NC Wreck Reviews

Name: F. W. Abrams             Port: Hat/Oc
Depth to sand: ~90 fsw         Depth to relief: 80? fsw
Current: little                Viz:  60-80'
Temp: 72 deg F                 Distance from shore: 1hr

(thanks to M. Withers for this review) For our second dive, we went to the F.W. Abrams, a tanker and according to Gary Gentile, a "near-sister ship to the Dixie Arrow." She went down in about 90' of water in 1942 having inadvertently cruised into the Hatteras mine field after losing sight of its pilot ship. It's since been used as target practice, and wire dragged, but it's still a big wreck, and we couldn't see nearly all of it in one short dive. There are three big boilers, and each tube housed a little critter. This was important because I was taking pictures and set up for macro photography. The wreck was populated by lots of fish life. The highlight here was the huge ray accompanied by several remora, and leading a trail of four or five cobia. And there I am with extension tubes..... There were two other boats on the wreck with us, the Gunsmoke (large dive boat, probably 20 or more divers on board), and a small (very small) boat as well. We were ready to surface, but I told my buddy that we were at the wrong anchor. We had to swim a little further before our anchor line came into view, and I was relieved since I was a bit lower on air than I would have preferred, and my pony was not full. It seems to be losing air, perhaps due to a bad O-ring. While hanging and surveying the sights, there was what seemed to be an explosion! Since we had all been reading a Wall Street Journal story earlier that morning about a dive boat that sunk in Belize with divers aboard, I thought we were history. I looked up and our boat was still there, and apparently intact. Totally bewildered, we looked all around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. We later found out it was someone using a powerhead to spear a big grouper. Whew! One of the Gunsmoke divers found a regulator cover that turned out to have come off of Dave's regulator. They each swam out to make the delivery halfway between the boats. A big thank you to the Gunsmoke diver, who ever you are. The dive too was a 10. In fact, the whole day was great. Capt. Art was hospitable, and the Margie II boasts what may be the best ladder on the East Coast. Flat non-slip steps, made out of pressure treated 2x4s, good handholds, and an easy climb up.

Name: Aeolus AR305             Port: MHC/B
Depth to sand: 110 fsw         Depth to relief: 65 fsw
Current: little                Viz:  40-100'
Temp:   72+ deg F              Distance from shore: 1hr

This wreck is part of the NC Artificial Reef Program (yes they sink wrecks here for us to dive on) (well actually for the fish...). She rests on her starbord side. A rather large wreck, you can find up to 6 boats parked on top, but there is plenty of wreck for everyone...This is a favorite "second" dive for the Morehead and Beaufort boats as it generally on the way back in from the "first" dive of the day, though personally I think it goes a bit deep for a "second" (recreational) dive since if you follow the rim of the ship (listing its port? side) you will curve down to the deeper depths, and may not realize it...but great fish life, and have heard (not tried yet) a decent penetration wreck (for those so inclined). Hurricane Fran has reportedly broken the stern off and it is supposed to be sitting upright now, about 20 ft away from the rest of the wreck.

Name: Alexander Ramsey AR370   Port: Wilm
Depth to sand: 50 fsw          Depth to relief: 30 fsw
Current: variable              Viz:  10-30'
Temp:   75+ deg F              Distance from shore: 30mins

This wreck is part of the NC Artificial Reef Program. 150' NW of the marker buoy, this is a large gridlike wreck. The top deck has been stripped away(??). Being over 20 years old, there is a good bit of growth (coral) on the wreck, and bait fish abound. With rough surface conditions, the surge can be significant. On a calm day, I think this could be a very nice (good viz, bright colors, low surge) dive.

