Home » Scuba Dive in NJ: Wrecks, Marine Life & Spearfishing! Tips to Start
It’s common to hear people say, “I can’t afford scuba diving because I can’t afford to go to the Caribbean.” And while the Caribbean is a wonderful place to scuba dive and see some beautiful fish, it’s not the only place you can scuba. If you live in NJ and already have scuba training, it’s completely feasible to dive right off our coast. It just takes a little bit more skill to do scuba diving in NJ than usual. This is due to our colder and murkier waters. But the things you get to see in the Atlantic are so awesome that you really do want to get the training. It’s more than worth the extra time.
You’re probably wondering exactly why you should be interested in diving off the coast of NJ. You’re probably thinking It’s got to be cold and hard to see anything in those waters. And you would be right. The water is colder here than tropical waters. And the tides kick up the silt. But there are amazing things to see.
If you stand on any beach along the Jersey shoreline, you’re standing within a mile of one wreck or another. There are an estimated 2,500-7,500 wrecks off the Jersey shoreline. And nobody has a definitive count as to how many ships might be wrecked out there.If you love history, you will love wreck diving.Some of the most deadly wrecks happened off our shores. One of the most deadly was The Powhatan. Originally a packing ship in the early 19th century, it wrecked with 365 German and other European immigrants aboard. It sank off Long Beach Island. Divers have found a myriad of treasures off our coast. Mysterious coal trains and other oddities can be found out there. Advanced scuba diving in NJ with Scuba Guru will give you the skills necessary to find these wrecks.
You may not realize it, but the NJ shore is teaming with marine life. You will find some species you just can’t find anywhere else in the world. Fish like the Black Sea Bass swim in massive schools in the sea around NJ. And you will enjoy the sight of the frilled anemones attached to various surfaces around here.There are thousands of species of marine life to be discovered out here.
And if it’s legal to catch, you can take it home and eat it. So, spear fishing is pretty popular. If you do more advanced scuba diving in NJ, you can take up the sport of spearfishing. It’s more akin to hunting than your traditional fishing with a pole and a line. You need a speargun or a set of pole spears. Spearfishing is a solo activity. So you really do need to be well trained to take up the sport. It will require that you ditch the buddy system that we teach beginning and intermediate divers. And you will have to be an extremely self-sufficient diver before you head out. So, what scuba diving in NJ should you do before you head out? Here are our four best tips.
You don’t have to be advanced to take an Advanced Open Water scuba diving training course.The course is meant to take a certified diver and expand their skill set. You will become a better diver, build your confidence in open water, and gain new skills. Your dive guides will be more willing to take you out to more technical dive locations if you have AOW certification. In this course, you get to practice your search and recovery skills. You will dive deeper than before and opt in for some night dives.
If you are already certified in scuba diving, you probably have some pretty decent gear. But scuba diving in NJ might require some heavier gear than most dive locations. The waters here in NJ are a bit colder than a lot of other more popular dive locations. Our temps go down to 35-40 in the winter and sometimes are only 60 degrees during colder summers. So, you will need a thicker wet suit and, if you are diving in the winter, you might need a dry suit.
Scuba diving in NJ for wreck dives is a little different than a regular dive course. There are different things to think about in a wreck dive than most dives. In a wreck diving course, you learn how to effectively and safely explore a wreck. You will learn how to avoid the most common mistakes wreck divers make. Also, you will learn how to research wrecks and learn about the best ways to approach a new (to you) wreck.You will also learn to plan wreck dives so that you are fully prepared every time.
If you’re working toward master scuba diving in NJ, this course will count toward that. If you want to be a master scuba diver, you have to know how to navigate underwater. The PADI Underwater Navigator Course is perfect for the murky waters you’ll be swimming while scuba diving in NJ.You will learn how to read natural cues in the underwater environment. Since distances are harder to estimate underwater, you will learn how to estimate how far away something is in the water. You will learn how compasses work on dives and use the Nav-Finder to follow various navigation patterns. This will be the scuba diving in NJ that makes you the leader every time you go out on a dive with friends.
Even if you’ve never been scuba diving before, there’s never a better day to start your training than today. Scuba Guru offers training from beginner Certified Open Water Diver courses to professional PADI Divemaster and assistant instructor courses. Contact us today for custom scuba instruction.
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