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Community Corner

NJ Shipwrecks Offer Wealth of History

Diver and underwater videographer Gary Szabo discussed New Jersey shipwrecks and maritime history at library.

The camera panned along the side of a boat until the words Alex Mac appear in bold, black letters. The vessel is lying on its side, 70 feet below the ocean surface. Filming occurred only a few weeks following the scallop boat's sinking in 2006, after being struck by a steel barge.

Besides some algae growing and the marine life, the wooden boat appeared much as it might have while on the surface. The same could not be said for the next ship, the Stolt Dagali, lying in 130 feet of water after sinking in 1964 about 18 miles from the Manasquan Inlet. Barnacles covered the framework of the tanker and fish swam lazily amidst the structure, which was sometimes difficult to discern from the ocean life surrounding it. One of the distinguishable features was the encrusted rungs of a ladder descending into darkness.

The twisted wreckage of the R.P. Resor, a ship torpedoed by a German U-Boat in 1942, also appeared in the murky waters. Like the Stolt Dagali, its shape was sometimes difficult to distinguish from the marine life that has made the former tanker home.

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All three vessels are among the hundreds, possibly thousands, of ships meeting tragic ends and now resting on the ocean floor—sanctuary for marine life and an attraction for divers. They also were part of veteran diver Gary Szabo's talk to a packed room at the Tuesday night.

Szabo shared video footage of his dives to the three wreck sites and anecdotes about his 30-year diving career which has included five trips to the Andrea Doria, nicknamed the "Mt. Everest of Shipwreck Diving," and numerous wrecks in North Carolina, the South Pacific and New Jersey.

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"My favorite place to dive is right here in our own backyard in New Jersey," said Szabo, a Trenton firefighter who works in the city's dive unit. "New Jersey has a very rich and active underwater world."

Szabo noted that with the currents, potential visibility issues and colder temperatures, the area might not appeal to many divers.

"There's a saying that if you could dive in New Jersey, you could dive anywhere in the world," said Szabo, adding that this season so far has offered ideal conditions.

When asked by an audience member when he's found the best visibility diving off New Jersey's coast, he quipped, "The best visibility is the day I leave my camera at home."

Because of the state's proximity to New York and major shipping lanes, the coastline has an abundance of wrecks due to weather, collisions and even acts of war.

"People don't realize how close the German U-boats came to our coast," said Szabo, referring to the Resor and U-869, a U-boat discovered just 65 miles from the shoreline.

But people seeking gold bullion will have to go farther south, he said.

"Our treasure up here doesn't consist of gold and silver," said Szabo of the increasingly rare artifact finds from New Jersey shipwrecks. "We find glass and brass and some china."

For Szabo, who has filmed wrecks for programs on the History Channel and the Military Channel, the treasure is not just artifacts but seeing the wrecks and learning their stories.

In dense fog on a June night in 2006, the 64-foot Alex Mac was struck by a 316-foot-long barge towed by the 100-foot tug, JoAnne Reinauer III just 6 miles off Manasquan Inlet. Two of the smaller boat's crew jumped into the 62-degree water and were later rescued. The other two—Michael Lampman, 39, and his 16-year-old nephew, Patrick McGoldrick—were trapped below and died. Szabo said their bodies were later recovered and there had been plans to attempt to raise the vessel but before that could occur, a violent storm smashed the wooden boat in two.

The Stolt Dagali, now among the most popular dive sites off New Jersey's coast, was another victim of thick fog 42 years before the Alex Mac. In the early hours of Nov. 26, 1964, the Norwegian tanker collided with the Israeli luxury liner, the S.S. Shalom. The Stolt Dagali was sliced in two. Its bow, which stayed afloat because of its watertight compartments, was towed to the port of New York and eventually refitted with a new stern section and sailed again. But the original 140-foot stern section rests near Manasquan Inlet. Sadly, 19 Stolt Dagali crew members lost their lives.

The R.P. Resor, now one of New Jersey's premiere dive locations, was sunk by U-boat U-578 on Feb. 28, 1942. The tanker was carrying 78,729 barrels of crude oil to Massachusetts. The U-boat fired two torpedoes at the R.P. Resor, the first one doomed the 445-foot-long vessel and the second ruptured the oil tanks. The crew attempted to flee the flaming ship but only two of the 50 men aboard survived.

The vessel burned for two more days as it drifted along the ocean before sinking about 30 miles off Barnegat Light. The R.P. Resor was the 24th ship and 15th tanker sunk or damaged in U.S. coastal waters since the U-boat campaign had begun, according to Aqua Explorers, Inc.

To see video and photos of Szabo's dives in New Jersey and around the world, check out his website Lost at Sea Films.

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