Sea Serpent (Morey's Piers)

Sea Serpent

Sea Serpent taken from boardwalk
Morey's Piers
Park section Mariner's Landing Pier
Coordinates 38°59′09″N 74°48′35″W / 38.9858°N 74.8097°WCoordinates: 38°59′09″N 74°48′35″W / 38.9858°N 74.8097°W
Status Operating
Opening date 1984
Cost $1,500,000 USD
General statistics
Type Steel Shuttle
Manufacturer Vekoma
Designer Vekoma
Model Boomerang
Track layout Boomerang
Lift/launch system Cable lift
Height 116.5 ft (35.5 m)
Length 935 ft (285 m)
Speed 47 mph (76 km/h)
Inversions 3
Duration 1:48
Capacity 760 riders per hour
G-force 5.2
Height restriction 48 in (122 cm)
Sea Serpent at RCDB
Pictures of Sea Serpent at RCDB

Sea Serpent is a steel roller coaster at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey. Opened in 1984, it was built by Vekoma, and was the first boomerang-style coaster to be built in the US.[1] The coaster's installation was part of a redevelopment of the Marine Pier into a new Mariner's Landing area in 1984.[2]

Sea Serpent consists of a single train with seven cars, capable of carrying 28 passengers. The ride begins when the train is pulled backwards from the station and up the first lift hill by a catchcar. After being released, the train passes through the station, enters a Cobra Roll track element, and then travels through a vertical loop. After being pulled up a second lift hill, the train is released to head backwards through each inversion once more, making the total amount of inversions per ride six.

Incidents

In June 1998 the coaster suffered its first ever accident, injuring 14 of the 23 riders on board, some of whom were stranded upside down. According to Will Morey, chief executive officer of the Morey Organization, the accident was thought to have been due to a wheel coming off a rear axle, causing the coaster train to jerk to a stop midway through the ride, as it was looping backwards.[3]

References

  1. Marden, Duane. "List of Vekoma shuttle roller coasters in the USA, sorted by date". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  2. Ascough, Rob; Alven, Al (2011). Hunt's Pier. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738573094. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  3. Urgo, Jacqueline L. (June 30, 1998). "Investigators Seek Cause Of Ride Mishap It Was The Wildwood Attraction's First Accident. It Will Stay Closed Until Officials Finish Their Work.". Philly.com (Interstate General Media). Retrieved April 26, 2014.