juls64
July 30th, 2006, 11:30 AM
We made it back from a fantastic week of diving in North Carolina. We dove with Olympus out of Morehead City and the weather cooperated so we got in all 5 days of diving. Wow, it was great.
For anyone considering really great wreck dives, this is a fantastic location. Beware though, there are LONG boat rides. We were on the boat for 8 hours every day, except for the day we were on there for 10 hours to do an extended trip. There were lots of sick people! Almost all the dives are in the 100+ range so bottom time is short. There was not any deco dives allowed so its lots of boat time for two 30-40 minute dives. Nitrox is a good thing!
Just a short recap of the wrecks we dove:
Aeolus - 409 ft tanker sunk in 1988 as an artificial reef
Did 3 dives with a max depth of 115'
Papoose - 412 ft tanker sunk by a torpedo Mar 18, 1942
1 dive to 119'
U-352 - sunk by Coast Guard cutter Icarus on May 9, 1942
discovered in 1974 by Olympus owner George Puifoy
2 dives with max depth of 115'
Proteus - 406 luxury liner sank in 1918 after a collision
1 dive - depth 119'
*Note- this wreck was on the extended day trip as it was a 55 mile trip out
Caribsea- freighter sunk by torpedo Mar 11, 1942
1 dive - depth 84'
Schurz - 255 ft German gunship built in 1894, US took control of it in 1914. It sank in 1918 after a collision.
1 dive - depth 109'
Sparr - Sunk as an artifical reef a few years ago (can't remember all the info but sits upright very intact)
1 dive - depth 102'
The depths are the ones I got to, but most are close to max depths of the wrecks. We saw rays, spade fish, sand tigers, a few eels, amberjack, african pompano, annoying little jellyfish, barracuda, lionfish and numerous other marine life. All the wrecks were very alive. I think we saw sand tiger sharks on all dives except the last day.
Water temps were around 82 on the surface and bottom temps ranged from 73-78 degrees. I wore a 3mm with hood and gloves and was comfortable the whole time. Maybe a little warm on the safety stops. I was glad to be fully covered as there were tiny jellies and on the hang lines they did sting. I got stung on the lip a couple of times, but some people in shorties were taking a few stings. They are nothing serious, just really annoying. They definitely get your attention.
One other highlight. On the day we went to the Proteus, Mike de Camp was diving with us. He was wearing his Andrea Doria Expedition 1966 T-shirt. He was telling us how he organized the first sport diving trip to the Doria. If you have Kevin McMurray's book Deep Descent, some of the pictures in the book were taken by Mr. de Camp. He is in his 80's now and still diving. It made for a very interesting day to hear some of his stories.
Sorry for this awkward report. After 5 long days on the boat and then 18-1/2 hours in the car getting home, I still feel like I am in motion. One ear is clogged and thats not helping. Boo-Hoo for me though, right?
For anyone considering really great wreck dives, this is a fantastic location. Beware though, there are LONG boat rides. We were on the boat for 8 hours every day, except for the day we were on there for 10 hours to do an extended trip. There were lots of sick people! Almost all the dives are in the 100+ range so bottom time is short. There was not any deco dives allowed so its lots of boat time for two 30-40 minute dives. Nitrox is a good thing!
Just a short recap of the wrecks we dove:
Aeolus - 409 ft tanker sunk in 1988 as an artificial reef
Did 3 dives with a max depth of 115'
Papoose - 412 ft tanker sunk by a torpedo Mar 18, 1942
1 dive to 119'
U-352 - sunk by Coast Guard cutter Icarus on May 9, 1942
discovered in 1974 by Olympus owner George Puifoy
2 dives with max depth of 115'
Proteus - 406 luxury liner sank in 1918 after a collision
1 dive - depth 119'
*Note- this wreck was on the extended day trip as it was a 55 mile trip out
Caribsea- freighter sunk by torpedo Mar 11, 1942
1 dive - depth 84'
Schurz - 255 ft German gunship built in 1894, US took control of it in 1914. It sank in 1918 after a collision.
1 dive - depth 109'
Sparr - Sunk as an artifical reef a few years ago (can't remember all the info but sits upright very intact)
1 dive - depth 102'
The depths are the ones I got to, but most are close to max depths of the wrecks. We saw rays, spade fish, sand tigers, a few eels, amberjack, african pompano, annoying little jellyfish, barracuda, lionfish and numerous other marine life. All the wrecks were very alive. I think we saw sand tiger sharks on all dives except the last day.
Water temps were around 82 on the surface and bottom temps ranged from 73-78 degrees. I wore a 3mm with hood and gloves and was comfortable the whole time. Maybe a little warm on the safety stops. I was glad to be fully covered as there were tiny jellies and on the hang lines they did sting. I got stung on the lip a couple of times, but some people in shorties were taking a few stings. They are nothing serious, just really annoying. They definitely get your attention.
One other highlight. On the day we went to the Proteus, Mike de Camp was diving with us. He was wearing his Andrea Doria Expedition 1966 T-shirt. He was telling us how he organized the first sport diving trip to the Doria. If you have Kevin McMurray's book Deep Descent, some of the pictures in the book were taken by Mr. de Camp. He is in his 80's now and still diving. It made for a very interesting day to hear some of his stories.
Sorry for this awkward report. After 5 long days on the boat and then 18-1/2 hours in the car getting home, I still feel like I am in motion. One ear is clogged and thats not helping. Boo-Hoo for me though, right?