Good Wreck of NJ for a Newbie?

[ClassAction]

Hi,

I just got certified last year. I'm interested in diving some wrecks of the jersey shore this summer, but it seems like the vast majority of NJ wrecks are pretty deep (100'+). I plan on taking my AOW at the beginning of the summer, but I'd like to take it easy and work my way up to deeper dives. Can anyone recommend a good beginner boat dive in the area? Thanks.

 

[ScubaK-Dawg]

Some wrecks 100 foot or less that are good - Lana Carol, Pinta, Tolten. Check out www.njscuba.com for a great listing and description of many of the great wrecks that lie off NJ.

 

[ClassAction]

Thanks@!

 

[JerseyDevil]

There are many wrecks under 100' that are good dives. Getting your AOW is a good idea as well as diving as much as possible. njscuba.com is a good link as well as njscuba.net.

 

[mwilding]

I believe a lot of NJ boats will reqire your AOW card before letting go out. That and a pony bottle...

 

[Dive Junkie]

Hi,

I just got certified last year. I'm interested in diving some wrecks of the jersey shore this summer, but it seems like the vast majority of NJ wrecks are pretty deep (100'+). I plan on taking my AOW at the beginning of the summer, but I'd like to take it easy and work my way up to deeper dives. Can anyone recommend a good beginner boat dive in the area? Thanks.

Your first step is getting the AOW cert. we run AOW class everyother weekend no matter how many people in a class. Diving off of New Jersey is different than most places you will go, a lot of gear, no 100' plus viz, although a bunch of times last year we had 60' viz. Combination of things can be very overwhelming to new NorthEast Divers. We charter a lot of local trips & what we do to introduce divers to New Jersey Wrecks is this. For an extra $40 dollars you'll get your Boat Diver cert., but more importantly you'll have an instructor there with you to prep you on what to expect on the boat, assist you gearing up, accompany you on 2 dives and show you around and help you execute your dives no matter what conditions you have. This has worked out great for our divers and really shows people how good the diving is here. On the other hand I've seen people try to figure things out for themselves and have had an aweful time out on the boat, and that's all because they haven't been introduced properly to NorthEast diving. Visit us on the web to check out us & our schedule! www.thescubaconnection.net We can take you out on almost any wreck on our schedule if you're interested! If you want really go viz, the Stolt or the Algol are great. Depth range from 55' to 130'. You can dive either of those wrecks at 60' - 80' and have a great time, you don't need to go down to 130'. If 130' makes you a little nervous the Lana Carol , Venturo, Pinta, or the Gulf Trade are all nice wrecks. I'll tell you this, tha aquatic life is great!

 

[ClassAction]

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely look into this next summer. I noticed (on your website) that you require a pony bottle or doubles for anything deeper than 80'. Could you tell me if there's any traing required for using a pony? Do you learn this in the AOW class? Also, how does someone make the transition into doubles? Thanks a lot!

 

[BILLB]

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely look into this next summer. I noticed (on your website) that you require a pony bottle or doubles for anything deeper than 80'. Could you tell me if there's any traing required for using a pony? Do you learn this in the AOW class? Also, how does someone make the transition into doubles? Thanks a lot!

There is not that much too know using a pony bottle. But first consider this:
1. At 130 feet how much air do you need to do a safe ascent and a safety stop? Review your SAC rate as this will help you determine tank size.
2. Pony bottle attachments are mind boggling. Ease of changing tanks is a big factor.
3. Pony bottles affect your underwater buoyancy and trim.
4. You will need another regulator and at a minimum a SPG.
5. What type of gas to use?
6. Strongly recommend that you practice at Dutch Springs diving with a pony tank before using off NJ.

For the price of a really nice pony bottle set up, an H-value with dual first stages will suffice as a redundant air source too. Either value can be shut down in case of an air emergency. This works especially well if you are diving with larger tanks (and for NJ I strongly 95 to 120 Cu.Ft. tanks when diving singles). Diving this way will not upset your trim and when the boat is rocking, a pony bottle can be a real pain to change over to another tank.

The Doubles are the ultimate redundant air source. This requires a considerable reconfiguration of gear and much practice to adjust for trim and twice the buoyancy shift.

See your LDS or someone you really trust who has experience in this area.

 

[RiverRat]

Some good posts here! Coming from CT I too have been pondering some entry level NJ wrecks. I've got AOW and some deep 100fsw dives in but it sounds like Dutch Springs would be a good place to tune up for these dives. I'm about to purchase a PST E7100 for local dives and I'm thinking an H valve with dual regs is the way to go.

 

[NEWreckDiver]

For the price of a really nice pony bottle set up, an H-value with dual first stages will suffice as a redundant air source too. Either value can be shut down in case of an air emergency. This works especially well if you are diving with larger tanks (and for NJ I strongly 95 to 120 Cu.Ft. tanks when diving singles). Diving this way will not upset your trim and when the boat is rocking, a pony bottle can be a real pain to change over to another tank.

The Doubles are the ultimate redundant air source. This requires a considerable reconfiguration of gear and much practice to adjust for trim and twice the buoyancy shift.

See your LDS or someone you really trust who has experience in this area.

This is good advice.

I do have only 1 disagreement here. Having a H-valve does not constitute having a redundant air supply. Just because you can shutdown either valve in the case of a free flow (which is not bad) is not backup. A separate tank (pony bottle) or doubles with an isolation manifold is the way to go in the case of a more serious problem.

I don’t want to start a big debate here, because this guy is getting pretty good advice in this thread and I don’t want to distract from that.

DSAO