May 13, 2000 — Papoose
May 14, 2000 — Naeco Stern
June 3, 2000 — Normannia
June 4, 2000 — Tamaulipas Stern
June 17, 2000 — Yancey
June 18, 2000 — Cassimir
July 8, 2000 — Normannia
July 9, 2000 — U-352
July 22, 2000 — Manuela
July 23, 2000 — Lobster Wreck
August 5, 2000 — Proteus
August 6, 2000 — Bedfordshire
August 17, 2000 — Hatteras Trip
September 9, 2000 — Nalchace
September 10, 2000 — Esso Nashville
October 14, 2000 — Tarpon
October 15, 2000 — Manuela
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| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Papoose | |
| Actual Site: Papoose | |
| Divers: Reese, Jonathan, Rob, Jade, Lohr and Paul | |
| Weather Conditions: Bright and sunny; if not for the cool water and windy, the temp would have been uncomfortably hot - in the 90s inshore. | |
| Sea Conditions: Short and steep quartering sea; the 10-15 knot forecast turned out to be more in the 15-20 knot range. | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 108 ft | |
| .Current: slight current running from bow to stern | |
| Visibility: 40-50 ft at surface; 30-40 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: high 60's to 70 on bottom; no major thermocline | |
| Description: First dive of the season! Ride out was a whole lot rougher than I would have liked for the first dive....the waves were not terribly large, but were very close together. We anchored in the bow quarter of the wreck, starboard side. Water was greenish and dark. There were sandtigers around the bow section and in the sand surrounding the bow. Four other dive boats joined us on the wreck after our first dive. I have to congratulate Jade. This was her first BFDC dive after 4-5 blownout attempts last year. She still brought the wind, but at least we got out for a dive! (Ooops! Spoke too soon. See 05/14/2000 report | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: Papoose | |
| Maximum Depth: 107 ft. | |
| Current: current increased significantly from first dive; same direction | |
| Visibility: 40-50 ft at surface; 30-40 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: high 60's to 70 on bottom; no major thermocline | |
| Description: Other dive boats left after doing one dive. We stayed.....a move (or non-move) some of us regretted. (Sure wish I had taken those seasick meds!) The current picked up on the second dive, but otherwise the conditions remained the same. | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Tamaulipas Stern | |
| Actual Site: Tamaulipas Stern | |
| Divers: Joe, Rick, Cindy, Rob and Paul | |
| Weather Conditions: storm squalls and showers over the wreck site - cloudy skies; hi 70s/lo 80s air temp | |
| Sea Conditions: winds out of E and NE; 10-15knots; smooth ride to the shoals; slightly bumpy thru shoals and beyond, but not bad; | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 147 ft | |
| .Current: none to slight on surface and bottom | |
| Visibility: 100+ on surface; 80+ on bottom; | |
| Water temperature: 79°F on surface; high 70s on bottom | |
| Description: strong (1 knot) current 10 miles from the wreck when water went from 70 to 79, but only slight or no current when we got on the wreck site; storm squalls and showers over the wreck site - cloudy skies; water was warm and clear - some of the clearest water I have seen off of NC. not much light reaching the bottom due to the storms; anchored up on the deck in the middle of the main hold/tank; because of the overcast skies, the light on the bottom was very eerie...but beautiful - dark deep blue water - it seemed like dusk; because of the lack of light, the fish were not skittish at all; lots of sandtigers; swam back to the stern; has dropped a bit since last visit, all else looks nearly the same; great dive; only thing to make it better was for the sun to come out; saw 3 wahoo on the hang; Joe saw a nurse shark on the bottom at the bow end of the wreck; not a dive to leave the camera on the boat, right Cindy? | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: Caribsea | |
| Maximum Depth: 85 ft. | |
| Current: none | |
| Visibility: 30-40 ft at surface; 10 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: high 60's to 70 on bottom; mid 70s at surface | |
| Description: anchored port side between the bow and the boilers; good viz on top; bad on bottom; dropped my line reel when I rolled over and didn’t realize it -- but found it on the bottom. Given the viz, a miracle! saw one sand tiger and a couple of large grouper, but I sure there were more; the bow has collapsed even more; the windlass has pulled over to the starboard side even more; the port anchor is hardly recognizable - buried in rubble and completely pulled thru the hull; won’t be long before the whole bow falls. | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Normannia | |
| Actual Site: Normannia | |
| Divers: Julian, Rick, Cindy, Marty, TP, Carol and Paul | |
| Weather Conditions: Bright and sunny; not too hot or humid | |
| Sea Conditions: winds variable around 10 knots with slight chop - nice ride out and at anchor; | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 112 ft | |
| .Current: slight to moderate running from bow to stern | |
| Visibility: 80-100 ft at surface; 60-80 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: 79 on surface; mid-high 70s on bottom; no major thermocline | |
| Description: Good winds for a long ride out. Over 50 nautical miles from the Morehead City Inlet. No Brad - "the mate" - this norming. A no show! There was a trip to Brazil and a woman was reputed to have been involved. No telling! In spite of this handicap, we managed to anchor into the wreck on the 2nd try right between the engine and the stern. Could see the wreck from 15 ft on down. Very pretty. I swam the length of the wreck and not much seems to have changed since I last dived here a couple of years ago....although it does appear to have more wood deck and planks exposed than I remember. | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: Normannia | |
| Maximum Depth: 113 ft. | |
| Current: slight to moderate running from bow to stern | |
| Visibility: 80-100 ft at surface; 60-80 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: 79 on surface; mid-high 70s on bottom; no major thermocline | |
