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Dive Logs:
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Wreaks We
Dive:
USCG Cutter
“Jackson”
Depth: 80fsw
Dimensions: 125’x 24’ x 7’
Date Sunk: Sept 14, 1944
Cause of Sinking : Hurricane
Crew : 39 Survivors:18
The Jackson is
in pretty good shape if you compare it to some of the other WWII era
wrecks. She is in two pieces, separated by about 25 feet of bottom.
The stern is upright and still has some of its decking intact. The
bow section has about a 30-degree list to starboard. There are a
couple of places that can be penetrated by the adventurous. It is
one of the crew’s favorite dives because of its relatively shallow
depth and the rich history surrounding this vessel.
USCG Cutter Bedloe
Depth: 140fsw
Dimensions: 125’x 24’ x 7’
Date Sunk: Sept 14,1944
Cause of Sinking: Hurricane
Crew: 36 Survivors: 11
Capt. Crockett of the Dive Boat “Poppy” only recently discovered
this wonderful wreck. Billy Cox was the first person to see her
after 60 years on the bottom. The Bedloe is the sister ship to the
Jackson. The Bedloe is in much better shape than her sister the
Jackson though. It looks as though she may just rise up from the
bottom and continue on her journey, keeping watch for the enemy and
making things safe for us here at home. She is lying fully intact on
her port side. The elements are playing havoc on her though. Since
we started diving on her she has lost some of her plating and her
machine gun has fallen off of its once proud mount. There are
several holes in the deck for penetration. This wreck is a little
deeper so bottom time is limited but it is well worth the effort.
The fish on this wreck are Hugh do to the lack of spear fishing. We
have had schools of Dolphin come and hang out with us on our Deco
stops. The largest leatherback turtle that you have ever seen hangs
out on this wreck. I have seen more variety of sharks here than
anywhere else that we dive.
US Coast Guard
Research Vessel
AdvanceII
Depth: 80fsw
Dimensions: 185’
Date Sunk: 1994
Cause of Sinking: Artificial Reef Program
The Advance II is a great dive for beginners to intermediate divers.
It is also a great place to hone your wreck diving skills. There are
plenty of places two swim through. It has an abundant amount of sea
life hanging about. I have seen the spadefish so thick that they
block out the light from the surface. The Amber Jacks also enjoy
swimming in their playful circles. The Advance is pretty much
intact. Sitting perfectly upright on the bottom. The wheelhouse was
blown off by a hurricane a couple of years ago but other than that
she is just sitting out there waiting for the next group to come and
leisurely swim through over and around her.
Crockett’s Tug
Depth: 80fsw
Dimensions: 114’ x 24’
Date Sunk: Unknown
Cause of Sinking: Unknown
This wreck was first dove by the Dive Boat “Poppy”. Capt Crocket
sent Billy Cox down to dive on a “hang numbers” that he had wanted
to check out. There are several reasons that we enjoy this wreck.
Its identity is still unknown. Therefore someone will eventually
find something that identifies her. It may be you it may be me. The
only way to find her identity is to dive her. The main structure of
this wreck is still intact. It is covered in corals and sponges. It
is unusual to see a wreck this far north with this type of growth on
her. We have seen all the cold water fish ( taug, sea bass, monk,
oyster toads) along with some of your warm water tropical varieties.
Such as Barracudas, Spades, mackerel, cobia and small tropicals.
Someone even spotted a large lobster on it. It is also closer to the
Oregon Inlet so it is not quite as long a boat ride as some of the
other wrecks we dive. The wreck is easily navigated in one dive.
There is an area in the deck that can be penetrated by the skillful.
It has one screw sticking up out of the sand with one of the blades
broke off. There have been several portholes taken off this wreck.
There is still a lot of brass on her for all the brass hunters out
there.
York / Norvana
Depth: 110fsw
Dimensions: 253’ x 43’ x 26’
Date Sunk: Jan 20, 1942
Cause of Sinking: U-66 torpedo
The York is a wreck that rarely gets dove. The reason is it is a
little further from the Oregon Inlet than some of the other wrecks
that we dive. It is however a great dive. The York was a freighter
that was torpedoed in WWII by a German Submarine. Most of the wrecks
that we dive have a rich history that is one of the things that
appeals to most of the divers that dive this area. This wreck is no
exception. The events surrounding this ship are really quite tragic
because there were no survivors. Of the 30 crew on board not one
lived to tell their horrific tale. All that is really known is that
it left port in Charleston, SC in route to Norfolk, Va. and was
never heard from again. It was discovered in 1944 by Navy Salvage
Service. This group was hired to remove the ship because it was a
menace to navigation. They brought the bell up which identified her
as “ Lake Gatun” this was her name before she was renamed the
“York”. Today She lies in about 110fsw. She is a fairly large wreck.
