The Atlantus Shipwreck New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)

The Atlantus Shipwreck New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)

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

Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection

ATLANTUS

DIRECTIONS: (Cape May Point, Cape May County)
Take the Garden State Parkway south to the end. Travel west on Sunset Boulevard (Route 606) to Sunset Beach. You will come to a parking lot at road's end.

CONDITIONS:
During World War I, while there was a shortage of steel the United States government began to search for alternative materials for ship construction. The Atlantus was one of twelve experimental concrete ships. She was built by the Liberty Shipbuilding Co. of Brunswick, Georgia, in their Wilmington, North Carolina shipyard. The Atlantus was 250 feet long, had a 43foot beam and displaced 2,500 tons. She was completed on November 21st and launched on December 4, 1918. The Atlantus made several Atlantic crossings, and even transported soldiers home from France after World I ended. Cathie Cush reported in UNDERWATER USA that, "Although the concrete hulls were more brittle than steel, the concrete ships were less susceptible to vibration from their 1,400 horsepower oil fired steam engines than their steel counterparts." After the war there was not much need for a concert hulled vessel and the Atlantus was removed from service.

In 1920, the Atlantus was stripped near Norfolk, Virginia. In 1925 her hull was purchased by the National Navigation Co. The firm was planning to start a ferry service from Cape May, New Jersey to Lewes, Delaware. Elaborate plans were made to beach the Atlantus and use her as a ferry terminal. First, a dredge would dig a channel into the beach. The Atlantus would be pushed into the channel, and then a gate would be cut into her stern. A ramp would be built for passenger entry and her superstructure removed so her decks could accommodate motor vehicles.

Because of mother nature, these grand plans never became a reality. On June 8, 1926, a storm struck the cape. The Atlantus broke free of her mooring and came grounded off Sunset Beach, Cape May. Attempts were made to pull her back into deeper water but they were not successful.

Today, the deteriorating remains of the concrete ship lie in 20 feet of water, with a slight list to her port side. The vessel has broken in half and her superstructure has collapsed. According to Cathie Cush, an avid diver and writer, ";On calm days at slack tide, it's possible to swim out to the concrete ship"; Cathie goes on to say that, " The site can be deceptive, and both divers and snorklers should approach the wreck with care" Its location at the southern tip of New Jersey puts it near the Mouth of Delaware Bay, making tidal currents a significant consideration. It would be nearly impossible for a diver to swim back to the beach against an outgoing tide."; Gary Gentile in his book "SHIPWRECKS OF NEW JERSEY" warns "; Approaching the wreck from the water one should also be careful of getting impaled on exposed reinforcing rods that face upward through the waves like punji stakes.";

Diver Bill Davis noted on a recent dive that many one and two pound sea bass inhabited the wreckage. Bill also spoke to a fishermen who was anchored to the opposite side of the wreck. The angler had just caught a striped bass and reported that he often catches stripers, blues, weakfish and flounder around the wreck.

How to SHIPWRECK DIVING Guide By Capt Dan Berg

The Shipwreck Diving E-Book Instant Downloadable E-Book

Shipwreck Diving, by Capt. Dan Berg is a complete how to book about the sport of wreck diving. This book is packed with information and heavily illustrated with over 80 sensational color photographs.

Shipwreck Expo Free Newsletter
Sign up for our free e-mail shipwreck, diving and Treasure Hunting newsletter. Capt. Dan Berg has designed this e-mail service for all wreck divers, maritime historians and treasure hunters.

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.

Soft cover, 8x10", 188 pages
printed in full color. $39.95 +P&H

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
Get your autographed copy of Capt. Dan's new book today.
only $34.95 + 4.95 (priority mail)

***Also available as instant Downloadable ebook***
Only $16.95 -for ebook version

15.9 MB instant download, printable PDF file

Check out Capt. Dan's instant downloadable eBooks
and shipwreck sketches.

WRECK VALLEY Vol II ebook
A Record of Shipwrecks off Long Island's South Shore and New Jersey.

NOTE: The 2nd edition is out of print but has now been made available as an instant download ebook.

Buy Now only $9.95
12.3MB instant download, printable PDF file

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.

Check out Capt. Dan's other shipwreck and Diving eBooks