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Click on the names of wrecks on the chart or the table for more info on each wreck.
Name of Site Depth Description Price
Parker 30-55' Liberty Ship $60.00 Suloide 67' Freighter $60.00 Hutton 68' Tanker $60.00 Cape Lookout 45' Rock Jetty $60.00 Senateur Duhammel 57' Armed Trawler $60.00 Ea 45' Barge $60.00 Fenwick Isle 65' Menhaden Boat $60.00 Little Ten Fathom 60-80' Reef $95.00 Big Ten Fathom 60-80' Reef $95.00 Aeolus 60-120' Naval Cable Layer $95.00 USCG SPAR 75-110' USCG Cutter $95.00 U-352 115' German Sub $95.00 Shurtz 120' WWI Cruiser $95.00 Papoose 120' Tanker $95.00 Naeco 140' Tanker $95.00 Cassimer 110' Tanker $95.00 Portland 55' Freighter $60.00 Ashkabad 55' Freighter $60.00 Verbena 70' USCG Cutter $95.00 Caribe Sea 85' Freighter $95.00 Atlas 130' Tanker $95.00 British Splendor 100' Freighter $120.00 Tarpon 130' USN Sub $120.00 Proteus 130' Ocean Liner $120.00 Tamaulipas 140' Tanker $120.00 Rock Pile 102' Barge $95.00 Amaganzette 120' Menhaden Boat $95.00 Novelty 52' Trawler $60.00 (No Name) 92' Yard Oiler $95.00 Yancey 103-167' Attack Transport $120.00 Rocks South of 13 13-72' Reef $95.00 West Rocks 100' Reef $95.00 Lobster Wreck 118' Dredge $120.00 HMS Bedfordshire 92' Armed Trawler $95.00 Indra 65' USN Converted LST $60.00
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Aeolus |
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The Aeolus is a 426 foot long Navy Cable Layer and is resting in 120 feet of water with the highest decks at 85 feet. It was sunk as part of the artificial reef program in 1988. It is about 22 miles south of the Beaufort Inlet and 8 miles inshore of the U-352 and usually takes about an hour and a half to get to the site after leaving the inlet.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 50 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. The Atlantic Sand Tiger shark is present in the spring and the fall. There are usually schools of amberjack swimming around the wreck as well as sea bass and tropical fish.
The Aeolus was originally was named the Turandot, an attack cargo vessel. Her primary duty was to transport troops home from the Pacific at the end of World War II. She made the two-week voyage many times until she was decommissioned in the early part of 1946 in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Her mane was removed from the Navy's list one year later and she sat in mothballs for the next seven years in the Reserve Fleet.
In the fall of 1954, she was brought out of mothballs and was put back into service as a navy cable layer. She was renamed Aeolus after the Greek god of the winds in May of 1955. She laid cable in the Atlantic and performed surveys in the West Indies, the Bahamas, and off of Charleston South Carolina. This tour lasted for eight months. After which, she was transferred to San Francisco to perform the same duties in the Pacific until 1986. After 42 years of service, she had logged 249,114 nautical miles. After leaving the Pacific, she returned to James River as part of the Reserve Fleet.
In 1987, the Aeolus was transferred to the state of North Carolina to become part of the artificial reef program. After six moths of cutting, cleaning, and removal of doors and loose objects, she was ready for her new home on the seafloor. On July 29, 1988 the Aeolus was towed into position to take on her new role as an artificial reef. Once in place, 38 pounds of explosives were placed on the inside of her hull. When the explosives were detonated, 4, 2-foot holes were blown in the hull. Two of the charges on the port side were knocked loose before they were detonated, which caused the Aeolus to come to rest on her starboard side.
While the Aeolus was a nice wreck and visited by many divers, she had yet to reach her full potential as an artificial wreck. In September of 1996, Hurricane Fran passed over the Aeolus. Even at a depth of 120 feet, the churning waters affected her. As the first charters returned to the Aeolus after the hurricane, the wreck didn't return the signature she had always given. As the divers descended to the ocean floor, they saw a different wreck. The Aeolus was now in three pieces. The bow was still on its starboard side, the middle section was at a 60-degree angle, and the stern was completely upright. The wreck was also in an L-shape, instead of a straight line. Because of the breakage, the decks are more visible and the Aeolus is a much more interesting wreck.
A large deep ocean fishing vessel, the Amagansett was 135 feet long and weighed in at 226 tons. Built in 1954 she fished the Atlantic Ocean for ten years before she was caught in a violent storm off of Cape Lookout. When the Amagansett foundered in a storm on November 20, 1964 she sank in 130 feet of water about a half mile north west of the wreck of the Atlas. A small intact wreck it is often bypassed in lieu of the larger more interesting wreck of the Atlas. Conditions are similar to those found on the Atlas tanker with visibility in the 50-foot range. Mild currents are occasionally encountered on this wreck that can reduce visibility. Often called the "Shad Boat" the Amagansett is an interesting wreck to visit at least once.
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Ashkhabad |
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The Ashkhabad is a 401 foot long Russian tanker that is in 55 feet of water. About 22 miles southeast of the Beaufort Inlet, it usually takes about an hour to reach this dive site after leaving the inlet. The high parts of this wreck are the boilers and the condenser. It makes a nice second dive after a deeper dive. Some of the ribs of the ship can also be seen in the section fore of the boilers. Deck plates and twisted beams are scattered about the wreck.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Because it is close to the shoals, visibility averages 30 feet, but can get up to 40-50 feet. The ship rests on a nice sandy bottom. Sheephead, triggerfish, sea bass, and spadefish frequent his wreck. Moderate currents are common to this wreck.
The Ashkhabad had several previous names such as, the Dneprostroi, the Kutais, the Mistley Hall, the Aldersgate, the Milazzo, and the War Hostage. She was originally constructed as a freighter, but was converted to a tanker to carry fuel oil. The ship had a crew of 47, three of which were women. On April 26, 1942, the Ashkhabad left New York on her way to Cuba. The night sky on April 29, 1942 was clear and had a full moon that allowed six miles of visibility. The HMS Lady Elsa was escorting the Ashkhabad on her journey. In accordance to Navy regulations, both ships were zigzagging.
At 9:50, the HMS Lady Elsa spotted a U-Boat that was 500 yards off the starboard side of the Ashkhabad. None of the crew on watch aboard the Ashkhabad saw the U-Boat. The HMS Lady Elsa fired one shot that caused the U-402 to dive for cover, but not before firing a single torpedo. The torpedo hit on the starboard side just below the waterline in the No. 4 hold. The No. 4 hold, the deep tank, and the engine room flooded. Even though the Ashkhabad didn't have any watertight doors, only the stern of the ship flooded.
The U-402 partially surfaced about 500 yards off of the starboard side of the ship. The crew of the Ashkhabad, fired three shots from the forward .30-caliber gun, but all three missed. An hour after the attack, Captain Alexy Pavlovitch put all of his code books in a weighted box and sank them. Then he gave the order to abandon ship. The HMS Lady Elsa picked up all of the crew and took them to Morehead City.
At 10:00 a.m. the next morning, the crew from the HMS Hertfordshire, a British armed trawler, boarded the Ashkhabad and "salvaged" valuable navigational equipment and clothes. At 3:00 p.m., Captain Pavlovitch, some of the crew, and a Fifth Naval District Intelligence Officer returned to the Ashkhabad to find that it had been looted. The HMS Hertfordshire had already left the area.
The next day the Russians returned to their ship again and this time they were early enough to catch the HMS Hertfordshire tied up to the Ashkhabad. The British were removing all of the loose items from the ship. They were told that she was not abandoned and salvage tugs were on the way and the British returned all of the items that they had taken.
On May 3, 1942, the USS Semmes, a destroyer, came upon the Ashkhabad and determined that she was abandoned and a navigational hazard and fired three rounds from her 3-inch guns. The hits caused the midship superstructure to catch fire. Seeing the fire, the HMS St. Zeno went to the Ashkhabad. The HMS St. Zeno fired a shot at the Ashkhabad, under the authorization of the commanding officer of the HMS Hertfordshire, who was in command of all British armed trawlers at Morehead City. His explanation was that he thought the HMS St. Zeno might sink the Ashkhabad and extinguish the fire, which he considered a menace to a large convoy expected in the vicinity.
