New Jersey Scuba Diving

Mixed-up Wrecks

According to Gary Gentile in his book Shipwrecks of New Jersey - South, the following three vessels and four known wrecks may be related as suggested here. Or it could be something else entirely.

Mixed-up Wrecks

Boiler Wreck

Type:: shipwreck
Depth:: 80 ft

a small steel wreck, greatly decomposed

Possibly the remains of the Oklahoma.

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Glory

Glory Wreck — Side-scan courtesy of Stockton University

Type:: shipwreck
Depth:: 70 ft

The "Glory Wreck" is a twisted mass of hull plates and steel spread over a wide area on a sandy bottom. Artifacts are occasionally found: portholes and brass. She is usually a good lobster wreck.

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Kennebec

Shipwreck Kennebec

Type:: shipwreck, freighter, USA
Name:: Kennebec is a county and a major river in the state of Maine.
Built:: 1901, Jenks Shipbuilding, Port Huron MI USA
Specs:: ( 243 x 43 ft ) 2183 gross tons, 29 crew
Sunk:: Saturday June 18, 1921
sprung a leak - no casualties

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Lake Frampton

Shipwreck Lake Frampton

Type:: shipwreck, freighter, USA
Built:: 1918, AmShip Lorain, Lorain OH USA
Specs:: ( 251 x 43 ft ) 2622 gross tons, 38 crew
Sunk:: Monday July 12, 1920
collision with SS Comus - 2 casualties

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Oklahoma

Shipwreck Oklahoma

Type:: shipwreck, tanker, USA
Built:: 1908, New York Shipbuilding, Camden NJ USA
Specs:: ( 419 x 55 ft ) 5853 gross tons, 38 crew
Sunk:: Sunday January 4, 1914
broke in half in storm - 25 casualties

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Shookus

Type:: shipwreck
Depth:: 120 ft

A small steel wreck, greatly decomposed.

Possibly the remains of the Oklahoma.

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Southern Lillian

Type:: shipwreck
Depth:: 120 ft

A large steel wreck, partially intact.

Possibly the remains of the Kennebec.

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Sharks - Inshore

Here is an assortment of large sharks that can be found in New Jersey waters, by no means all of them. These are more likely to be found inshore in coastal waters. Sharks are seldom a danger to divers, they seem to be put off by the noise and bubbles. Nonetheless, all should be treated with caution.

In all my many inlet dives, I have seen a shark once, and that was in inoffensive Smooth Dogfish. I have been told that they are sometimes seen from up on the bridge in Belmar, but even then they would probably be out in mid-channel, and far away from strange noisy bubbling scuba divers. However, one of the most famous shark attacks of all time took place in New Jersey - the 1916 Matawan Creek attacks. See Bull Shark for details.

The only one of these that you are ever likely to encounter in local ocean diving is the relatively inoffensive Sand Tiger, not the similarly named and extremely dangerous Tiger.

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