New Jersey Scuba Diving

Long Branch Pier

Long Branch Pier Rubble — Remains of the pier still standing in October 1997; it was demolished in June-July 2001

Type:: oceanfront pier
Built:: 1911
Depth:: 15 ft?

Long Branch Pier Rubble — Aerial view of the pier and adjacent jetty in the 1960s, prior to development as an amusement park.

Long Branch Pier Rubble — Ablaze - Monday, June 8, 1987
The cause was determined to be a gas leak.

Long Branch Pier Rubble — Coast Guard cutters helped fight the fire.

Long Branch Pier Rubble — The fire destroyed many shore-front businesses and blighted the town for a decade. The area has since been redeveloped very nicely.

Shore Diving in New Jersey

A number of piers have stood at this site since the early 1800s, serving a steamboat connection to New York. Several were destroyed by storms. This was the third or fourth pier built and was completed in 1911. When the steamboat service lapsed, it was converted to a fishing pier, and later built over as an amusement park. The park atop the pier burned down in 1987, and the remains of the structure were finally demolished in 2001, leaving a field of concrete pilings and debris just beyond the surf zone.

For detailed directions, see Shore Diving in New Jersey

Dive Sites, New Jersey Dive Sites, Sandy Hook Dive Sites,

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Sandy Hook / Rockaway Inlet

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Gear Lanyards

lanyard

Chances are your light or other piece of gear came with a wrist lanyard. This item is probably ok for diving in the tropics where you shouldn't be doing anything with your hands anyway, but around here it is lousy. Wrist lanyards are a pain to put on and a pain to get off, and in the case of a light, if you let go of it to do something with both hands, it will invariably get in the way and bob around until it shines in your eyes and blinds you. When you finally get fed up with it, you will take it off, and in a careless moment, your equipment will be lost. Here is a much better rig, commonly known as a "hi-lo" lanyard:

Take the wrist lanyard off, and throw it away. Get two brass snaps and a piece of rope. Braided 1/2 " nylon is what I used because it is supple, won't rot, won't unravel, and doesn't float. Attach a brass snap to each end. You can just tie them on, or get fancy like me and make streamlined loops. The end-to-end length of mine is about four feet, including the snaps, but you can experiment. Attach the base ring of one of the brass snaps directly to your gear where the lanyard was.

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