When the Navy tug, Relief, arrived to tow the Ashkhabad to shore for salvage, the ship was already a total loss. In 1943 and 1944, the Ashkhabad was blasted with explosives because it was a navigational hazard.
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Atlas |
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The Atlas is a 430 foot long tanker and is resting in 120 feet of water with the highest decks at 90 feet. It is about 12 miles from the Knuckle Buoy and about 5 miles east of the shoals of Cape Lookout. The stern section is open, revealing the engine. The high section is made up of the holding tanks and the crossbeams are easily seen.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. The Atlantic Sand Tiger shark can be seen here year round and teeth are abundant on this wreck. They can be seen on the stern, on the decks of the high section and the inside of the high section. Large schools of amberjack and spadefish can be seen swimming around the wreck also. Sea bass and tropical fish, such as the Queen Angel and French Angel can also be seen regularly.
The Atlas was loaded with a cargo of gasoline and headed for Sewaren, NJ. Captain Hamilton Gray was in command of the Atlas. On the morning of April 9, 1942, the sky was clear, a light breeze was blowing, and there was a gentle swell as the Atlas rounded Cape Lookout. A lookout reported hearing the sound of a diesel engine off of the starboard bow. Even though nothing was sighted, Captain Gray ordered the Atlas to come about so that the stern was to the sound.
The order came too late. The U-552, commanded by Korvettekapitan Erich Topp, had already fired a torpedo. As the ship was turning, the torpedo struck it amidships on the starboard side. The impact caused the gasoline to fill the ship and spill out into the ocean. The fumes started to overtake the crew and Captain Gray gave the order to abandon ship. Captain Gray and 33 of his men lowered three lifeboats and started moving away from the ship. A second torpedo was fired at the Atlas and the result of the impact was that the ship and surrounding gasoline-covered water was set on fire. The lifeboat with Captain Gray was completely surrounded by fire and he gave the order for everyone to jump into the water so the fire would pass over them. Once the fire had burned itself out, the men resurfaced to find their lifeboat on fire. They quickly put out the fire and climbed back into the lifeboat. Two of the crewmen died in the water and several of them sustained burns. The other two lifeboats were clear when the fire broke out. The three lifeboats got together and headed toward the lighthouse at Cape Lookout. After being spotted by a Navy plane, the Coast Guard picked up Captain Gray and the 31 crewmen and took them to Morehead City. Five of the crewmen were treated for burns.
The British tanker British Splendour is yet another victim of the shooting gallery of the Atlantic. A 441 foot ship heavily laden with badly needed gasoline for the war in Europe the British Splendour had an extremely heavy escort for one ship. She was escorted by the armed trawler HMS St. Zeno and had a total of eight guns and an additional seven lookouts. Alas this was to be of no help to the luckless ship. At around ten p.m. on the night of April 7, 1942 the ship, under the command of Captain John Hall, was cruising approximately two miles north of the Diamond Shoals buoy. The weather was clear and seas were smooth, visibility was excellent and still no one saw the U-552 when it fired the shot that sank the British Splendour.
The U-552, under the command of Oberleutnant Erich Topp, would have a very productive voyage. Sinking five vessels on this deployment. Topp was a very aggressive captain as demonstrated by his sinking of the U.S. Destroyer Reuben James six weeks before America entered the war. His torpedo struck the engine room of the British Splendour on the port side aft, killing the men inside and blowing the skylight off the roof of the engine room. Captain Hall ordered the ship abandoned and an SOS be sent, forty-one men survived the sinking of the ship. The St. Zeno then began an ultimately unsuccessful search for the u-boat and then commenced rescue operation shortly afterwards.
Two hours after the torpedo was fired all the crewmembers were rescued and the bow barely showed above water. The ship came to rest in 110 feet of water about 14 southwest of Ocracoke inlet. Basically intact the ship has several large hole including a tear on the amidships starboard side and a hole in the port side engine room where the torpedo struck. The wreck of the British Splendour starts about 75 feet below water and continues to the sand at 100 feet. There are washouts around the wreck to 110 feet. The vessel lie about four hours from Beaufort and is not visited very frequently during the summer.
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Caribsea |
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The wreck of the Caribsea lies in a comfortable 85 feet of water about ten miles east of Cape Lookout Shoals. The visibility in summer is on average about 40 feet but can range into 80 or 100 feet. The proximity to shore makes this one of the more frequently visited wrecks during the summer months. It is scattered and broken up due to the Navy Salvage Service, which depth charged and wire dragged it as a hazard to navigation in the spring of 1944. The bow section of the wreck extends to about 60 feet from the surface and the rest of the wreck is scattered in a roughly continuous debris field. There is a windlass on top of the bow and the anchors are still attached. The wreck is a popular hangout for the Atlantic Sand Tiger Shark with large schools of the shark staying over the summer. This friendly shark will watch with curiosity as the diver swims around his home. There are many other fish living on the Caribsea including grouper, sea bass, and damselfish.
The freighter Caribsea, previously known as the Buenoventura and the Lake Flattery, is but one of many victims of the German war machine. A most careful man, Captain Nicholas Manolis, ran her. Captain Manolis, having been told of the dangerous U-Boats lurking in these waters, took many unusual precautions to save his crew. The radio operator was only on duty at night with instructions to transmit an SOS at the first sign of trouble without orders from the bridge. The engine room likewise was told to run aback full in case of an explosion without orders from command. The lifeboats were equipped with hatchets to cut them away instead of trying to lower them normally. In spite of all these precautions they were no to help his ship.
The weather on the evening of March 10, 1942 was clear with fair visibility, around 2 a.m. the lookouts reported to the captain a tanker was in sight and that another unidentified ship was off the bow. A few moments later two torpedoes fired by the U-158 detonated against the hull. In three minutes the ship was lost. Captain Manolis' preparations were to no use however, no SOS was ever sent. The lifeboats were not launched and of a crew of 28 only seven were rescued the next day.
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Cassimir |
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The Cassimir is a 390 foot long tanker that is in 120 feet of water with the highest part rising to about 85 feet. It is also known as the "WR-2 Wreck". The bow is pointing up toward the sky and the anchors are still in place. There is a small sandy area that separates the bow from the other sections of the wreck. The next objects that are visible are some I-beams that stick up out of the sand, which have long ago lost their plates. The next section is a flat deck that once contained the pilothouse that has fallen off into the sand. There are a couple of other decks that are separated by holds. Most of the stern section intact and is angled into the sand with the actual stern pointing upward and it is listing to port. Some of the hull plates are missing which allows the divers to look into the ship.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 70 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. Large schools of amberjack and spadefish can be seen swimming around the wreck. Sea bass and tropical fish, such as the Queen Angel can also be seen regularly.
The Cassimir transported molasses from Baltimore to Cuba to be used in the rum making process. In February of 1942, Captain J.A. Bodman and his crew of 36 left Santiago, Cuba for the return voyage. On the morning of February 26, 1942, the Cassimir was moving through a dense fog about 50 miles east of the tip of Frying Pan Shoals. Also moving through the fog was the freighter, Lara. The ships were unable to change course and the bow of the Lara cut a gash into the starboard side of the Cassimir at amidships. The Cassimir started to list to starboard and Captain Bodman gave the order to abandon ship. All but five of the crew was rescued by the Lara, which didn't have any damage from the collision. The survivors were taken to Charleston, SC.
The Cassimir floated toward the north for a few hours before she finally slipped beneath the surface of the water.
The Ea is a 298 foot long freighter and is resting in 30 feet of water. It is about 18 miles southeast of the Beaufort Inlet. The bow is pointed up toward the surface and is about 20 feet from the surface. The engine is the only relief on the stern. The sand around the shoals has a tendency to shift with the currents causing the amount of the wreck exposed to change. At times, only the bow is visible, but sometimes the propeller shaft and some of the blades of the propeller can be visible.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Because it is close to the shoals, visibility averages 20 feet, but can get up to 40-50 feet. The ship rests on a nice sandy bottom. Sheephead, triggerfish, sea bass, and spadefish frequent his wreck. Moderate currents are common to this wreck.
