Could it be a Jersey link?

Linkfilter discovers the concrete ship, something I've known about every since I was old enough to read the sign at Sunset Beach in Cape May marking the final resting place of the S.S. Atlantus. The Atlantus was one of twelve experimental ships built during WWI using concrete as an alternative to steel, which had become scarce due to the war effort, but as none of them were completed by the end of the conflict the fleet was sold off to private companies.

The sign at the Sunset Beach shipwreck had always indicated that concrete ships were ultimately abandoned due to their great weight, but as it turns out that wasn't necessarily the case. In fact, steel shortages in World War Two prompted the construction of a second fleet in 1942, several of which are still afloat to this day -- as well as one of the WWI ships, the S.S. Peralta, now serving as a floating breakwater in British Columbia, Canada and the largest concrete ship still in use.

I remember seeing the hulk of the Atlantus rising out of the surf, a colossus encrusted with barnacles and seagull droppings. We'd go to that beach at sunset, naturally, in order to drink in the view and sift through the tiny polished pebbles on the shore. Locals call these stones "Cape May Diamonds." I still recall the time when my brother and I went crazy scooping them up into plastic bags and stuffing our pockets under the mistaken impression that we were now rich beyond our wildest dreams (thanks, Dad!).

Can't wait to pull that trick on Baby Exile...