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Morehead City, NC Trip Report
June 2007
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The Drive Well… no one said it was a drive to Mermet. We all gathered around 9:00 PM at Greig’s house and waited for the the name sake to arrive from finishing up his rescue class. 4 guys and a crap load of gear. Good think Mark Moyer was flying out or someone was going to be riding in the luggage rack! No real surprises on the way out, everyone keeps in touch by cell phone. For some reason we’re the last car in the pack… there goes the choice of hotel rooms! We finally arrive about 3:00 PM in Morehead City. It was a long drive, but, no worse for the wear. Mayhem at the hotel as everyone is scrambling to figure out whose in what room and with whom. I take a few minutes to work things out with Billie at the hotel and we’re all golden! Billy has caught 20 Mahi that day and offers them up for a BBQ. Sharky volunteers to put on a chefs hat and cook up a great fish dinner for everyone. Lee, Greg and Mark Moyer arrive late that night and miss the festivities but arrive early enough to share a beer and some stories. Divers Mark “Sharky” Alexander
Dave Cruz
Carl Davis
Larry Goodman
Matthew Hahn
Lee Horneyer
Rob Kaneiss
Greig Martin
James Moore
Mark Moyer
Tim Quitter
Gwen Roberts
Greg Streeter
Mark Swink
Phil Walker
Rusty Warren
Steve Wilson
Rodney Our Crew: Other Notables:
| Bobby
Cox – Captain |
Billy – Hotel Owner
|
| Collin –
Dive Master (2nd year) |
Barbara – Billy’s
Wife |
| Scott –
Dive Master (newbie) |
Brenda – Bobby’s
Wife |
Dive Day 1 5:00 AM – NO. Can’t be… I just went to bed. Coffee priority #1. Papoose
6:00 AM. The weather looks a little snotty. We’ve got 2-3’s and an SE wind. Bobby says it’s a GO lets get’em loaded. We head to the Papoose. The Papoose is a 412ft tanker sunk by the U-124 on March 18, 1942. We descend into an absolutely RIPPING current. At the end of the anchor line, I seem to recall telling everyone on the trip that the current eases toward the bottom… Hmmm why am I flapping in the water like ole’ glory in a tornado at 90 feet? Gotta let go some time… weeeee … made it… I wonder if anyone bails on this dive? Hey, theres Gwen!! Alright! I think we have everyone! Wreck sits in 124FSW upside down It looks like a big “hump” underwater. We find a few penetration points, but, they’re tricky. Perhaps next year! Sand Tigers! We’ve got Sand Tigers! Wow, you’ve got to watch what side of this wreck you go on. On one side its like a Cozumel drift dive on hormones… on the other its well… just a Cozumel drift dive. After about 30 minutes, we’re all back on the line. I look up and see the line bowing in the current and everyone horizontal holding on for dear life! I’ve got a scratch… hmmm need 1 arm for the video camera… 1 arm for the line… OK, that’s it I’VE REALLY GOT A SCRATCH... I do a little back flip, grab the line with my heals and hold on with my legs… scratch.. scratch.. scratch… whoha that’s better now. After a little deco, we’re back on the boat congratulating everyone on a great dive. Sharky and I suggest we’ve cheated death again on our YBOD’s. We’re actually not sure if this was the Papoose or not. Some are saying it is the WE Hutton sunk a few days earlier by the same U-boat. I can’t remember, but, somewhere I remember reading about this and from the pictures I saw this looks a lot more like the WE Hutton than the Papoose! So, perhaps we dove (dived?) the WE Hutton? Log Book Depth: 118 fsw
Time: 48m
Viz: 50 U-352
Next, we move over for a signature Morehead City dive on the U-352. The U-352 was sunk on May 9, 1942 by the USCG Cutter Icarus. Like visiting an old friend! I ascend down the anchor line. Much less current this time! 
As I swim past the mid ship hatch I see Greg Martin making his way through the wreck. Wow, how did he get down and in so quick? Not to be outdone, I head toward the only orifice in the u-boat I may be able to get my fat ass into. As I approach the aft torpedo loading tube I have my doubts, but, here goes nothing... After about 30 seconds of struggling I find myself stuck about have way in. Can’t get in, can’t get out… I knew I should of gone in feet first! No problem, Sharky is right behind and starts stuffing me into the sub like pork into a sausage skin… hey… watch were your pushing buddy….that wasn’t my lift bag you just shoved… PLOOP HEY IM IN! … I look around.. lots of sand… very narrow toward the stern, a little more roomy toward the tower… I slowly move forward… TINK… Nope, TINK… Nope… note to self… loose twenty and you’ll do it.. I can’t get through into the front of the sub. No worries… I shoot a little video and take a cool picture of Sharky looking in on me. 