The Ea was originally named the Cambay. Originally built in England, the Ea was operated out of Spain. Carrying a cargo of phosphate rock and resin, the Ea left Fernandina, Florida and was headed north toward New York. The voyage had been uneventful until March 15, 1902 as she was nearing Cape Lookout in a dense fog. The Ea was at the tip of the shoals when she ran aground. The sea was calm and flat as Captain W. V. Garry gave the order for full astern, but the Ea didn't budge. They tried again at high tide, but the results were the same.
The Cape Lookout Life Saving Station didn't spot the Ea until that afternoon because of the mist that still lingered in the air. The seas had lost its flatness and calm and started to come to life. The men of the Life Saving Station started rowing the six miles out to the Ea but the fog was obscuring their view. When they reached the edge of the shoal, they couldn't find the Ea. Captain Gaskill, in charge of the Cape Lookout Life Saving Station, kept the men rowing until after midnight. With the search yielding no results, they returned to the station, exhausted and frustrated because of the unsuccessful rescue.
The next day, the revenue cutter Algonquin and the salvage tugs Alexander Jones and I. J. Merritt arrived to assist the Ea off of the shoals. The seas had gotten rougher through the night and the Ea was surrounded for several hundred yards by high breakers that kept everyone away. The men at the Life Saving Station and crews aboard the ships stood by waiting for a chance for the seas to let up so they could rescue the crew of the Ea. The Ea was being pounded by the waves.
On March 17, 1902, the gale was still blowing and the seas were still pounding the Ea. The water tanks had ruptured during the night and now the crew was without any drinking water. Even though the seas were still breaking around the Ea, the Algonquin and the Alexander Jones were still trying to reach them. The men at the Life Saving Station had launched a boat and were standing by in the hopes that the breakers subside enough to allow them to get to the Ea. To help the men save their strength, the Alexander Jones towed the boat as close as possible to the Ea.
By that afternoon, the Ea had been broken completely apart and all but one of the lifeboats had been crushed by the pounding waves. The waves were washing across the decks and carrying away any item that wasn't secured. To get away from the waves, the crew was huddled on top of the bridge.
The next morning, the wind had shifted from the north and even though the ocean still had breakers, the Ea was blocking the wind and it was decided to lower the last remaining lifeboat. The lifeboat was loaded with 14 or 17 men and lowered over the side and the men pulled on the oars until they were safely away from the Ea. Seeing that rescue was now possible, the Algonquin lowered a boat and sent it to rescue the remaining crew. The Algonquin picked up the men from the remaining lifeboat of the Ea and then retrieved their boat with the remaining crew. All 27 crewmen were taken to Morehead City.
Shortly after the men were rescued, the remains of the Ea broke apart and settled below the waves. 2,500 barrels of resin, 2,500 tons of phosphate rock, and the ship's dog, Tiger, were lost.
The Fenwick Isle is a 125 foot long menhaden fishing trawler. She is in 65 feet of water about 15 miles southeast of the Beaufort Inlet and a mile southwest from the Knuckle Buoy. The Fenwick Isle is intact lying on her port side rising to 35 feet from the surface.
Because she is so close to the shoals, visibility is usually 15-20 feet. The water temperature is usually in the upper 70's to low 80's in the summer. Sheephead, spadefish, sea bass, grouper, and flounder can be seen on this wreck. There is an "S" welded to the smokestack that is surrounded by small pegs.
On December 7, 1968, the Fenwick Isle foundered in a storm and sank on the southern tip of the shoals at Cape Lookout.
The Hardee wreck is a 174 foot long yard oiler, YO-FS26 and is in 92 of water. It is south of Cape Lookout and east of the Aeolus. The ship is upright and intact, with a slight list to starboard. There are three decks on the ship and the pilothouse is on the stern and is at a depth of 55 feet.
It was sunk as part of the artificial reef program in 1988. The ship was transferred to the state of North Carolina from the Reserve Fleet at James River. The visibility averages 50 feet, but can get over a 100 feet. Cement culverts are scattered around the port side of the ship and are good hiding places for sea bass, grouper, and flounder. A variety of seashells can be found along the white sandy bottom.
The HMS Bedfordshire is a 162 foot long British armed trawler that is in 105 feet of water. About 25 miles southeast of the Beaufort Inlet, it usually takes about 2 hours to reach this dive site after leaving the inlet. The wreck is in three separate pieces. Two of the pieces are within 75 feet of each other and the third section is 200 feet away from the other two sections. The damage from the torpedo was extensive. The highest part of the wreck is only four feet. There are a lot of I-beams, deck plates, pipes, and pieces of machinery scattered about the sand. There are six depth charges lying in the sand. Because of the shifting sand, all six might not be visible, but there are two that are stacked on top of each other that are always visible.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. Large schools of amberjack and spadefish can be seen swimming around the wreck. Sea bass and grouper can also be seen regularly.
The British government, after being "leased" 50 World War I-era destroyers and 10 Lake Class Coast Guard cutters, sent 24 armed trawlers and their crews to help protect merchant ships from the German U-Boats. The HMS Bedfordshire was under the command of Lieutenant R. B. Davis and had a crew of 36 men. Her patrol area was from Norfolk, Virginia to Cape Lookout. In addition to escorting tankers and freighters, the HMS Bedfordshire also performed lone patrols searching for U-Boats.
The British tanker San Delfino had been torpedoed and four of its crew were going to be buried on U.S. soil. For a proper burial, British flags were needed. Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Cunningham provided the flags from the HMS Bedfordshire, but he also sent along two extra British flags.
On the night of May 12, 1942, the U-558 was patrolling offshore of Cape Lookout. Kapitanleutnant Gunter Krech, commander of the U-558, did not have any kills on this patrol of the east coast of the United States. Unable to sink any freighters or tankers, he took aim on the HMS Bedfordshire and fired a single torpedo. The torpedo hit directly amidships and the force from the impact actually lifted the ship out of the water. The pieces fell back to the sea and disappeared beneath the water.
The attack had been so swift that no message had been transmitted from the HMS Bedfordshire. For two days, everyone thought she was still on patrol and was observing radio silence. On May 14, 1942, two bodies washed up on the beach of Ocracoke. The bodies were identified as Stanley Craig, telegraphist, and Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Cunningham, both from the HMS Bedfordshire. The two extra British flags from the earlier burials were used to bury these two men.
The Lobster Wreck is a dredge that is in 125 feet of water, with the highest parts reaching 115 feet. The wreck is somewhere between 150 and 200 feet long and is rectangular in shape. There are four boilers, an engine, a stern anchor, a bow anchor, and a 20-inch dredge cutting head.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. Tropical fish, hogfish, grouper, and lobster can be found on the wreck.
Although the true identity of the Lobster Wreck isn't known, it is suspected to be the Porta Allegra. In August of 2000, Brian Tate of Wilmington, NC found a manufacturer's plate on a winch he recovered. The plate was from the Ellicott Machine Company of Baltimore, Maryland. The company is still in business and after some research, matched the contract number on the plate to the winch that was installed on the Porta Allegra, which was constructed in 1908 and had a 20-inch cutter. There are no records after the sale that indicates if the Porta Allegra sank or if the winch had been moved to another dredge.
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Naeco |
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The Naeco is a 412 foot long tanker that is in 140 feet of water. The bow and the stern section of the ship are about two miles apart. About 38 miles south of the Beaufort Inlet, it usually takes about two and a half hours to reach this dive site after leaving the inlet. The high part of this wreck is at 120 feet.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 70 feet, but can get up to over 100 feet. The ship rests on a nice sandy bottom. Sheephead, grouper, pompano, snapper, triggerfish, tropical fish and spadefish frequent his wreck.
The Naeco was originally named the Charles M. Everest and carried a cargo of kerosene, heating oil, and gasoline from Texas to New Jersey. Naeco is "ocean" spelled backwards. In March of 1942, Captain Emil H. Engelbrecht and his crew of 37 left Houston with a cargo of heating oil and kerosene bound for New Jersey. On March 23, 1942, the Naeco was headed towards Cape Lookout. Even though the Naeco was alone on the surface of the water, she had company below the surface, the U-124. Korvettekapitan Erich Mohr had been following the Naeco hoping to add to his tonnage sunk. The U-124 took aim and fired a single torpedo into the starboard side of the Naeco, just forward of amidships. The torpedo set the fuel oil on fire and soon everything forward of amidships was on fire.