Name: British Splendor         Port: Hat
Depth to sand: 105-110 fsw     Depth to relief: 70-80 fsw
Current: usually light         Viz:  70-100+
Temp:   70-80 deg F            Distance from shore: 2 hrs

Name: Civil War Wreck          Port: Wilm
Depth to sand: 79 fsw          Depth to relief: 65 fsw
Current: little                Viz:  60-20' :-)
Temp: 75 deg F                 Distance from shore: 1-2 hrs

This name of this wreck is unkonwn (or at least undisclosed). The trip out can be done from the Wilmington area (2hrs) or the Little River (SC) area (1-1.5 hrs). The viz will vary depending on the scavenger hunting. Artifacts are still appearing in the sand, though the wreck itself (wooden) is mostly decayed to its frame. Spotted an octopus on this one, and have recovered several trinkets (which I'm still restoring but will photograph and put up here on the page when I can.)

Name: City of Houston          Port: Wilm
Depth to sand: 96 fsw          Depth to relief: 70 fsw
Current:  a little             Viz:  60'
Temp: 75 deg F                 Distance from shore: 2.5hrs

The City of Houston was discovered by Wayne Strickland (Scuba South). He has a bunch of artifacts from the wreck in a Maritime Museum in Southport, NC. Artifacts are still being found on the wreck (in the sand as opposed to tearing off pieces of the wreck), small bottles, pieces of china plates, etc. This wreck is mostly flat on the bottom. (if memory serves) the decks collasped down, and mostly the framing structure is what is left on the bottom (though as frames go, its in good shape...).

Name: Dixie Arrow              Port: Hatteras
Depth to Sand: 90 fsw          Depth to Relief:  80 fsw amidships, 75 at boilers
Current: ~.5 knot              Viz: 50 feet
Temp: 80/76 F                  Distance from shore: ~ 1 hour

The anchor/descent line put us about amidships in the wreck, with a somewhat recognizable (with a little imagination) hull (mostly structural members) laid out on the bottom. Immediately I saw several 5-6 ' Barracuda patrolling above the wreck. The current was across the wreck and slight but noticeable. Proceeding aft we found 2 Sand Tiger Sharks aft of the huge boilers. There were plenty of Spadefish and bait fish and three large and curious Bluefish. A slight thermocline was noticed at about 75-80' to about a 76 deg F bottom temp. Not very colorful, mostly brown stuff growing on the wreck. Lots of small holes to explore. The large prop was impressive.

I went on the Bayou Runner, the captain (Johnnie Pieno) and crew went out of their way to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves.(courtesy of, and thanks to, Christopher Brown)

Name: General Beauregard       Port: Wilm
Depth to sand: 20 fsw          Depth to relief: 0fsw
Current: some                  Viz:  0-20'
Temp: 70 deg F                 Distance from shore: 100 yards

Thanks to Scott Winners, we've got some great new directions for this wreck.

From Spartanburg Ave @421, carry your gear over the boardwalk.
Immediately to your right is lifeguard tower number 4.  Swim out from
tower four on 080.  When tower five (the next one North) is on 350, with
the reciprical bearing back to tower four still 260, you are directly
over the wreck.

Name: John D. Gill             Port: Wilm

Depth to sand: 90-100 fsw      Depth to relief: 60-70 fsw
Current: some                  Viz:  40'
Temp: 70 deg F                 Distance from shore: 2 hrs

We dove this over Thanksgiving (diving season never ends...), so consider that effect in the temp and viz numbers. There was some current on the wreck, so swimming on one side (leeward?) of the wreck, was much easy than the other (windward? side). A sizeable wreck, (if memory serves) it is in 2 pieces now. Shallow enough to get some decent bottom time. Plan to go back when I get a chance... (ims) the bow section is collapsing so, well, penetration would be ill-advised....

Name: Hutton                  Port: MHC/B
Depth to sand: 70 fsw         Depth to relief: 60 fsw
Current: some                 Viz:  25'
Temp: 65 deg F                Distance from shore: 1hr

The Hutton has been dragged (broken up) to reduce its danger to shipping. Once was more than enough for me...