| Description: Decided to take advantage of the good conditions and made our second dive here also. There are some old bottles to be recovered on this wreck as I managed to luck into one during the dive. Julian also put some fish in the freezer shooting a nice African Pompano in the mid-water above the wreck. Lots of tropicals, but not much large fish life on the wreck. | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: U-352 | |
| Actual Site: U-352 | |
| Divers: Rick, Cindy, TP, Carol and Paul | |
| Weather Conditions: Bright and sunny; if not for the cool water and windy, the temp would have been uncomfortably hot - in the 90s inshore. | |
| Sea Conditions: light winds made for an easy ride out | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 116 ft | |
| .Current: slight current running over the wreck from the starboard side | |
| Visibility: 70 ft at surface; 20 ft on bottom and water turned a bit green | |
| Water temperature: mid to low 70s on bottom; near 80 on the surface; thermocline 20 ft above the wreck | |
| Description: first dive on the u-boat in a long time -- at least during the day; easy ride out; arrived around 8:30; no mate, so Rick rode the anchor down and tied us aft of the conning tower....just like he was told! He is going to make someone a good mate someday! Water was clear and warm down to about 20 ft above wreck and then it turned green and cool; lots of small critters and tropicals everywhere; went around the stern and noticed the profile of the blade of the starboard prop in the sand; it is half buried, but quite visible -- the shaft and the nut are out of the sand - much more exposed than I remember it being. | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: U-352 | |
| Maximum Depth: 117 ft. | |
| Current: slight current running over the wreck from the starboard side | |
| Visibility: 70 ft on surface; 40-50 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: mid to low 70s on bottom; near 80 on the surface; thermocline 20 ft above the wreck | |
| Description: with the sun higher in the sky, the viz brightened up on the second dive and the wreck appeared more alive -- groupers out, etc. the higher sun meant about 3 f-stops on the camera exposure; dropped off the anchor towards the stern and took photos around the stern before returning to the conning tower and bow; I unhooked the anchor and rode above the sand; fun dive! | |
| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Manuela | |
| Actual Site: Manuela | |
| Divers: Rick, Joe, Lohr, Hank, Matt, Gary and Paul | |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny and warm | |
| Sea Conditions: light winds made for an easy ride out | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 157 ft | |
| .Current: slight on surface; slight to moderate on bottom; the current was running opposite the pull of the anchor line on the bottom - across the debris field | |
| Visibility: 100+ ft at surface; about 60 ft on bottom; dropped off right above wreck | |
| Water temperature: mid 70s on bottom; near 80 on the surface; | |
| Description: beautiful viz all the way down to about 20 feet above the wreck, then it dropped in half. We anchored on the edge of the debris field, but were only "roped-in" rather than having the grappling hook tied in...and no good places to retie. Never a comfortable situation at 150 feet....I decided not to swim too far away. Several wahoo swam near us during the hang, but....ahem...someone managed to miss them with his speargun. I think I could have taped them on the head if I had my pole spear! | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: Verbana | |
| Maximum Depth: 59 ft. | |
| Current: none to slight | |
| Visibility: 30-40 ft on surface; 10-15 ft on the wreck | |
| Water temperature: mid 70s on surface; low 70s on wreck | |
| Description: We were looking for some good viz on this wreck and things were looking pretty good until 2 miles out and the ocean started to turn green. Less than 15 feet of viz on the wreck and it was covered up with sandtiger sharks. There must have dozens and dozens out there. You just couldn't see the sharks until they were on you, plus they were all the color of the water....a tan/golden brown. I have to admit my heart was beating a bit harder and faster on this dive. I don't know who was more freaked, me or the sharks. We were anchored on the bow side of the pilot house and most of the sharks appeared to be off of the bow about 20 feet. I don't know how many. All I saw were shark tails at one point. I'd do it again in a minute! | |
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| TRIP NOTES: | |
| Originally Scheduled Site: Lobster Wreck | |
| Actual Site: Lobster Wreck | |
| Divers: Rick, Joe, Lohr, Hank, Matt, Gary and Paul | |
| Weather Conditions: cloudy on the way out with occasional sun we started the dive, but it was pouring the rain once we came up from the dive and on the way to the 2nd site | |
| Sea Conditions: easy ride out until the last hour when it started to get bumpy | |
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| DIVE #1 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Maximum Depth: 122 ft | |
| .Current: slight to moderate current running over the wreck stern to bow (auger/dredge end) | |
| Visibility: 80 ft at surface; 80 ft on bottom; | |
| Water temperature: hi 70s on surface and on the bottom | |
| Description: we anchored into the "auger" or "dredge" snout; pretty dive with great viz and lots of tropicals; I never did see any lobster, but obviously Hank and Rick did! | |
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| DIVE #2 DESCRIPTION: | |
| Site: Papoose | |
| Maximum Depth: 119 ft. | |
| Current: slight current running over the wreck from the starboard side | |
| Visibility: 70 ft on surface; 40-50 ft on bottom | |
| Water temperature: mid to low 70s on bottom; near 80 on the surface; thermocline 20 ft above the wreck | |
| Description: the ride in from the Lobster wreck smoothed out a bit as the waves were knocked down by the rain squalls; we anchored just forward of the big break in the bow third of the wreck; port side; I swam to the stern and back; no sign of sandtiger sharks -- so rumor must be true -- they have left the Papoose; this is the first time in over 10 years that aren't any sandtigers on the Papoose; current ran from bow to stern and up over the wreck; large stingray in sand off the wreck -- was able to stop and take pictures after I broke the anchor free; the rudder has turned almost ninety degrees to the keel; very picturesque. Brad spotted an “non-sandtiger” shark swimming toward the bow earlier in the dive; | |