More Head City, North Carolina
Atlantic Ocean Shipwreck Adventure
May 27 through May 30, 2005
Past Trip Report
  The
trip started with a nice break from the Michigan weather. We arrived in
Morehead City, NC Friday afternoon to sunny 80 degree weather. Part of the
group went to Fort Macon, built in 1834 and active until the end of WWII. We
then got together for a lunch of Shrimp burgers, Crab cakes and Grilled Tuna
salad
 followed
by a trip to Atlantic Beach where we enjoyed the sun, did some beach combing and
took in the sights. Playing a few games of Skeeball followed, (a must when
your at the beach according to Gwen) where several members of the group
collected enough points to come home with a plush fish or crab. The day was
finish with dinner at Amos Mosquitos (the cheesecake is a must).
Saturday morning found the group up
bright and early, to load and setup our gear on the Olympus, our boat f or
the weekend. Our destination was the Papoose, a tanker that was torpedoed
during WWII and now lies upside down in 120’ of water. We got to experience a
rarity for us northern divers, a reverse thermo-cline. We jumped into mild 68
degree water and at 20 feet down the temperature
increased to 72 degrees (have to love the Gulf stream). The wreck was covered
with X-mas tree and fan worms. Several Sand Tiger sharks made an appearance and
a few members of the group found some shark teeth as souvenirs. A Lion fish was
even spotted hanging out on the wreck. The day ended with the group going to
Beaufort (5 minutes from Morehead) for some evening souvenir shopping and dinner
(the Buffalo Scallops were awesome).
Sunday had us getting up early again.
After a slightly rough boat ride on Saturday, the Scuba
gods smiled on
 us
and gave us smooth seas, sun and 80 degree weather. Our first dive put us on
the USS Schurz, a WWI gunboat in 120’ of water. She sank when during the night
when she collided with another vessel while on patrol. The wreck was covered in
bait fish and a couple more sharks were seen. Since the ship sank during
wartime, the ammo lockers were full and several rifle bullets were recovered as
mementos of the dive.
 Our
2nd dive was the pinnacle of Morehead City diving, the U-352. The
U-352 is
a German submarine the was sank off the coast of North Carolina during WWII.
It rests in 115’ and look just as menacing now as it probably did 60 years ago.
This dive was great for both the marine life and the history. Eels,
Porcupine fish, Spadefish were just few of the attractions. There were
also several openings in the boat to allow the curious to look through.
  Monday
saw part of the group leaving early to head back while some remained to visit
the Beaufort Maritime museum before heading home. The museum chronicles the
maritime history of the area and has a display of artifacts recovered from the
Queen Ann’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s flag ship, which was sunk nearby.
This
is an annual trip with Divers Incorporated and we are looking forward to taking
another group there next year. Check out our
Trip Schedule to learn more about upcoming trips.
   
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