There are an enormous number of wrecks in NJ waters, but many of these are more than a century old, and the rapidly shifting sands that characterize NJ waters tend to cover (and uncover) these usually low profile wrecks, often little more than rubble piles, with boilers, heavy equipment and other things providing some identifiable exposure.
There certainly are some high profile wrecks, but these are deeper, usually WW2 era. Even these have deteriorated, often because the Navy depth charged them to avoid navigational hazards for deep draft tankers and warships. I've seen a lot of deterioration even in these, from when I first dived them 50 years ago to the last wreck diving I did about a decade ago, when self-imposed age related limitations ended my cold water deep diving days.
Carolina wrecks can be very benign in summer months, though most are also quite deep. A lot of them are still identifiable as ships, and those close to the Gulf Stream have the added attraction of being in warmer water and covered with tropical species of fishes, coral, gorgonians, and other wonderful things. The ledges and more solid stable bottoms in places can be very attractive. I really enjoy diving North Carolina.
During WW2 so many ships were sunk off the coast of NJ by German submarines that the beaches were closed. Some of this wreckage was still visible, piled on the beaches, when I was a small boy. I remember finding some amazing things when I was a junior goggle diver, 7 or 8 years old, swimming around half-burned debris left over from WW2 and still uncleared, partly on the beach and partly in the water. Some of that stuff was still present in the 50s, and much of it actually sank beneath the sand and is occasionally uncovered during storms.
An even greater number of ships were sunk off North Carolina, several hundred, because transport ships often rode the Gulf Stream northwards, and the Stream narrows and passes very close to the Outer Banks, which were difficult to defend. NJ has a flat featureless seafloor and the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst. Anti-submarine blimps from Lakehurst were a constant presence. I have vague early childhood memories of the blimps because most of my family lived in Ocean county in those days and they were constantly being pointed out to me, even when I was in my stroller. They seemed to be everywhere.
My Godmother saw a German Sub on the surface only a few hundred yards from her fishing boat a month before Pearl Harbor, and had the experience of being closely observed by grinning Kriegsmarine officers from their conning tower, just a few miles off Manasquan. I'm told that the burned bodies of merchant marine crew washed up regularly on the beaches, which were heavily patrolled by Civil Defense and Coast Guard/Navy people. A number of my relatives who were too old for active duty served in the CD units, which were recruited from local people experienced on the water.
WW2 came closer to the continental US than many people realize.
Hey, I'm just taking the piss. Any reason to go diving at home is a good one as far as I'm concerned.
