Recent Edits
knife, the most tangible clue to the
identity of New Jersey's mystery U-boat.
In 1991, while checking out an obscure site known for hanging up fishing lines, I dropped down the anchor line only to find a virgin German U-boat. A wreck diver's fantasy of discovering a new shipwreck somehow had become a reality, and it was every bit as good as could be imagined. While reveling in the experience, I wondered if I would have enough skill and luck to ever make it happen again. Several discoveries later, the challenge is still irresistible.
More: Searching For Shipwrecks ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, freighter, USA
- Built:
- 1944/1945 USA as FS-??? (US Army Design 381)
- Specs:
- ( 176 x 32 ft ) 560 tons
- Sponsor:
- Seacoast Products Inc, Fisherman Magazine
- Sunk:
- Friday March 29, 1985 - Atlantic City Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 39°13.763' -74°12.182'
- Depth:
- 85 ft
More: Pauline Marie (FS-???) ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, trawler
- Built:
- 1979, Bayou La Batre AL as Scott & Mike
- Specs:
- ( 87 ft ) 135 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Tuesday June 27, 2017 - Manasquan Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°04.980' -73°59.410'
- Depth:
- 75 ft
More: Mount Sinai ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, trawler
- Built:
- 1976, Bayou La Batre AL as Miss Quality
- Specs:
- ( 85 ft ) 159 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Saturday, Jan 16, 2010 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°40.540' -74°43.957'
- Depth:
More: Frieda Marie ...
In January 1999, four clam boats were lost in separate incidents in the span of less than three weeks. First, on January 6, the Beth Dee Bob sank in rough weather with all hands. Two days later, the Cape Fear sank under similar circumstances. On January 18, the Adriatic went down with all hands, one day after the Ellie B ran up on the rocks at Manasquan Inlet. In total, 10 lives were lost, sparking a major Coast Guard investigation into safety practices on commercial fishing vessels.
- Coast Guard Report
More: Lost At Sea ...
Fishing vessel Susan Rose was bound from her home port of Port Judith, Rhode Island to Manasquan to begin fluke fishing off New Jersey. Instead, just before 5AM * Friday November 17, 2023, she ran aground approximately 350 yards ** south of the inlet centerline. All four crew were safely gotten off. After de-fueling and de-watering, she was successfully pulled off the beach on the second attempt, at about 2AM Sunday morning, after rolling in the rough surf for almost two days. The vessel rapidly filled with water, capsized and sank, a few hundred yards ** off the beach, in approximately 50 feet of water. Again, everyone was gotten off safely.
* about 90 minutes after low tide
** news reporters said half a mile, but ... well, reporters
More: Susan Rose ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat
- Built:
- 1950 - Gulfport Shipbuilding Corp, Port Arthur, TX USA
- Specs:
- ( 102 ft ) 197 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Tuesday November 26, 2019 - 12-Mile Artificial Reef
- Depth:
- 125 ft
- GPS:
- 40°37.104' -72°31.388'
More: Relentless ...
ShipBuildingHistory.com is a resource that I have often used to look up many of the reefs and a few of the wrecks in this website. I recently sent in an update, and received a notice that the author had passed away. The next thing that usually happens in these cases is that the website disappears when the hosting goes unpaid, so I immediately grabbed a copy for myself.
That's when I found that the original site was almost a terabyte in size, and 95% of that was formatting. So I cleaned it up, and cleaned it up, and cleaned it up, and added some navigation structures and other niceties that you would expect. Then I posted my copy as a sub-site here:
More: ShipBuildingHistory.com ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tanker barge
- Specs:
- ( 242 x 42 ft )
- Sponsor:
- Spentonbush Red Star Company, Sportfish Fund
- Sunk:
- Thursday August 7, 1997 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°07.930' -73°55.942'
- Depth:
- 70 ft
More: Fisherman ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, trawler, clam dredge, USA
- Built:
- 1948, Bath Iron Works, Maine, USA
- Specs:
- ( 117 x 24 ft ) 195 gross tons
- Sponsor:
- Eirek's Dock, Fisherman Magazine
- Sunk:
- Thursday October 16, 1986 - Cape May Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°51.860' -74°42.965'
- Depth:
- 65 ft
More: Laita ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, clam dredge, USA
- Built:
- 1950, JW Nolan & Sons, Erie PA USA
- Specs:
- ( 50x15 ft ) 14 gross tons
- Sunk:
- 2003 - Fire Island Artificial Reef
- Depth:
- 70 ft
- GPS:
- 40°35.996'-73°12.926'
More: Mary N ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, trawler, USA
- Built:
- 1966, Port Arthur TX as State Race
- Specs:
- ( 110 ft ) 177 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Nov 2, 2016 - Wildwood Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°57.900' -74°41.050'
More: Lisa Kim ...
