Hudson River

[ScottyK]

I went out on a dive boat out of The Rockaways a few times in or around 1998. I did a wreck called the Pipe Barge. It's not in The Hudson. It was however, close enough that it should have been affected if the river was that nasty.

Not only were the water conditions beautiful and full of life, you got a great Manhattan skyline view floating on the surface at night.

 

[XJae]

SpyderTek once bubbled...
Dutch, As far as my having dove it (the Hudson) No, I havent. However, I did meet at least one diver at the Annual NJ Scuba Flee market last year that had a display table about diving the Hudson. He said everything on the table was found in the Hudson and recomended the Mouth of The Hudson some point just below Staten Island for great treasure hunting. He said it was a dumping sight for barges of garbage in the late 1800's to 1920's and there were lots of bottles and porceline dolls and stuff to find.

That sounds interesting, as I am a bottle hound myself.
Are you sure he didn't mean north of Staten Island?
I'm pretty sure the Hudson dumps into the Harbor, by the Statue of Liberty.

The waters between SI and NJ are the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and lead out to the Atlantic.
I'm sure they are loaded with treasure, but I think they are highly polluted and really wouldn't consider diving there.
The barges did travel these waterways on their way to the Fresh Kills dump, midway on the western side of SI.
Probably not as early as the 1800 though. They are also scheduled to be dredged to 40-45 feet by 2006.
I suppose some treasure made it's way down past the southern tip to the ocean.

I would consider diving one of the southern beaches of SI at the breaking point or on the Atlantic side.
I'd probably even consider diving off parts of the north shore if we had better coordinates.

 

[nycdug]

I am a bottle collector and am looking for suggestions on spots that might have been used for dumping between 1800 and 1870. i usually dig 14 ft. deep holes in the ground to find the goods but have been thinking about the 1000's of bottles that were dumped in the river and am thinking about getting recertified to do some hunting.
anyone know where the mud gets dumped when they dredge in the river or have any experience treasure hunting in that kind of spot? i would think that would be the best bet as the mid 1800's stuff is probably under a few feet of silt in the river.
finally, can anyone suggest a good guide around nyc who might be interested in taking a few guys out to a good spot or two?

thanks much for any information!

nycdug

 

[ScottNY]

Was coming back from Conn. today and crossed the Hudson up @ West Point. Does anyone dive that river? I was thinking about all the history surrounding it and was thinking it might be an interesting dive????

I used to keep a boat on the Hudson and used to be around that area a lot.

* There is potentially a PCB problem of unknown levels. There are unquestionably buried contaminents upriver. Whether dredging to clean them would make things better or worse has been a long running argument. Nevertheless, the river is a lot cleaner than it's been in years past. (Witnessed by the return of a lot of fish populations that had been trashed for awhile.)

* Diving the Hudson in a lot of areas could be fairly dangerous. A lot of the pleasure boaters are typically courteous. But there's another class out there that not only aren't quite US Power Squadron safety course goer's, but a) might not know what a dive flag is or b) might have a few beers in them and think it's fun to mess with divers.

* Diving anywhere near West Point or the nearby Indian Point nuclear facility might be a poor idea for obvious reasons. You might not get arrested, but I'd think it likely you'll spend some time talking to some patrol boat types.

All that being said, if you're going to do it, pick a safe place. Get charts and make absolutely sure you get tide charts. The Hudson as far north as Poughkeepsie almost isn't a river. Technically, I think they call it a "tidal esturary." Which means it's affected by both current and tides. If you end up going at an inappropriate time, you could be facing 3 - 4 knot currents.

Scott

 

[ScottNY]

Update: Heard on radio today that GE has been ordered to dredge down 12" in affected PCB areas. (Though who knows what appeals will happen.)

If this is going to happen, then you'd better dive the Hudson soon. Personally, I haven't thought swimming, etc. in Hudson to be an issue past few years. But if they kick up all that gunk that's buried... I don't care what reclamation technology they use, I'd probably want to avoid anything other than pleasure boating until a few years after their project end date. At least.

Scott

 

[mcm007]

I have a boat docked on the hudson North of Poughkeepsie. I have always wanted to dive the river , however, the visibility is very poor. Like I cant see my toes while bobbing on the surface.

I have dove the delware river and that has better vis..

I will testify to the currents being very strong. I was fishing the other day on my boat and went for a quick swim to cool off.. Boy it was pretty strong. O guess i caught it at the tide shift..

As far as healthy water, I have never caught as many fish. I am avereraging about 12 a day.. White bass, smallmouth bass and other nice catfish..

I have also seen a number in increase of carp.. I saw a nice pinkish/orange one the other day.. I certainly hope they DONT dredge the HUdson and stir all the contaminents nack into the water, i think that would certainly do more harm..

Update: Heard on radio today that GE has been ordered to dredge down 12" in affected PCB areas. (Though who knows what appeals will happen.)

If this is going to happen, then you'd better dive the Hudson soon. Personally, I haven't thought swimming, etc. in Hudson to be an issue past few years. But if they kick up all that gunk that's buried... I don't care what reclamation technology they use, I'd probably want to avoid anything other than pleasure boating until a few years after their project end date. At least.

Scott