All of the lifeboats forward of amidships were destroyed. The No. 3 and 4 lifeboats were undamaged. The ship was still moving at 14 knots when the No. 4 lifeboat was lowered to the water and was immediately swamped. The four men in the lifeboat were thrown into the water. One found a raft floating nearby and climbed into it, one swam back to the ship, and two kept swimming. The chief engineer shut the engines down and ten minutes later, the Naeco was moving slowly enough to lower ten men in the No. 3 lifeboat.
Four hours after the attack, the Coast Guard cutter Dione picked up the two men swimming in the water and the crew aboard the No. 3 lifeboat. The USS Umpqua picked up the crewman that swam back to the ship and the USS Osprey picked up the crewman that was in the raft. An hour after the rescues, the Naeco broke into two sections and slid beneath the surface. There were fourteen survivors and 24 men were lost.
The Novelty is another member of the North Carolina Artificial Reef Program. She was sunk in 1986 three miles offshore of the Ramada Inn in Atlantic Beach. The Novelty is 140 feet long and rest in 50 feet of water. Over the years the wreck has degraded badly but still rises to within about 35 feet of the surface. Another main attraction at this site is the center section of the old Morehead - Atlantic Beach bridge. When the old bridge was demolished, it was towed out to the site of the Novelty and sunk nearby.
The roadway on the bridge is a very interesting dive and many flounder can be found on this portion of the dive. Due to its proximity to shore and shallow depths this is a very good dive to use with training students. Unfortunately, the downside is that it's proximity to shore results in degraded visibility and occasional currents.
The Papoose is a 412 foot long tanker that is in 120 feet of water with the highest part rising to about 90 feet. About 36 miles south of the Beaufort Inlet, it usually takes about 2 hours to reach this dive site after leaving the inlet. The wreck lies upside down with most of the stern section intact. Some of the hull plates are missing which allows the divers to look into the ship. There is a break amidships that leads to a debris field and onto the remains of the bridge. The rudder is still in place, but the 18-foot propeller has been salvaged.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. The Atlantic Sand Tiger shark can be seen here in the spring and fall. Large schools of amberjack can be seen swimming around the wreck also. Sea bass and tropical fish, such as the Queen Angel can also be seen regularly.
The Papoose was a ship that rose from the flames. Her original name was the Silvanus. As the Silvanus, she was traveling the Mississippi River when she rammed her bow into another ship, causing her deck plates to buckle and igniting her cargo of benzene. The fire and explosions caused her to be ruled a total loss. The burned out remains were towed to Beaumont, Texas to be refitted. Even though the engine and boilers were undamaged, they were overhauled as the refitting was occurring.
After 300 workers had labored for five months, the ship was ready to go to sea again. She was rechristened the Papoose on March 31, 1927. She continued life as a tanker making runs between Galveston and New York carrying gasoline. On the night of March 18, 1942, the Papoose was heading south from Providence, Rhode Island to Corpus Christi, Texas to pick up another cargo of crude oil. Since she was empty, Captain Raymond Zalnick was able to keep the Papoose closer to shore. The Papoose was completely blacked out to hide from patrolling U-Boats. There was a northwest wind and the seas were moderately rough and the Papoose was not running a zig-zag course.
At 10:30 p.m., a torpedo from the U-124 slammed into the port side of the ship rupturing the fuel tank. Oil and water poured into the fire and engine rooms. In four minutes, they were flooded to the top of the cylinder heads of the engines. Captain Zalnick gave the order to head for shore, but without the engines, the ship became a sitting duck. The radioman sent out a distress call, which was answered, and then the crew abandoned ship. As part of the crew was rowing away from the ship in the No. 3 lifeboat, a second torpedo passed close to them but continued on to hit the Papoose on the starboard side, almost directly across from the first impact. The impact caused the No. 1 lifeboat to foul on the way down. Captain Zalnick ordered the bow of the lifeboat lowered to the water and the stern cut loose. Some of the crew was injured by falling debris. The next morning, the USS Stringham picked up the 34 men in the two lifeboats. Two of the crew died when the initial torpedo struck and flooded the engine room.
The Portland is a 289 foot long freighter and is resting in 55 feet of water. It is about 18 miles southeast of the Beaufort Inlet. It is also known as the "P Wreck". The stern is on its port side and is mostly intact. The propeller can usually be seen sticking up out of the sand. There is a compartment on the stern that still contains .50-caliber and some 2-inch rounds. There is a mast that is lying between the stern and the bow. The bow is pointed up toward the surface and is about 25 feet from the surface and still has 2 anchors still in place.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Because it is close to the shoals, visibility averages 20 feet, but can get up to 40-50 feet. The ship rests on a nice sandy bottom. Sheephead, triggerfish, sea bass, and spadefish frequent his wreck. Moderate currents are common to this wreck.
The Portland was originally called the Jacox. In 1942, the Portland was operating along the Pacific coast. In January of 1943, she started operating in the Atlantic Ocean. Her first Atlantic trip was from Philadelphia to Havana. On February 11, 1943, she got caught in a storm and ran aground on the shoals of Cape Lookout. All of the crew abandoned ship before the seas battered and broke the ship.
The Proteus is a 406 foot long passenger-freighter that is in 120 feet of water with the highest part rising to about 90 feet. The wreck lies upright with most of the stern section intact. A large brass wheel that is attached to a long shaft is on the stern deck. The rudder is still in place and 4-blade 18-foot propeller is sticking up out of the sand. Three boilers and the condenser are in the midsection of the ship.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. Large schools of amberjack can be seen swimming around the wreck. Sea bass, pompano, and tropical fish, such as the Queen Angel can also be seen regularly.
The Proteus was named after one of the mystical society organizations that take part in Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In mythology, Proteus was the son of Neptune and Phoenice or Oceanus and Tethys, depending on the version you are using, either Greek or Roman. The Proteus was built in Newport News, Virginia and launched on December 16, 1899. She was considered one of the safest ships of their time. She had 46 staterooms for 78 first class passengers, 30 staterooms for 50 second class passengers, and 50 berths for third class passengers. The apartments were elegant and were equipped with electric fans and lights, and very comfortable chairs. There were enough chairs and lounges for every passenger to be seated at one time. The main dining room could hold 56 passengers at one sitting.
On January 27, 1916, the Proteus left New Orleans bound for New York with 95 passengers and crew. Captain John Nelson was in command of the ship. While heading down the Mississippi River in a dense fog, the Proteus hit the oil tanker Brabant. The Brabant had a hole above the waterline, but the Proteus was undamaged and proceeded to sea.
Captain Nelson was later replaced with Captain H. C. Boyd. On August 14, 1918, the Proteus left New Orleans bound for New York with 75 passengers and crew. On August 19, 1918, the Proteus was in a heavy fog 34 miles southwest of Diamond Shoals. Also in the heavy fog was the Cushing, an oil tanker. Both ships were running at reduced speed when the Cushing appeared out of the fog and hit the Proteus amidships. The Proteus had a large hole beneath her waterline and Captain Boyd gave the order to abandon ship. The ship was abandoned in less than an hour. Only one person died in the collision, which was a fireman aboard the Proteus that panicked and jumped into the water at the time of the collision and drowned. The Cushing was undamaged and picked up all of the survivors. Six hours later, the Proteus sank to the bottom.
The Rock Pile is 26 miles southeast of the Beaufort Inlet at a depth of 102 feet. As the name implies, there is a pile of rocks on the ocean floor. These rocks were originally in a barge. There are some parts of the barge scattered around the rocks. The top of the rocks rises to 85 feet.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. Tropical fish, sheephead, spadefish, sea bass, hogfish, grouper, and snapper can be found swimming around the rocks. In the white sand around the rocks, flounder can be found. The cracks in the rocks provide great hiding spaces for lobster.
The Senateur Duhamel is a 165 foot long trawler and is resting in 65 feet of water. It is about 7 miles southeast of the Beaufort Inlet and it usually takes about an hour to get to the site after leaving the inlet. The wreck is mostly flat except for the boilers, which are the highest parts. Deck plates, conduits, pipes, and concrete slabs are scattered about the wreck.