She is broken up with her bow still intact. There are usually some
large tau togs hanging out amongst her remains. It really deserves
to be dove more, I know that there are many treasures left to be
discovered on her.
Byron D. Benson
Depth: 105fsw
Dimensions: 465’x60’x36’
Date Sunk: April 7, 1942
Cause of Sinking: Torpedoed by U-552
This is another wreck that is not dove much because of its proximity
to the Oregon Inlet. It is an oil tanker that was sunk in WWII by A
German Submarine. It did however have survivors that told tells of
that horrible night on April 5, 1942. The vessel was torpedoed and
then shelled several times to make sure that the oil that she
carried would never be used in the allied war effort going on
against their beloved Germany and it’s great leader Adolph Hitler.
The vessel however didn’t sink right away, in fact, it took three
days for it to finally burn out and sink to the graveyard, that has
received so many ships that it in fact carries the name “The
Graveyard of the Atlantic” .The Navy wire dragged the vessel in 1945
because of its hazard to navigation. Today it is very large
impressive wreck that is home to the largest Tau Tog that I have
ever seen. It is easily penetrated with several places to swim in
and out of. There are still artifacts that can be recovered by the
curious. It has some of the largest anchors that you will ever see
on a wreck. I can’t wait to see someone try to put a lift bag on one
of those giants. It is a great dive and one that really needs to be
dove more often.
U-85
Depth: 95fsw
Dimensions: 218’x20’x15’
Date Sunk: April 14, 1942
Cause of Sinking: Shelled by the USS Roper
Survivors: 0
This is probably without a doubt, the most dove on wreck in this
part of North Carolina. It has been dove, pumped, parts blown off,
parts hacked off, all of this to get a piece of history to take
home. This was one of the first naval victories against the German
war effort in 1942. The Germans had pretty much been having their
way, upsetting the shipping all along the Eastern Seaboard. This was
a chance for the USS Roper to give a little payback. She sunk the
U-Boat after a short surface battle. Then she preceded to depth
charge the area just in case there was another U-Boat hanging about.
After all the shelling and depth charges the only ones left alive
were the crew of the USS Roper. Take That!!!! Today even after all
attempts to bring her up one artifact at a time, it is still a great
dive. She is still an intact WWII Type VII-B German Undersea boat.
You can’t dive this wreck without some how wondering about all the
death and destruction that was dealt out by Germany in her effort to
take over the world in WWII. You also realize just how close the
German war effort came to the shores of our beloved United States.
The U-85 is a great dive even if you don’t take anything but
pictures from her. She now lies on her starboard side with the
conning tower still intact. Her deck gun is still there now home to
the Conger eels that call the 85 home. She is slowly giving into the
ravages of the salt water on her hull. There is still a torpedo
located near the stern of the vessel. I strongly recommend that if
you have never dove this wreck that you try to do so. I guarantee
that it will be one of your most remembered dives.
U-701
Depth: 115fsw
Dimensions: 218’x20’x’15’
Date Sunk: July 7, 1942
Cause of Sinking: Aerial Depth-Charge
The U-701 was like a ghost for many years after sinking. There were
many that looked and many that claimed to know where her final
resting place was. Uwe Lovas was the first person to actually find
the remains of our once proud enemy. In 1989 his brother Ron and He
went down in diving history as the first people to see the U-Boat
since the crew left her in 1942. The U-701 was on a fairly
successful run when her luck ran out. She was sunk by depth charges
dropped from an airplane that was looking for just such a target.
Luckily for the plane and its crew of five the U-boat didn’t spot
them until it was to late, unfortunately for the crew of U boat they
couldn’t get underwater fast enough. Two of the three depth charges
were direct hits, leaving the U-boat dead on the bottom. There were
35 German sailors able to get out but only seven that survived their
ordeal in the sea after the sinking. The crew floated around for
days waiting to be rescued by the ones that just days before they
were trying to eliminate with extreme prejudice.
I was more than happy to go with Capt Crockett aboard the “Poppy” in
2003 to check out some numbers that he had from his fishing season
the winter before. I was even more thrilled to see a wreck at the
end of the anchor line. Then to make it out as a German sub the one
everyone and his brother (except Lovas of course) was looking for.
It was incredible, a fully intact German sub. Nothing was missing as
far as we could tell. The guns were still on her the conning tower
hatch was open and filled to the brim with sand. Her forward deck
was Square and sticking up out of the sand. The aft deck was pretty
much covered. We just couldn’t get over the fact that after all this
time here she was and here we were diving on her. We decided not to
take any thing but memories with us. The wreck is mostly under the
sand but still a great dive if you can catch it when the currents
are just right.
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