While certainly not NJ, it was dove by this NJ wreck diver on August 23rd of this year. While on a three day expedition to the "EM Clark", we dove this wreck out of default because of high Gulf Stream current of three knots on the single day we attempted it. We chanced the "Lancing" and we were all happy we did, even though we spotted a waterspout (in the video), we pushed for the "Lancing", some twelve miles from the "Clark". It was a 470' freighter, sunk by a single torpedo to the starboard waterline near the engine room by Erich Topp and the U-552 on April 7th, 1942. She now lies in 165' of water, turtled and nearly broken in half. Excellent wreck for wildlife and exploring, there is so much to do and so much real estate to cover, you could spend a week easily on this site alone. Water temps 84 degrees on the surface and 70 at the bottom, the captain actually complained about it being chilly, and he wore the only drysuit on board! I used a 5/4 wetsuit, no gloves but I had my hood on because I was wearing my helmet with GoPro attached. I clipped out all the footage of me bringing the still camera up to take photos, as it's annoying. On this dive, I had two AL 80's as bailout, and used the Submerge upgraded N-19 to Viper scooter and carried the housed DSLR with dual sub strobes in a one knot current. Difficult to manage so much gear with much drag, highly recommend practice before attempting the task loading, especially with eCCR. The dive vessel: "Under Pressure" was our ride, and it has a unique diver lift, so you don't have to climb the ladder! I wore everything back on the boat, but JT always complains about how much crap we have for him to unclip and help us out of! LOL! The captain did shoot GoPro as well the next day, and got footage of a 15' Manta with five Cobia around him. 25-30 lb Red Snappers teased us as well as 10 lb Flounder as big as doormats and very fat were on this wreck as well as Stingray and Spotted Eagle Rays. Be careful penetrating, as one diver this summer came back covered in 70 year old motor oil! It took three gallons of Simple Green to clean him and his equipment off, tho it's still stained pretty well. Three dives on this wreck in two days were not nearly enough to scratch the surface. Dive safe and often... -Dan
|