Due to the closeness to the shoals, the visibility averages 10-15 feet. The bottom is silty and can be stirred up very easily by a diver's fins. The water temperature is usually in the upper 70's and low 80's during the summer. Sheephead, spadefish, sea bass, grouper, and flounder can be found on this wreck.
After the United States entered World War II, the British sent over the Senateur Duhamel to protect conveys from German U-Boats. On May 6, 1942, the Senateur Duhamel was headed toward the Beaufort Inlet in a light haze. She spotted another ship, the USS Semmes, about a mile away and flashed the message "What Ship?" The light temporarily blinded the crew of the USS Semmes. Before a reply could be sent, the bow of the USS Semmes rammed into the Senateur Duhamel amidships. The USS Semmes called over to see if the Senateur Duhamel wanted to send any one over before they backed away. The Senateur Duhamel didn't want to transfer anyone over and the USS Semmes backed away to a distance of a half of a mile. The USS Roper, a destroyer was called for assistance.
When they called roll on the USS Semmes, they discovered everyone present and accounted for, with one extra man. J. Woods had climbed aboard from the Senateur Duhamel while the two ships were still connected. The Executive Officer and J. Woods took a boat to go and search for the Senateur Duhamel. They reached the Senateur Duhamel just in time to watch it slip beneath the water. The masts stuck up out of the water, marking the location. The Executive Officer picked up all of the crew and took them to the USS Roper. No one from either ship was killed in the collision.
In 1944, the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant blasted the Senateur Duhamel with 2 tons of dynamite because it was a navigational hazard. They also wire-dragged the Senateur Duhamel to remove any remaining high spots.
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Suloide |
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The Suloide is a 338 foot long freighter that is in 65 feet of water. About 12 miles southwest of the Beaufort Inlet, it usually takes about forty-five minutes to reach this dive site after leaving the inlet. The high part of this wreck is the boilers. It makes a nice second dive after a deeper dive.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 30 feet, but can get up to 50-60 feet. The ship rests on a nice sandy bottom. Schools of sheephead and spadefish frequent his wreck. Flounder can be found in the sand around this wreck and sea bass can be found on and around the wreck.
Constructed in Germany, it was originally named the Maceio and was later changed to the Amassia. After it was sold to Lloyd Brasileiro, it was renamed the Suloide. In March of 1943, the Suloide was loaded with manganese ore in Trinidad and was bound for New York. As the Suloide was making its way along the coast, it struck the wreck of the W. E. Hutton causing a large gash to be made in its hull. The No. 1 hold quickly filled with water. The Suloide drifted about a mile toward shore before it slipped below the water.
Because the wreck was upright, it was a navigational hazard. On March 17, 1944, the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant started blasting the Suloide. After two months, 20 tons of dynamite had been used. They also wire-dragged the Suloide to remove any high spots remaining. Even though the Suloide was leveled, there is a distinctive outline to the wreck in which plates and beams are scattered around the bottom.
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Tamaulipas |
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The Tamaulipas is commonly called the Far East Tanker, not because it comes from the Far East, but because it lies far east from shore. The Tamaulipas is a 435 foot long tanker that is in 155 feet of water.
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The Liberty Ship |
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The actual name of The Liberty Ship is the Theodore Parker. The Theodore Parker is a 441 foot long liberty ship and is resting in 60 feet of water with the highest decks at 30 feet. It is about 4 miles southwest of Beaufort Inlet and a mile and a half off of the beach. Because of the close proximity to the beach, visibility is usually 15-20 feet.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Large schools of sheephead and spadefish can be seen swimming around the wreck. Sea bass and flounder can also be seen regularly. The bottom is very silty and can be very easily stirred up by diver's fins.
The Theodore Parker was built in March of 1943 and made several crossings of the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. Her main cargo was food and material for the war effort. On November 16, 1944, the Theodore Parker left Hull, England bound for New York. As she was 75 miles from the mouth of the Humber River, she struck a mine. She returned to Hull and remained there for three months while repairs were carried out. On February 23, 1945, she left Hull and arrived in New York on March 9, 1945. After the war, she was placed in the Merchant Marine Reserve Fleet on the James River.
In 1974, the Theodore Parker was bought by the state of North Carolina to be used in the artificial reef program. The superstructure was cut away so the second deck became her top deck. The Theodore Parker was sunk on June 4, 1974.
The U-352 is a 218 foot long Type VII C German U-Boat that lies in 115 feet of water 26 miles southeast of Beaufort Inlet. It usually takes about an hour and forty-five minutes to reach this dive site after leaving the inlet. The conning tower rises to 90 feet and the main part of the U-352 is at 100 feet. The bow is cracked so the forward torpedo tubes are exposed, partially from the initial depth charging and partially from the effects of time. The U-352 rests on its starboard side at a 45-degree angle. The outer hull has deteriorated away in some places, but the supporting ribs are still in place and the inner pressure hull is still intact.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. There are usually schools of amberjack swimming around the U-352. There is a southern stingray that stays near the U-352 that has a wingspan of six feet that swims by on occasion as divers are exploring the U-352. There can be moderate currents on the U-352, so it is best to swim into them on the first part of the dive and let the current bring you back to the anchor line. The inside of the U-352 is filled with silt, which can easily reduce a diver's visibility to zero. Only penetration-trained wreck divers should attempt penetration. There is plenty to see on the outside of the U-352.
The U-352 was the first U-Boat to be sunk by the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II. On May 9, 1942, the U-352 was searching for a target to sink. In all of the previous attempts, the U-352 had failed to sink any Allied ships. Kaptian-leutnant Hellmut Rathke saw the mast of a ship through his periscope and prepared to sink that ship. What he thought was a slow moving unprotected freighter turned out to be the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Icarus. Rathke fired a torpedo at the Icarus, but the torpedo failed to find its target and exploded on the sea floor. When Rathke raised his periscope above the water to see the burning remains of a freighter, he only sight was that of the Icarus surrounded by brown seawater from the detonated torpedo. Rathke immediately dove the U-352 to the bottom, but since he was in shallow water, the bottom was only 115 feet. His first thought was to get behind the stern of the Icarus and wait to attack, but decided to hide in the brown sea of the torpedo impact.
Lieutenant Jester and the Icarus began its hunt for the U-352. The Icarus came about and began searching for the U-352 using its sonar. After they had passed over the U-352 and lost contact, they dropped five depth charges into the muddy water. One of the depth charges detonated above the deck gun, two by the conning tower, one over the engine room and the fifth one passed fifty feet behind the stern. The glass in all of the gauges in the conning tower and control room were shattered by the detonations. The U-352 lost all power except for the dim red emergency lights. Both electric engines were inoperable and Rathke thought if he played dead, the Icarus would leave and he could repair his wounded U-352. What he didn't know was that the depth charges had knocked a large amount of sheet metal from the conning tower and that the deck gun was now resting on the seafloor. This reduction in weight actually caused to U-352 to drift through the water with its bow up and stern dragging in the sand.
The Icarus could tell that the U-352 was still moving and as long as it was moving, it presented a threat. The Icarus dropped three more depth charges, the first one striking the bow and ruptured its buoyancy tank, while the other two feel to the side. Bubbles from the buoyancy tank provided a target for the next single depth charge dropped. The detonation caused more water to leak into the U-352, but the pressure hull held. The next single depth charge missed its target, but came close enough that Rathke ordered his U-352 to the surface.
As the U-352 broke the surface, the crew of the Icarus started firing their machine guns at the escaping Germans. Lt. Jester knew the deck gun was able to sink his ship and wasn't going to allow anyone to reach the deck gun. No one realized was that the deck gun had been blown off by the depth charges. Three shots were fired from the three-inch gun, the first hit in front of the conning tower and ricocheted through it, the second went behind the conning tower, and the third impacted dead center. The crew jumped into the water as the Icarus continued to strafe the water. The Icarus left the area without picking up the Germans to guard against another U-352 in the area. U-Boats were known to hunt in groups called Wolfpacks. After sending numerous messages requesting a decision about picking up the survivors, the Icarus received the authority to pick them up and returned to pick up the survivors. Returning to the site, 33 crewmembers had escaped from the sinking U-352 and 13 went down with the U-352. One of the rescued crewmembers later died aboard the Icarus from injuries.
