We’ve been talking for a while about trying out the diving in NJ – Scott had obviously dived there before but it’s been many years. So we finally planned a mini vacation to the area. The plan was to stay with Sheri, Jason and Siena in the Princeton area so Sammy could play with Siena while we were underwater.

We headed up on Thursday and did our first dives on Friday aboard the Tuna Seazure (Northeast Scuba Supply’s boat) out of Brielle, NJ.  The boat was a 37’ Topaz with some screaming engines – can’t believe how quickly and smoothly we made it to the dive site and back. The crew was incredible – by far one of the best we’ve ever experienced.

With just six divers, two mates (Kenny & Jimmy) and Captain Bill, we settled in for a relatively short run (about 45 minutes) to Mako Mania.  Surface temps were decent (in the mid-60s) and the bottom was a brisk 42.  Vis was decent at around 20 feet.  The wreck itself sits in 130 feet of water and is an artificial reef sunk in the mid 80s.  It was filled with anemones and tons of sea stars.  We saw a lionfish, sea robin, flounder and oyster toad, too.  Some of the guys came up with bags of scallops.  Much like Virginia, the jellies were everywhere on the ascent.  While fulfilling our deco obligation on our second dive, Scott spotted a large shark swimming by.  By the time he got Sara’s attention (who was not only below him, but zoned out on the line) the shark had swum off in the murky water.

The big news of the day was that Sara’s drysuit kept her – get this – dry!  She had some leaking issues with her dry gloves but that turned out to be operator error : - ).

On Saturday we spent the day at the shore with the Beres family.  We had a great time surfing the waves, building sand castles, turning the girls into mermaids and in general just people watching. 

On Sunday we were two of three divers on the boat plus Captain Bill and the awesome mates – Kenny and Jimmy. We decided to head out to an unknown wreck they are currently calling the “Northeast Sailor.”  It is thought to be a schooner that sunk in the 1850s.  The vis was around 15 ft, but the water temps were a little warmer with our gauges reading a balmy 50 on the bottom. 

The wreckage is covered with black sea bass, lobster and eel.  Jimmy and Kevin (one of the other divers) spent their dives catching fish that they generously shared with us at the end of the day. 

Captain Bill and Kenny spent their dives clearing different areas of the wreck with their scooters to see what they could find.   They were able to clear down to the bottom of the hull by the donkey boiler to find what looks like a pump. 

Scott and I scoured the wreck and came back with random artifacts – some bolts, and an unknown piece of something – and some shells for Sammy and Siena.  It was cool to be on a wreck whose identity is still unknown. We’ll be watching the Northeast Scuba Supply site for updates regarding her name and maybe even the location of the ship’s bell.