Shipwrecks

s touched on in our Lighthouses feature, there have been a surprisingly high number of shipwrecks off the Jersey Shore. Understandable perhaps, if we think about the rudimentary equipment available in past centuries and picture a navigation officer trying to maintain sight of a lighthouse in twelve-foot seas and a thick fog!

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Though many of the wrecks are indeed from bygone eras, there continue to be maritime mishaps involving passenger and cargo ships long after the reliance on lighthouses was diminished by modern electronics. Headlines about a shipwreck today will bring our empathy for the families of any victims, but our attention is captured only momentarily. Our imagination and intrigue are piqued by the wrecks of the past. It seems that the tragic aspects are diminished over time allowing us to freely speculate about the value of precious cargos lost, as well as the potential collectible interest in everyday articles now enhanced with a famous history.

Treasure
This treasure aspect then, as unlikely as recovery often is, sustains our long-term interest. Add the word "unsinkable" to this equation and the result is one of the most famous of all: The Titanic. She's already been found, filmed, sung about and is out of our area of interest, but considering that we knew the ending beforehand; the film turned out to be a winner. See it if you haven't already.

Wrecks 1857 - Priscilla 1859 - Adonis 1898 - Delaware 1898 - Puritan 1918 - Almirante 1934 - Morro Castle 1935 - Mohawk 1942 - Collier 1956 - Andrea Doria 1963 - Pinta Ships Through History Our collection of models and videos from A&E.

Chests overflowing with Spanish Doubloons, pieces of eight and gold trinkets are the classic definition of treasure, but our New Jersey shipwrecks won't be cooperating with that image. We'll have to settle for the interesting historical information and those more ordinary articles mentioned above.

A variety of artifacts have been recovered from the ships listed in the table, and each ship has an interesting story revolving around their misfortune as well. Some were sunk in conflicts or accidents with other ships. Others burned, as was the case with the Morro Castle off Asbury Park. In his summary of the sinking of the Pinta, the author at the NJ Scuba site tells of the hardships endured by a new bride before and after the incident. Classic treasure stories these are not, but they're interesting reading nonetheless. Oh, and as far as I can tell none of the ships listed sank as a result of problems with lighthouses - so much for that angle!

For the more adventurous among you, see the Scuba resources in our Water Sports Primer section, perhaps you'll be getting closer to these wrecks than the keyboard and screen.