The exact location of the U-352 remained unknown until 1975 when George Purifoy rediscovered the location, a mile and a quarter away from the location the U.S. Navy had reported. In 1978, the deck gun was recovered by George Purify and in 1979, Dave Bluett recovered the 1,500 pound port propeller.
At a length of 338 feet and a width of sixty feet, its size makes the Indra an easy dive. The bottom is sand at 70 feet and the wreck goes up to within 35 feet of the surface. It is close to shore, about twelve miles from Beaufort inlet. The visibility averages 30 feet, but can get up to 50-60 feet. Its proximity to shore makes this a dive that is easy to get to if the weather will not permit diving offshore. It's depth and proximity to shore makes this a popular wreck for training and as a second dive on the way back in from a deeper one.
Sunk in 1992 as part of the North Carolina artificial reef program, the USS Indra is probably the most dived on wreck in this area. The Indra started life as an LST, (Landing Ship Tank) a ship that repaired landing craft. There were two of these craft built, one for use in the Pacific and one for use in the Atlantic. The USS Indra served in World War II as a repair ship and in Vietnam performing upkeep on the river patrol craft. After Vietnam it was assigned to the Army Reserve Fleet at Morehead City, NC.
There is some wreckage surrounding the wreck providing even more shelter for marine life. Before sinking the ship, large holes were cut into the sides to allow for access. It is very easy to penetrate this wreck. The insides are open and many of the bulkheads are cut away. The easy penetration of this wreck makes it very useful for wreck diving classes and for divers trained in wreck diving it is easy to enter. There is a large circular mount on the bow of the ship where a deck gun was at one time placed. On the stern is a large open cargo hold. Off the fantail the propeller guards are still in place under which oyster toads or oyster crackers can usually be found.
The wreck of the Indra is home to a variety of marine life from sharks to sea urchins. During the later summer months it is not uncommon to see tropical fish such as yellow tang or damselfish on this wreck. Octopi have been seen hiding under the wreckage around the ship and on the ship itself. Eels have been spotted in the many smaller holes in the sides of the ship. In the summer of 2001, a large bull shark was infrequently seen near the bow of the Indra and a large Green Sea Turtle was frequently seen near the stern. The occasional stingray can be seen off to the sides of the ship or swimming along the upper decks. Sea bass hide near the structure of the craft year round and if a diver looks into the superstructure the diver is likely to find a school of spadefish.
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USS Schurz |
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The USS Schurz is a 295 foot long World War I cruiser that is in 110 feet of water with the highest part, the boilers, rising to about 100 feet. About 28 miles south of the Beaufort Inlet, it usually takes about an hour and thirty minutes to reach this dive site after leaving the inlet. It is sometimes called the "World War I wreck". The wreck is spread out on the sandy bottom. If you look under the deck plates, you can still see rifle ammunition in clips of five. There is a deck gun lying in the sand. Some of the sighting mechanisms have already been recovered.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. There are usually schools of amberjack and baitfish swimming around the USS Schurz.
The USS Schurz was originally named the SMS Geier, an unprotected cruiser in the German Navy. It is ironic that a German made ship wound up fighting against Germany in World War I. The SMS Geier had an iron hull, but was covered in wood so that sheets of copper could be attached. The sheets of copper were added to keep barnacles from growing of the hull because its oxide is toxic to the barnacles. In addition to having engines, she also had three masts for sails.
The SMS Geier was an independent commerce raider, which meant that she overtook unarmed merchant ships at sea or trapped them in isolated ports. After her presence became known, she became a hunted ship. For a month, she eluded being captured but was still searching for new victims. Unfortunately for the SMS Geier, there were no victims and her coal was running low and her engines needed repairs. She put into port in Honolulu, which was still a neutral territory because the United States hadn't become directly involved in World War I yet.
After putting into port, the Japanese battleship Hizen and the armored cruiser Asama started patrolling the three-mile limit outside the harbor. They couldn't enter the three-mile limit, but they knew that according to law, a warship could only stay in a neutral port for 24 hours. If they stayed longer than 24 hours, they would become interned, taken into possession by the country of the neutral port. Karl Grasshof, the captain of the SMS Geier, knew the Japanese ships were waited for his ship to leave the port so they could start firing. There was a clause in the law that allowed a warship to dock as long as possible so that necessary repairs could be made that would make the ship seaworthy. Grasshof used this clause to try and wait out the Japanese. He hoped they would get tired of waiting and would leave to go after other targets.
This stalemate lasted for three weeks until the United States seized the SMS Geier and her crew. Since the United States wasn't at war with Germany, they were only detainees and not prisoners of war. Under international treaty, they were not allowed to advance the war effort of their country. The guns and ammunition aboard the SMS Geier were turned over to the United States.
The SMS Geier stayed docked in Honolulu for two and a half years as a detained ship. The diplomatic relations between the United States and Germany were becoming strained and it appeared that a declaration of war was forthcoming. The German government issued secret orders to Grasshof to wreck the ship so it couldn't be used against them. On February 4, 1917, the crew drained all of the water out of the boilers and lit the fires beneath them causing damage to the boilers and to the regulating machinery. The damage wasn't as severe as they had hoped. The officers and enlisted personnel were locked up in the stockade and the SMS Geier was moved to Pearl Harbor. The Navy inspected the ship and found hidden machine guns, which violated the neutrality of the ship, and that the crew had removed parts from the main battery of guns and tossed them overboard.
After reading Grasshof's logbook, the Navy discovered that the crew violated the neutrality treaty again by advancing the war effort of their country by relaying messages from German agents in the United States to Japan. When they were transmitting the messages, they played loud music to cover up the crackling of electricity from the radio.
The crew was arraigned for sabotage of their ship. The U.S. District Attorney released them from detention, but not internment. This was done because the ships belonged to Germany and the United States couldn't exercise any control over the crews because the ships were voluntarily interned.
The United States entered the war against Germany on April 6, 1917. On May 22, 1917, an executive order was issued that all interned German ships were to be officially seized in the name of the United States. The SMS Geier was seized, as well as nine other ships in Honolulu.
The boilers and other broken machinery were repaired that summer. The center mast was removed, leaving the fore and aft masts. Divers recovered some of the parts from the main battery guns. The parts that weren't recovered were machined. All of the ammunition and munitions that had been confiscated was put back on the ship. There were 867 shells for the main battery, 5 torpedoes, 14,000 rounds for the rifles and machine guns, and 12,000 rounds of 8.8 mm pistol ammunition. There were also 80 1906 Mauser rifles and 39 9 mm Luger pistols.
On September 15, 1917, the USS Schurz was commissioned and Commander Arthur Crenshaw took command. The USS Schurz was named after Carl Schurz, a liberal who fled Germany after the 1848 revolution. He came to the United States and became a writer, an editor, a public speaker, a general in the Union Army, a Senator from Missouri, and the Secretary of the Interior. The final crew totaled 12 officers and 185 enlisted men when the USS Schurz left Pearl Harbor on October 31, 1917.
After serving on submarine escort duty, the USS Schurz passed through the Panama Canal and continued on to New Orleans and Key West. On February 20, 1918, Commander William Wells relieved Captain Crenshaw as the commanding officer. On March 19, 1918, the USS Schurz was put in dry dock in Charleston, SC for hull maintenance and to have her main battery guns replaced with four 5-inch guns. The Mausers were replaced with 72 30-calibur Springfield rifles and the Lugers were replaced with 15 Colt .45 pistols.
On Aril 27, 1918, she put back to sea. On June 19, 1918, the USS Schurz left New York bound for Key West with 215 men onboard. In the early morning hours of June 21, 1918, the USS Schurz was in a dense fog 10 miles past Cape Lookout. A tanker, the Florida came out of the darkness directly toward the USS Schurz. They were both running without lights to evade enemy submarines. As they were 900 yards apart, the Florida turned on her running lights and blew four short blasts on her horn. The warning came too late as the Florida's bow cut into the starboard side of the USS Schurz. One crewman was killed on the USS Schurz in the initial impact.