Name: Hyde                     Port: Wilm
Depth to sand: 85 fsw          Depth to relief:  60 fsw
Current: some                  Viz:  40'
Temp: 72 deg F                 Distance from shore: 1.5 hr

Nice wreck,rather shallow, with relief coming up to 60', so you can increase that bottom time. Wreck is upright (ims), and can be swum on one dive (ie all the way around), or spend a dive examining different parts. I thought it was a wreck comparable to diving the Indra. Eric Palmer reports seeing a good amount of sea life (including some big groupers), and a fair bit of coral growth.

Name: Indra AR330              Port: MHC/B
Depth to sand: 65 fsw          Depth to relief: 35? fsw
Current: little                Viz:  30-100'
Temp: 70 deg F                 Distance from shore: 1hr?

I think it is a great dive. It sits in somewhat less than 70' of water. As part of the artificial reef program it was sunk sometime recently (sorry I dont have the exact time). Anyway, they blew many large holes in the hull making it a beauty of easy wreck penetration. Of course "officially" noone would recommend wreck penetration during the day :-), and for a night dive, well as they say "dive within YOUR limits", whatever they may be. I'd caution against it at night and will leave it at that. One (more) word of caution, IMHO, one is much more likely to get entangled in the wires in the Indra than to find oneself in a chamber without very easy access to the outside. DO watch out for dangly thingees. I am not saying there are many, but take a look at the ceiling of every room before you swim on thru it. Also have a report that one buddy team encountered quite a bit of bottom surge, though that seems rare, keep it in mind. Lots of sand dollars (in the sand), and some flounder.

Name: Markham                  Port: Wilm
Depth to sand: 80(*) fsw       Depth to relief:  40 fsw
Current: some                  Viz:  50'
Temp: 78 deg F                 Distance from shore: 1.5 hr

This is a new addition in the NC Artificial Reef Program, sunk in the Fall of 1995. The Markham is an old U.S. Corps of Engineers dredge ship and it is sizeable. The ship was sunk in 1995, so growth is still taking place. The ship sits on its port side and you can still see the crater it made on the sandy floor of the ocean when it went down. There is a lot to see in the 40-60 fsw range. There are countless places to penetrate the wreck. (Be sure to dive within your own limits) Thanks to Eric Palmer for this info. I finally made it myself and think this is a really good intro wreck for NC diving. Sealife as of Summer 1997 included some tuna, jack, the requisite cuda's, and a fair assortment of bait fish. Depth to the sand is 80' unless you venture into the crater, or penetrate the wreck. Depths inside the wreck (since part of the wreck is below the sand) exceed 90'.

Name: Oriental                  Port: Walk-in Nags Head
Depth to sand: ~25 fsw          Depth to relief: 0 fsw
Current: some                   Viz:  0-20'
Temp: 72 deg F                  Distance from shore: 150 yards

To get there go South on Highway 12 (the only highway) after you cross over the Bonner Bridge at Oregon Inlet, go another 4 miles. You will see the Pea Island Nature Station on the right. You can park in the paved lot there. They also have restrooms.

The Oriental is directly across the road over the dunes. Its only about 150 yards to the beach but the dunes are pretty high and the sand is soft so expect a little bit of a hike carrying your gear.

You can clearly see the stack of the Oriental sticking up about 200 yards offshore, even at high tide.

You'd be wise to put a float in the water out past the breakers and watch which way and how fast it drifts. The currents parallel to the beach can be surprisingly strong. If you try to swim straight for the wreck, you will get pushed downcurrent and end up exhausting yourself swimming against the current to get to it, if you can get to it at all.

Move two hundred yards or so upcurrent and swim straight out and let the current carry you onto the wreck. An inflatable with an outboard is a good idea too, if you have one. It is better to go too far up the beach than not far enough. Swimming 50 yards down current is easy

The wreck is in about 20-25 feet of water. The locals say there are lots of fish on it.

Slack high tide is when you get the best vis, particularly if the wind is blowing towards the beach, according to the locals. You can get the tide tables in the local papers for Oregon Inlet.

Vis can be from 20 feet to braille. Plan to start out for the beach about an hour before high tide. That will give you plenty of time to swim out and descend before slack tide arrives.

