Sea Girt Artificial Reef

Sea Girt Artificial Reef

3.6 Nautical Miles off Sea Girt
Depth: 60-75 ft [download]

Sea Girt Artificial Reef

The Sea Girt reef is located atop an underwater ridge known as the "Klondike". This is an area of clean sandy bottom and usually has relatively good visibility. Fish life abounds on all sites in this reef, although lobstering is slim. There are many more Army tanks than shown here, as well as quite a bit of concrete rubble scattered throughout the reef. The Sea Girt Reef is one of the oldest artificial reef sites in New Jersey. Reef-building activities at this site date back to 1937. Minimum clearance at mean low water is 50 feet.

If you look at the state's official record, linked above, the four older sites that are outside the official reef boundaries are not listed.



DVD Banana Barge
Type:
artificial reef, barge
Name:
Named for the Delaware Valley Divers club, who sponsored it,
and their peculiar aversion to nature's perfect packaging.
Specs:
( 140 x 40 ft )
Sponsor:
Delaware Valley Divers club & Peter King
Sunk:
Monday September 14, 1998 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
GPS:
40°06.400' -73°57.080'
Depth:
65 ft





I have found no correlation between good visibility and anything else at all. Calm seas certainly don't hurt, but the worst visibility I have ever been in was with a 1-foot surf on the beach. There is however a very good correlation between bad visibility and storms, which is why a single hurricane can end the season.

Other factors which influence visibility are: algae blooms, spawning seasons of some invertebrates, which can fill the water with tiny swimmers, jellyfish ( yes, so many you can't see through them, luckily they don't sting, ) other divers churning up the bottom, and just plain gunk in the water. I don't know how to predict most of these, except to say that if you dive a lot, sooner or later you will see some good visibility. Sometimes in the ocean, the visibility will be different in different depth layers. I have seen the viz go from 3 ft on the way down the anchor line to 20 ft on the wreck.

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