This anonymous big rectangular wooden dry-dock barge lies off Asbury Park, out near the edge of the Mud Hole. It is similar to the better-known Immaculata. The hulk of the wreck rises up as much as 10 feet, partially intact, while the upper sides have collapsed into the silty sand. Holes in the main wreckage allow penetration into the dark interior, which is surprisingly barren. A debris field of large rectangular ballast stones, wooden ribs, and rusted machinery extend from the western edge of the wreck, and to a lesser extent all around it. In exceptional late October fifty-foot visibility the view of this wreck from above was impressive, but overall this is not a very pretty site, and it is seldom dived. Good for lobsters, Sea Bass, scallops, and decompression.
This is the remains of an unidentified vessel which we located in August of 1986. She appears to be an old paddlewheel steamship, but this is only speculation and has yet to be confirmed. The only artifact I've found on this little wreck was a perfume bottle with the name "Rickseckers Perfume" on it, hence the name, Rickseckers.
H10224/86 -- OPR-C121-WH-86; WRECKAGE WITH 52 FT PNEUMATIC DEPTH GAUGE LEAST DEPTH, WHICH IS BELIEVED TO BE THIS ITEM, APPROXIMATELY 100M SW OF AWOIS POSITION; DIVERS FOUND THE WRECK OF A BARGE, APPROXIMATELY 20 X 45 M; THREE BOILERS AND NUMEROUS OTHER TYPES OF SHIPYARD DEBRIS WERE FOUND STREWN OVER AN AREA OF 360 X 165 FT; IN THE NW CORNER OF THE SITE THE REMAINS OF ANOTHER WRECK WAS FOUND WITH ONLY THE SHELL PLATING AND FLOOR FRAMING REMAINING; APPROXIMATELY 200 FT LONG, 27 FT BEAM AND SHELL PLATING EXTENDING 5 FT ABOVE THE BOTTOM; BOTH ENDS OF THE WRECK TAPERED INTO THE SAND WITH NO BOW OR STERN VISIBLE; ONE OBJECT CONSISTING OF GUARD RAIL TYPE METAL, APPROXIMATELY 2 FT WIDE, 3/8 INCH THICK, AND 40 FT LONG, FORMING A 60 DEGREE ARCH WITH THE MIDDLE STANDING 10 FT OFF THE BOTTOM; SITE CONSISTED OF TWO WRECKS AND SHIPYARD DEBRIS, INCLUDING A BOOM CRANE; LEAST DEPTH TAKEN ON THE TOP OF THE BOILER LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST SECTION OF SITE. (UPDATED MSD 4/91)