The USS Schurz sent out an SOS that was heard by the Saramacca, an American steamship returning from the West Indies. The Saramacca picked up the sailors in the water and the ones picked up the Florida. One of the sails was left up and caused the ship to drift for 12 miles. As the last survivor was picked up, the USS Schurz was still afloat and the Captain and executive officer discussed the possibility of moving the ship inshore to the beach at Cape Lookout. Before a small crew could reboard, the USS Schurz listed to port and slid beneath the water. The Florida continued on to port under her own power.
The USS Tarpon is a 298 foot long Shark-Class U.S. Navy submarine that lies in 140 feet of water. The bow is bent back, probably the result of a snagged trawling net. The gun and conning tower have both fallen off of the sub to the ocean floor. The sub is listing 20 degrees to port.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. There can be moderate currents on the USS Tarpon, so it is best to swim into them on the first part of the dive and let the current bring you back to the anchor line. The inside of the USS Tarpon is filled with silt, which can easily reduce a diver's visibility to zero. Only penetration-trained wreck divers should attempt penetration. There is plenty to see on the outside of the USS Tarpon.
The USS Tarpon's keel was laid on December 22, 1933, her hull was launched on September 4,1935, and she was commissioned on March 12, 1936. The USS Tarpon was a modified Porpoise-Class sub. She was a Shark-Class sub and that class only had two subs. They had a range of 11,000 miles at speed of 10 knots without refueling. Her surface speed was 19 knots and her submerged speed was 8 knots. She had enough provisions to stay at sea for 75 days. The USS Tarpon was designated as P-4, and the USS Shark was designated P-3, the two members of the Shark-Class. The hulls of these two subs were all-welded, the difference in the other Porpoise-Class subs. These were the first all-welded hulls on U. S. Navy subs. This gave their 5/8 inch steel hulls a crush-depth rating of 250 feet.
Upon commissioning, the USS Tarpon was assigned to the Pacific Ocean. She was in the Philippines when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. She was sent out to sink Japanese ships under the command of Lt. Commander Weeden. The USS Tarpon didn't fire a single torpedo on her first patrol. After the patrol, she put into port in Darwin, Australia and Lt. Commander Wallace took over command of the USS Tarpon. On February 1, 1942, she fired four torpedoes at an enemy freighter. Of those four, one hit the freighter. She then fired two more torpedoes that hit the freighter and sank the ship. Post-war investigation could find no Japanese ships sunk at that time or location. The USS Tarpon wasn't credited with a kill.
On February 11, 1942, the USS Tarpon was depth charged for the first time by a Japanese ship. The USS Tarpon dove to 235 feet in an attempt to evade the depth charges. The bow planes, rudder angle indicator, and the port annunciator were disabled. The USS Tarpon later ran aground while passing through a narrow strait. Many attempts were made to free themselves but the falling tide prevented them from leaving. They were finally able to get free as high tide arrived.
The USS Tarpon spent the summer of 1942 in dry dock in San Francisco. While she was there, she got new engines, a modification to the conning tower, and had two torpedo tubes added to the outside of the pressure hull. Commander Thomas Wogan took command of the USS Tarpon. On February 1, 1943, she fired four torpedoes at a passenger-cargo ship. Of those four, one hit the passenger-cargo ship. She then fired two more torpedoes that hit the passenger-cargo ship and sank the Fushima Maru. This was a confirmed kill. The next day a Japanese plane spotted the USS Tarpon and 22 explosions were heard and felt by the crew. Two of the explosions were close enough that the main induction was flooded. They left the area for repairs and on February 5, 1943, she was back in service.
On February 8, 1943, she fired four torpedoes at a troop transport ship. All four torpedoes hit their target. After firing her torpedoes, she did a crash dive to avoid 19 depth charges from the escorts. The depth charges missed their target. The Tatsuta Maru was sunk and the escorts picked up her surviving troops that were treading water in full military gear. Many of the troops drowned because they were pulled down by the weight of their gear.
On October 17, 1943, she fired four torpedoes at a Japanese ship, which stopped the ship dead in the water. The target soon got underway again and headed for the USS Tarpon. The USS Tarpon submerged and went under the ship and fired three more torpedoes at the ship. One torpedo hit the stern, but the ship continued on. The USS Tarpon fired another torpedo at the same spot as the first one. The ship exploded and disappeared below the water. The ship was the Michel, a German raider that was preying on Allied shipping in the Atlantic and the Pacific. It was the first German raider to be sunk in the Pacific.
She saw little action in 1944. On December 24, 1944, the USS Tarpon left Pearl Harbor for the east coast. On November 15, 1945, the USS Tarpon was decommissioned in Boston. She was reactivated in 1947 and towed to New Orleans where she served as a dockside Naval Reserve training boat until 1956. On September 5, 1956, the USS Tarpon was removed from the Navy's list of ships. She had earned 11 battle stars in the Asiatic-Pacific theater.
In June of 1957, the USS Tarpon was sold for scrap. As the tug Julia C. Moran was towing the USS Tarpon past Ocracoke Island, the USS Tarpon started taking on water in the stern. On August 26, 1957, the bow of the USS Tarpon rose up out of the water and she slid stern first to the bottom of the ocean.
The USS Yancey is a 459 foot long Amphibious Cargo Ship, AKA - 97, that is resting in 160 feet of water with the highest part at a depth of 120 feet. It was sunk as part of the artificial reef program in 1990. She is intact and laying on her starboard side.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70's to the low 80's. Visibility averages 60 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. There are usually schools of amberjack swimming around the wreck.
The USS Yancey was launched on July 8, 1944 and commissioned on October 11, 1944 under the command of Commander Edward R. Rice, USNR. Loaded with cargo and with 26 landing craft aboard, she set sail on November 25, 1944 for Hawaii. Once in Pearl Harbor, she was assigned to Transport Division 47, Transport Squadron 16. On January 5, 1945, she left Pearl Harbor loaded with cargo of the 5th Marine Division bound for the Marianas and the invasion of Iwo Jima.
The USS Yancey arrived at Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945 to begin the invasion. For four days straight, the landing craft of the USS Yancey traveled back and forth carrying cargo and men and evacuating the wounded. Of her 26 landing craft, 2 were lost. On February 27, 1945, the USS Yancey dropped anchor off of Red Beach. Because of the high surf from bad weather, the cargo was taken ashore by LST's, LSM's and LCT's, instead of her landing craft. On March 2, 1945, the USS Yancey had completed her duties and left for Saipan.
The next battle the USS Yancey was part of was the invasion of Okinawa. She arrived on April 12,1945 and started unloading her cargo that night. There were many air raids on the ship by the Japanese. On April 15, 1945, the USS Yancey shot at and hit a Nakajima Ki. 43 "Oscar" and was credited with a "sure assist" as the plane crashed 3,000 yards away from the ship. After unloading, she left on March 16, 1945 for the Marianas alone. On April 27, 1945, the USS Yancey arrived in Ulithi for repair to her boilers and for anti-aircraft training. While preparing for her next assignment, Japan had surrendered on August 15, 1945.
She offloaded her invasion force and was reloaded with the 1st Cavalry Division for the occupation of Japan. The USS Yancey entered Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, the day of the signing of the formal surrender aboard the Battleship Missouri. From there, she proceeded to Yokohama harbor. After 19 hours of unloading, she anchored out in the bay. After that, she continued transporting men and equipment along the shores of Japan and also into the inland waterways.
On October 15, 1945, the USS Yancey headed for Indochina to pick up Chinese troops and take them to Formosa. On November 13, 1945, 1,027 troops boarded the USS Yancey, along with 1 interpreter. Five days later, the USS Yancey reached port and unloaded the troops, many of whom were seasick from the rough weather that was encountered. On November 18, 1945, she set sail for Manilla to get her next set of orders.
On November 25, 1945, the one year anniversary of her leaving the west coast of the United States, she received her orders to proceed to the east coast of the United States to join up with the Service Force, Atlantic Fleet. Two days later, the USS Yancey was headed back to the United States and was fully loaded with Army and Navy troops scheduled for discharge. As she left Manilla Harbor, the USS Yancey was flying a homeward bound pennant that was 310 feet long and contained 27 stars.
