GARVEYS POINT JETTY

DIRECTIONS:                                 (Glen Cove, Nassau County)

Take the Long Island Expressway to Exit 39 North, Glen Cove Road. Take this to the end and turn left onto Glen Cove Avenue. Make the first right turn onto Charles Street. Go to the end and make a left on The Place road. Make the second left on McLoughlin Street and drive to the end.

CONDITIONS:

Getting to this site requires a little walking. Although I haven't tried, I don't believe diving would be permitted during the summer while the park is open. As with any beach site, use courtesy and don't leave garbage around for someone else to pick up. This will help to insure the accessibility of this site for future years.

The jetty is located to the east of McLoughlin Street. Access during the winter months is usually available through a gate on the east side of the street. Walk down the beach and begin your dive at the base of the jetty.

During the day I was not very impressed with the amount of fish life, but I've been told that night dives can be quite rewarding. I was also informed that diving off the west tip of the jetty would put divers into a very lucrative bottling area. Be sure to have a dive flag, as it will not only help you avoid being cast upon by fishermen, but also will help to avoid a fine from the harbor patrol boat that frequently cruises the area.

I have found the west side of the jetty to have good visibility while the east side is consistently murky. This is caused not only by divers, but also by any type of wave action.

In the winter of 1991, Rick Schwarz and I noticed some large wreckage with a square shaped hole up on the jetty. Before walking out to see what it was I jokingly said that it was a wreck and I called dibs on the porthole. Rick laughed, but as we slowly walked out over the ice-covered rocks we found a wreck smashed up onto the jetty. On one board sticking out of the water was a rectangular brass porthole. I didn't even have to get wet. Rick and I later spent over an hour in the near freezing water looking around the wreckage for another porthole. Although there should certainly be another one we never found it. The wreck can be found just about half way out on the west side.