Top 10 Wrecks of North Carolina
Fog, sandbars, and rough weather all too often turn the beautiful waters off the coast of North Carolina treacherous. Six hundred ships have met their end there, and dozens of them are well preserved, accessible dive sites. Here are some of the favored of the lot.
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U352
One of the most popular wrecks, this German U-boat is among three of its kind in the area but is the easiest of the trio to get to. A unique part of US history, she's both a historic and exciting dive.
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W.E. Hutton (AKA Papoose)
For years this wreck was misidentified as the Papoose. Still referred to as either or both, she lies upside down in 120 ft of water. Tons of marine life patrol the 435 ft structure and thanks to the Gulf Stream, the visibility great more often than not.
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USCG Cutter Spar
Sunk as artificial reef, this 180 ft former buoy tender sits in 110 ft of water, listing slightly to port. During Hurricane Irene she was moved a full 200 feet but still remains a fully intact, easy wreck dive with tons of marine life.
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USS Schurz
This captured WWII German gunship was sunk in 1918 and rediscovered in the 80s. It's now a beautiful reef south of Beaufort, and a relatively easy dive, albeit sometimes overrun with divers.
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Caribsea
Sitting in 90 ft of water, this 250 ft freighter does often have poor visibility but it's still worth that risk. It's home to so many sand tiger sharks that it's thought it must be a mating site for them.
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USS Aeolus
Sunk as an artificial reef, years afterwards it was split into three major parts despite its size (450 ft) and the fact that it was partially buried. It now sits in 110 feet of water and each of the pieces are upright, whereas formerly she was on her side. Dozens of sharks call this wreck home.
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Proteus
Formerly a 390 ft luxury steam liner, the Proteus is now mostly a debris field though the propeller and stern are still intact. Yet another popular spot for hundreds of sharks, she's also host to large grouper and pelagics like amberjacks, barracuda, rays, and pompano. She sits at about 120 ft and the Gulf Stream helps keep the water generally warm and clear.
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Atlas
Sunk in 1942, this tanker lies close to the Caribsea in about 115 ft of water. Like its close companion, visibility can be iffy, but also like the Caribsea, she's well worth the risk to see teeming with sharks and other marine life.
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USS Indra
Another artificial reef, this landing craft sits in about 60 feet of water, making it a great wreck for novice divers to break into wreck diving. She's still mostly intact and sits upright in relatively calm waters.
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Normannia
The easily navigable Normannia is still somewhat intact and rests at roughly 100 ft. She was a 300 ft passenger ship and freighter in her time and is still quite a beautiful dive. Like a couple of the others on the list, she sits in the Gulf Stream and benefits from warmer waters and good visibility.