The Eatons Neck Oyster Barge Shipwreck New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)

The Eatons Neck Oyster Barge Shipwreck New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)

Historical and current New York and New Jersey Shipwreck Information and images for scuba divers and fisherman.

Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection

EATONS NECK OYSTER BARGE

DIRECTIONS: (Eatons Neck, Suffolk County)
Take the Long Island Expressway to Exit 51 North, Deer Park Avenue. Bear right at the fork on Deer Park Road East and take this to Jericho Turnpike and turn right. Then make the first left onto Elwood Road. Drive north on Elwood to Route 25, Forth Salonga Road. Make a left, then a quick right on Reservoir Avenue, and continue to drive north. Reservoir will change into Church Street, then into Ocean Avenue that you will follow to the end. Turn left on Eatons Neck Road; this will turn into Asharoken Avenue, then back into Eatons Neck Road. (Be careful: the speed limit on Eatons Neck Road is 30 mph, and it is strictly enforced.) Make a right turn on Tudor Drive, then a right onto Birmingham. Birmingham will take you into a town beach. Go to the far end of the parking lot and park. The wreck is located on the bay side about a quarter mile down the beach. (Metal Detecting see below)

CONDITIONS:

The Oyster Barge rests on a sloping bottom where depth ranges from a mere five feet close to shore, to almost 40 feet at the wreck's deep end. According to Glen Williams, a local Scuba Instructor, the barge is mostly intact with one wall collapsed. The bottom is composed of muddy silt which can, and usually does reduce visibility to zero when kicked up. When I was first brought to this site, I dove with a group of divers. The first two were the only ones to see the wreck while the rest of us literally had to feel our way around.

I would recommend only small groups dive here at one time, with all divers making a conscious effort not to stir up the bottom. If kicking is kept to a minimum, and the wind and tide are right, I'm told diver scan see all sorts of crabs, small invertebrates, mussels, oysters, and even mantis shrimp.

Spear fishermen can even enjoy this site by lying down near the edge of the barge on the top deck. Here they can enjoy better visibility by not kicking up the silt and can wait for passing black fish to swim within range.

A word of caution to all divers: Since this wreck is heavily fished and holds a good amount of monofilament line, a sharp knife should always be carried. Also, when visibility is zero, a diver could unknowingly swim inside the collapsed wall. Just remember that caution is always the key to a safe and enjoyable dive.

Metal Detecting
Although this site is best know for the wreck the beach here is quite popular and as a result can be a productive site when looking for lost jewelry. Most of the beach slopes into deep water rather quickly so water hunting and diving with a metal detector is much more productive. I never seem to find many coins here but have found quite and assortment of gold rings.

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WRECK VALLEY III
By Capt. Dan Berg
The most comprehensive, accurate, illustrated collection of information, photographs, sketches and stories ever written about the shipwrecks that lie off Long Island, New York and New Jersey.

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The original Wreck Valley book was published back in 1986. At the time it was not only the first but the only book for area divers that detailed local shipwreck history and dive conditions. Capt. Dan's 2nd edition was printed in 1990 and became the most popular of his shipwreck publications. Wreck Valley III is a completely new update, expanded and enhanced edition of the Wreck Valley books. Wreck Valley's 3rd edition covers the history, legend, present condition, aquatic life, and pertinent dive information on over 140 shipwrecks. This text includes over 550 illustrations, comprised of over 400 color photographs, 111 black and white historical photographs, 35 sketches, 20 side scan sonar images and nine 3D underwater shipwreck illustrations. Capt. Dan completely changed the books format and design to accommodate all of the research and images collected in 30 years of local shipwreck diving. The collection of historical photographs alone would take years of archive research to locate and would cost a small fortune if purchased separately. Many of these rare images have never before been published. Wreck Valley III includes a GPS list of accurate artificial reef and shipwreck locations. Divers, fisherman, marine historians, armchair sailors or anyone with a general interest in history, diving or the sea will surely find this book informative, fascinating, and the perfect addition to their library.

WRECK VALLEY III Sample Pages

WRECK VALLEY III
By Capt. Dan Berg
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A Record of Shipwrecks off Long Island's South Shore and New Jersey.

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This is the most comprehensive, accurate, illustrated collection of information, photographs, sketches and stories ever written about the wrecks that lie off the Long Island, New York, and New Jersey shores. This ebook is a completely new updated, expanded and enhanced edition of Daniel Berg's original Wreck Valley book. Wreck Valley Vol II covers the history, legend, present condition, aquatic life and pertinent dive information on over 90 shipwrecks. This text includes over 265 illustrations comprised of 137 color photographs, 97 black and white historical images, 32 sketches, plus one map. The collection of historical photographs alone would take years of archive research to locate and would cost a small fortune if purchased separately. Many of these rare photographs have never before been published. Divers, fisherman, marine historians, armchair sailors or anyone with a general interest in history, diving or the sea will surely find this ebook informative, fascinating and the perfect addition to their library.

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