Rockaway Belle is listed as Army tug-transport T-1, built by Simms Brothers, Dorchester MA, 1942. 'T-boats' were 65-foot, 45 ton diesel-powered, passenger-cargo boats that doubled as harbor tugs. 170 of them were constructed during WWII, and many more afterwards. From 1940 through 1951 all T-Boats were built of wood, thereafter steel. Rockaway Belle was T-1 of the T-1 class, sold as surplus in 1947.
More: Rockaway Belle (US Army T-1) ...
If Nitrox will not take you deeper than air, what will? I touched on a couple of possibilities previously - Trimix and Heliox, but I did not explain what they are, or how they work. I'm not a "Tech" diver; I'm not interested in going deep enough to actually need such gas mixes, and I've never taken a formal class in such things. But I do have an engineering degree, curiosity, and half a brain.
More: Going Deeper - "Tech" ...
- Type:
- Adonis - shipwreck, wood-hulled bark
Rusland - shipwreck, iron-hulled steamer, England - Built:
- Adonis - 1853, Germany
Rusland - 1872, Scotland, as Kenilworth - Specs:
- Adonis - 550 tons, 12 crew
Rusland - ( 345 x 37 ft ) 2538 gross tons, ~200 passengers & crew - Depth:
- 25 ft
- Sunk:
- Adonis - Tuesday March 8, 1859 - ran aground in bad weather, no casualties
Rusland - Saturday March 17, 1877 - ran aground in bad weather, no casualties
More: Dual Wrecks ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, barge
- Specs:
- ( 110 x 30 ft )
- Sponsor:
- McNeil's Marina, Cape May County Party & Charter Boat Association
- Sunk:
- Wednesday August 8, 1990 - Cape May Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°53.505' -74°40.075'
More: Lisa Michelle ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, trawler, USA
- Built:
- 1948, Bath Iron Works, Maine, USA
- Specs:
- ( 117 x 24 ft ) 195 gross tons
- Sponsor:
- Eirek's Dock, Fish America Foundation
- Sunk:
- Wednesday July 12, 1989 - Cape May Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°50.825' -74°43.312'
- Depth:
- 60 ft
More: Winthrop ...
- Type:
- shipwreck, clam dredge, USA
- Built:
- 2003, Panama City FL USA
- Specs:
- ( 86 ft ) 196 tons, ? crew
- Sunk:
- Thursday July 17, 2003
cause unknown - no casualties ? - GPS:
- 39°59.46' -73°11.25’ (NOAA 2003)
- Depth:
- 130 ft
More: Four Daughters ...
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship that carries goods and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Specialized types of cargo vessels include container ships and bulk carriers. ( Tankers and supertankers are also cargo ships, although they are habitually thought of as a separate category. )
More: Freighter ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tanker, US Navy YW-83 class
- Built:
- 1945, Surgeon Bay, WI, USA, as YW-127
- Specs:
- ( 165 x 33 ft )
- Sponsor:
- GPPCBA, Budweiser
- Sunk:
- Thursday July 16, 1998 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°06.419' -73°41.460'
- Depth:
- 125 ft
More: Mako Mania YW-127 ...
- Type:
- shipwreck, tanker (T3), USA
- Built:
- 1943, Norfolk VA, USA
- Specs:
- ( 516 x 70 ft ) 11017 gross tons
- Sunk:
- Sunday April 16, 1944
torpedoed by U-550, then shelled and sunk by USS Sagamore - 60 survivors - Depth:
- 240 ft ?
More: Pan Pennsylvania ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat
- Built:
- 1956, Madisonville, LA
- Specs:
- ( 110 ft )
- Sunk:
- Monday June 2, 2008 - Delaware #11 Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°40.540' -74°43.957'
More: Fells Point ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat, USA
- Built:
- 1956, Madisonville LA
- Specs:
- ( 100 x 27 ft ) 264 tons
- Sponsor:
- Ann E Clark Foundation, South Jersey Fishing Center
- Dedication:
- Allen R
- Sunk:
- Friday March 26, 2004 - Cape May Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°51.475' -74°42.029'
- Depth:
- 70 ft
More: Kings Point / Allen R ...
- Type:
- shipwreck, tugboat, USA
- Specs:
- ( 113 ft ) 8 crew
- Sunk:
- Sunday March 3, 1985
collision with one of its own barges - no casualties - Depth:
- 230 ft
More: John A. Downs ...
- Type:
- shipwreck, tugboat, USA
- Built:
- 1888, camden NJ USA, as Douglas H. Thomas
- Specs:
- ( 97 x 21 ft ) 148 tons, 9 crew
- Sunk:
- Sunday December 30, 1962
cause unknown - no survivors - Depth:
- 40 ft, starts at 20 ft
More: Gwendoline Steers ...
- Home ...
- Dive Sites ...
- Artificial Reefs ...
- Marine Biology ...
- Artifacts ...
- Gear & Training ...
- Blog ...
- Cozumel ...
Welcome to NJScuba.net, a website dedicated to exploring the New Jersey / New York region underwater -- "Wreck Valley". Here you will find information on dive sites, marine biology, artifacts and activities, gear and training, and many other subjects.
More: Home ...
