North Carolina Diving May 2012

It was my first time diving in the waters off North Carolina and sounded like great place to dive.  I couldn't wait to get there and see what the sea had to offer.  We drove up on a Friday and arrived late.  Excited about the next couple of days ahead, we all had restless nights of sleep.  6:00 am came early but we were all ready to dive, dive, dive!


Our dive charter, Diver Down Scuba Divers in Morehead City, N.C., were a great bunch.  We were with a group of other divers that came down from Virginia.  All just as excited as we were to get to see some of the famous dive sites outside of North Carolina.

Our fist dive was to the U-352:


A German Submarine (VII-C Class) 218 feet long was sunk April 9, 1942 by the United States Coast Guard Cutter "ICARUS". This vessel is possibly the most intact and unique wreck in this area. This is the signature dive in the Morehead City area. The maximum depth of the dive is 110 feet.


Our second dive of the day was to the Spar:

The Coast Guard Cutter Spar was sunk as a diver friendly wreck just yards from the Aeolus. Known as a popular spot for Sand Tiger Sharks, the 180ft long and 37ft wide Spar sits upright in 100ft of water and is completely intact, allowing many opportunities for a diver to penetrate the wreck.

After a great fist day of diving, we got back to Fisherman's Inn and cleaned up before going to dinner.  We talked about what everyone had seen that day and how much fun we all had.  The video above is from our first dive on the U-352.  We were having some technical difficulties with the other video camera so we only had time to splice together a short clip of the first dive.  As soon as I have enough time to take a breath, I am going to get together another video clip of The Spar. 

The next morning we were on our way to do two more dive sites.  It's always great to be able to travel to another state and dive what the city has to offer.  You could never get tired of diving wrecks off our coastal waters.  The biggest thrill is knowing that most of the sites you dive in North Carolina have been sunk naturally, the way it was 30, 40, 50 years ago.  The water preserves these treasures for us to see but won't be there forever. 

Our first dive of the day was to The Papoose:

An American Tanker 412 ft. in length was torpedoed & sunk on march 3, 1942 by the German Submarine U-124 Vessel is intact & upside down with the hull rising approx. 30 ft. off the bottom. This wreck is a breeding ground for Atlantic Sand Tiger Sharks and lion fish. Depth of dive is approx. 125 ft.

Our second dive of the day was to The Schurz:

A WW1 German Cruiser 225 ft. in length was captured & repatriated by the U.S. at the outbreak off the war On June 21, 1918 it sunk after colliding with the S.S. FLORIDA. Time has taken a heavy toll on this vessel. The deck cannons, boilers,& engines are the remaining structures visible making this an excellent dive. Many artifacts are still being recovered. This one of the prettiest dives South of Cape Lookout !! Look for sharks, turtles, rays, and eels. Depth of dive is approx. 110 ft.

Tons of life on all these wrecks.  Excellent videos to come. 

If you ever have a chance to get to Morehead City, N.C., be sure to book your charter with Diver Down Scuba Click Here for more information.  To everyone there, thank you, we had a great couple of days with you.

That's it for now.  Happy Diving!!!