Don't get too tired during the dive because you will have to swim against the tide to get back to the beach. No need to fight the current on the way back. Its easier to walk a few hundred yards back to your car after getting pushed down the beach by the current.

There is an interesting story about the Oriental. The town of Oriental on the Intracostal Waterway and Neuse River got it's name from the wreck.

I think the name of the town was Smith's Creek before. After the nameplate of the Oriental was found floating in the surf, it was thought that was a much more romantic name and they renamed the town, such as it was in those days.

(Thanks to Rick Fincher for this info.)

Name: Papoose                  Port: MHC/B
Depth to sand: ~120 fsw        Depth to relief: 100 fsw
Current: some                  Viz:  30-80'
Temp: 72 deg F                 Distance from shore: 2.5hrs

I dove the Papoose in late May. Water temps good already. Saw my first sand tiger sharks here. I of course swam after it trying to get a better look (grin). Outer hull has deteriorated. The ship is upside down, but in good shape. Lots of schools of fish hanging about. Due to the depth you will more likely be limited by tables than your air, but a thoroughly enjoyable dive.

Did the Papoose again in August. We had a thermocline at 80fsw dropping the surface temp (of around 80F) down into the mid 70s. No big deal there. Sand Tigers spotted again. Again, just "clouds" of bait fish and Amberjack. This is a dive where a Nitrox fill will significantly increase your bottom time and really pay off. (shameless nitrox plug) Alas the viz below the thermocline was much less than on my previous dive here.

Name: Suloide                  Port: MHC/B
Depth to sand: ~60 fsw         Depth to relief: 30 fsw
Current:                       Viz:  40'
Temp: 67 deg F                 Distance from shore: ??

The wreck is extremely broken up, scattered, and easy to get disoriented on. A small brass valve was recovered and there are certainly other artifacts to be found. A very large sting ray (known locally as Darth Vader) remained near the wreck during our dive. (thanks to Barry Henline for this information)

Mark Ackerman adds that artifacts are still being found, and that sealife is abundant, with jacks, groupers, angels, and even the occassional shark.

Name: Tarpon                   Port: Hat/Oc
Depth to sand: ~140 fsw        Depth to relief: 130? fsw
Current: little                Viz:  60-80'
Temp: 78 deg F                 Distance from shore: 1.5hrs?

(thanks to M. Withers for this review) Though the weather was hot, we had a pleasant breeze keeping the heat and flies at bay. The Tarpon was a US submarine built in 1936. She sank after foundering under tow in 1957 en route to the salvage yard, and now sits nearly upright in about 130' of crystal clear (60'-80' viz?) water. The conning tower is broken off, and lays on the port side. There is an inviting hatch offering access to the interior, but for me this invitation was for another day. Sea life included a huge French angel fish, spotted morays, a sea turtle, and two rays, not to mention huge barracuda, and of course, the requisite sand tiger sharks (those of you who haven't been out yet this year are REALLY missing something!). Terri brought up some scallops which we enjoyed right away (sushi!). Peter got a huge amberjack. Mike saw a 3' sea turtle. This dive was a 10, though maybe 9-3/4 for someone who jumped in the water without a weight belt. I spent much of the dive wishing for my camera, which I was saving for the next dive.

Name: U352                     Port: MHC/B
Depth to sand: 110 fsw         Depth to relief: 95 fsw
Current: variable              Viz:  70'
Temp:  80/72 deg F             Distance from shore: 2.5hrs

Well this is one of NC's most popular wreck destinations. I've been above it twice, the first time the currents were too strong, and well I was feeding the fish (my first and knock on wood only time) anyway. (Not to be graphic, but its a real consideration in NC diving, ie. be prepared and you can likely be feeling great, be stupid, and well....anyway it hasn't stopped me, thats for sure..). Sub lays listing to starbord. Penetration is highly discouraged as the inside is full of baby-powder fine silt. There are some open hatchways to peer into, but much of the inside seems to have eroded into a hollow tube (half filled with sand/silt). Good number of fish nearby. The outer pressure hull has started to disintegrate.