Pentland Firth is the channel between the northern tip of Scotland and the Islands that form Scapa Flow, the great British naval base, and today one of the best wreck diving locales in the world.
Built:
1934, England
Specs:
( 164 x 27 ft ) 485 gross tons
Sunk:
Saturday September 19, 1942 collision with minesweeper trawler USS Chaffinch (400 tons) - ? casualties
This bay is muddy and turbid, although some folks dive the several small wrecks around the inside of Sandy Hook. Bottle hunting around the old piers and pilings in Keyport harbor is also a possibility, but most of the structures along the bay shore are too small and shallow to be of interest. I have scouted the shoreline from Atlantic Highlands to Laurence Harbor, and nothing looks too promising. See also entries on Navesink River and Horseshoe Cove.
There are two actual Ponquoque bridges, the new one and the old one. You crossed the new bridge to get to the former Foster Road. The old bridge is where you will probably dive, although nothing is stopping you from diving the new bridge. Don't get caught in the channel between the two bridges, however, because it is considered a channel and it is illegal to dive in a channel in the town of Southampton. With that in mind, there is usually good parking at the bridge, but you will have to do some walking in order to get into the water.