The ship stopped in Pearl Harbor and the Army troops were put ashore and more Navy troops were taken aboard. On December 31, 1945, the USS Yancey passed through the Panama Canal, which she turned out to be the last ship to pass through the Panama Canal in 1945. Six days later, she cleared Cristobal, Canal Zone on her way to New Orleans. From New Orleans, she headed to Jacksonville, FL and then arrived in Norfolk on January 29, 1946. On February 28, 1946, the USS Yancey reached the shipyards in Philadelphia for a regular overhaul that lasted for a few months.
After the overhaul, the USS Yancey operated up and the east coast until October. The USS Yancey received orders that she was reassigned to the west coast and was to take effect on November 9, 1946. After arriving at San Pedro, California, the USS Yancey received orders that she was reassigned to Service Force, Pacific Fleet that was to take effect on November 11, 1946. The next day she was loaded with cargo for Operation "Highjump".
On December 2, 1946, the USS Yancey left port and headed south, for Antarctica. She reached the Bay of Whales, Antarctica on January 18, 1947 and anchored on the ice shelf until February 6, 1946, when she left for the area north of the ice floes. After entering the ice pack on February 9, 1947, the USS Yancey made her way 275 miles through the ice in three days. She joined up with the Coast Guard icebreaker, the North-wind, on February 13, 1947. She reached Port Chamlers, New Zealand on February 22, 1947. During the operation, the USS Yancey became the first ship to conduct an underway refueling below the Antarctic Circle.
After leaving New Zealand, the USS Yancey visited Samoa, Pago Pago, and Hawaii before returning to Port Hueneme, California on May 2, 1947. Upon arriving, she unloaded her cargo and a unit of Seabees, which completed her duty. She was reassigned to Terminal Island, California and placed on restricted availability. Her next assignment was to deliver cargo to Pearl Harbor and Guam.
For the next ten years, the USS Yancey operated from the west coast to bases in Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. In December of 1957, the USS Yancey was deactivated in San Francisco, California and decommissioned in March of 1958. On November 17, 1961, the USS Yancey was recommissioned in Portland, Oregon as the result of President Kennedy's effort to increase the size of the U.S. Navy. Captain Gordon R. Keating took command of the ship.
The USS Yancey arrived in Norfolk on February 2, 1962 to become part of the Atlantic Fleet. Over the next months, the USS Yancey made several runs along the east coast and then made a voyage to deliver a Seabee unit and their equipment to Rota, Spain. After returning to Norfolk, Virginia, she left on October 17, 1962 for Morehead City to load Marines for Operation "PhiBrigLex" that were to take place on Vieques, Puerto Rico. After getting loaded, she headed south for Vieques, but soon found Hurricane Ella in her path. To avoid the worst part of the hurricane, the USS Yancey had to alter her course.
On October 23, 1962, President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade around Cuba because reconnaissance aircraft had detected Soviet missiles present on the island. The USS Yancey was ordered to become part of the blockade. Once the missiles were removed, the USS Yancey returned to normal duty along the east coast and in the Caribbean.
For the next eight years, the USS Yancey was regularly deployed in the Mediterranean where she provided support to the 6th Fleet. In the spring of 1965, the Dominican Republic was at unrest with a civil war. On April 30, 1965, the USS Yancey was diverted from her training mission and arrived off of Santo Domingo, the capital, to assist in the evacuation of refugees. She took 593 refugees aboard. Once they were aboard, they were given blankets, fresh fruit and milk, baby bottles, diapers, crutches, canes, various other items, and information packets in English and Spanish. The ship was converted into nurseries, infirmaries, and information booths, among other necessary stations.
The women slept in the officer's quarters and the children slept in the crew's quarters. The male refugees and the officers and crew of the USS Yancey slept on deck. Some of the crew skipped meals so the refugees would have enough to eat and they skipped showers to conserve water. The number of the refugees was increased during the trip to San Juan as a son, Stephen Yancey Paez, was born to Mr. And Mrs. Rodolfo Paez. On May 1, 1965, USS Yancey reached San Juan and all 594 refugees were unloaded to the waiting Red Cross and relatives. Gasoline, oil, and ammunition were quickly loaded aboard the USS Yancey for delivery to the Marines in Santo Domingo the next day.
Once the supplies were unloaded, 450 more refuges were taken aboard. The same stations were set up as on the previous trip. Once the second group was delivered to San Juan, the USS Yancey returned to Norfolk to resume training and continue making runs between the east coast and the Caribbean.
On a less flattering note, on January 21, 1970, the USS Yancey was at anchor in Norfolk near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel during a snowy gale. With the winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour, she dragged her anchors and eventually collided with the bridge. The collision put the bridge out of service for three weeks. At the time of the collision, there were no cars on the bridge and no one was injured. Until the bridge was repaired, the Navy set up a shuttle service for the people using helicopters and LCU's.
The USS Yancey made her last deployment in the spring of 1970. She returned to Norfolk in the summer of 1970 and was deactivated on October 1, 1970. On January 20, 1971, she was decommissioned for the second time. On March 18, 1971, she was placed in the Reserve Fleet at James River. She remained there until her name was removed from the Navy's list of ships.
The Verbena was originally a 170-foot long US Coast Guard buoy tender. The ship was decommissioned and sold to become the menhaden fishing vessel Nancy Lee. In 1989, the vessel was sunk as an artificial reef in 60 feet of water east of Cape Lookout, inshore of the Caribsea.
The Verbena is an intact wreck in relatively shallow water. The sandy bottom is about 60 feet deep and the wreck rises to within 25 feet of the surface. It is a successful artificial reef covered in fish life year round. It is center cabin vessel with little opportunity for penetration. On the bow of the vessel is a large cargo hold open to the sea, there is another large open bay on the stern of the ship.
The large schools of fish create a prime feeding ground for the Atlantic Sand Tiger Shark. This animal can be seen in great numbers on this wreck, and the easy feeding found on the wreck creates a plethora of sharks teeth left on the wreck. While the shark is feeding, these teeth are knocked loose and fall to the flat surfaces of the wreck. There they wait until some lucky diver finds them. Because of the closeness to the shoals, visibility on the Verbena averages 20-25 feet.
The W.E. Hutton is 13.8 miles from the Beaufort Inlet. The wreck rests in 70 feet of water and there is not much relief on this wreck. This wreck is frequently visited by divers and is also visited by fishermen. There is an abundance of coral growth on the wreck and is home to many fish. This is a prime place to spear fishing for flounder and other game fish. Near the bow area are two large anchors to the north and the engine, rudder, and pair of boilers near the stern. Due to the lack of reference points, a wreck reel comes in handy for navigation. The Hutton is still an enjoyable dive fairly close to shore. It is a good wreck to dive on the way in from deeper ones or when the weather will not permit journey to wrecks farther out.
March 18, 1942 was a fateful day on the east coast of North Carolina, especially for the W.E. Hutton. It was at the height of the U-Boat war in the coastal waters off the United States. The U-124 lurked off the coast that night captained by Kapitanleutnant Johann Mohr. It was a busy time for the submarine commander having sunk the Kassandra Louloudis the day before and the Papoose and the E.M. Clark earlier in the evening. He would also sink the Esso Nashville and the Naeco. Captain Carl Flaathen mastered the W.E. Hutton previously known as the Portola Plumas. Captain Flaathen had ordered that regular watches were kept with officers on the watch and that a course close to shore and in line with navigational buoys be kept the whole way. On this voyage to Pennsylvania the tanker's holds were filled with bunker C fuel oil. About 11:30 p.m. on the evening of March 18th the lookout spotted a torpedo from the U-124 a split second before it struck the starboard bow of the ship. Eight minutes after the first strike, a second torpedo struck the heavily laden tanker amidships on the port side, catching her cargo of fuel on fire. Captain Flaathen was cut by flying glass and ordered the ship abandoned. The ship drifted for about 45 minutes before sinking beneath the waves. There were 23 survivors and 13 crewmen lost their lives. The surviving crewmen were picked up at daylight the following morning by the British ship Port Halifax.
In June of 1943 the Navy Salvage service and the US Coast Guard began the demolition of the wreck, deemed a navigational hazard. Over the course of the year, over thirty tons of dynamite was used on this vessel. As a result, the wreck of the W.E. Hutton is very broken up and scattered.
