off just not going.

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