I do things the easy way to get out. Hand out the bailout bottle, handout the camera, and out I slide. Everyone has a humerous moment as I curse the Evo trying to re-clip the bailout bottle. I try to get into a hatchway a little while later but the counter lungs of the Evo get in the way. I could probably get in if I sucked them empty but then again… if I got half way and got stuck having empty compressed counter-lungs may be very bad… I’ll work on losing that twenty I made mention of. Log Book: Depth: 111 fsw
Time: 51 min
Viz: 80+ Dinner Day 1
We get back around 3:30PM and all clean-up and plan to head out to a restaurant for dinner. Sharky has made reservations for all of us at Rap’s Bar and Grill in the historic section of Morehead City. We head down a little early and stop by Olympus Dive shop. Olympus is the “other” shop in Morehead. The owner is the person who found the U-852. Prior to laws forbidding the taking of artifacts from historical ship wrecks the owner raised a large number of items. The most impressive item is the deck gun from the U-352! After gorging ourselves at dinner we all head back to the hotel for some libations before going to bed. Tim, Rob and James arrive around 11:00 PM. I show them where their rooms are and off to bed. 5:00 AM is going to be an early call. Dive Day 2
6:00 AM at the boat. Not looking good…..Snotty again, 3-5’s wind is ripping out of the SE. We’re a GO! Caribsea was WWII freighter that transported materials along the Eastern Coast. The ship had no arms at the time of its attack, leaving her defenseless. It was torpedoed on March 11, 1942 and lies in 90 fsw and is populated with a large number of sand tiger sharks! We wanted Sharks… we got sharks… The big ones (15-20 footers) don’t bother me that much as they seem to know what us divers are about and just amble along minding there own business. The little feisty ones that swim around fast, like an angry pack of dogs are of concern… I just imagine this swoosh… hmmm… why all this green smoke in the water? WHAT? Huh? Hey, I don’t have a thumb… I gotta say I love it though. These creatures are magnificent! If I ever catch someone “finning” these fish, I’m going to do some “finning” of my own! There isn’t much left of this wreck to tell that it was a ship except for its boilers, engine room strakes and bow section. It has deteriorated quite a bit in the last couple of years. I noticed the Windlass has fallen into the bow section. Its an awesome dive for shark watching though! Water temperature is a little cooler, around 72 and the viz isn’t too great at 30-40’. Better than most days at Mermet though! The sharks were cool enough that we choose to do 2 dives on this wreck. Log Book:
Depth: 91
Time: 66 min
Viz: 30-40
Depth: 87
Time: 51 min
Viz: 30-40 Dinner Day 2
Phil Walker volunteered to organize a feast for the group! He’s brought all the staples with him and after diving he and Sharky head out to pick-up the meat for the meal. They come back with a huge NY Strip and about 30 lbs of fish (yeah only 18 of us). We start off with 6 lbs of scrimp and other assorted appetizers. No one is going hungry tonight! Sharky mans the grill and some how manages to cook everything and still eat himself! The meal was fantastic! Thanks Phil and Sharky for pulling off a great dinner! Next year, lets do it night #1, so, we can just eat leftovers for the rest of the week!! Rob pulls out his drawings. We didn’t know we had an artist amongst us! Rob shows off some absolutely amazing drawings his done free hand based on some of experience as a commercial diver. We all end up retiring to the deck in the back of the hotel for a cigars and a night cap. After being up until after midnight the last two nights I take my leave around 9:00 PM and for a full nights sleep! Dive Day 3
6:00 AM at the boat…Looks even worse than yesterday. All night long we heard the wind howl. Most of us figure we’ll get an early start on the drive home and expect the day to be scrubbed. Bobby says we’ll stick our nose out of the inlet and take a look and try to make it!! We load up the boat and give it a try. Although the wind is ripping, its coming mostly out of the N/NE which because of Cape Lookout Shoals, we’re able to get to the Spar and the Aeolus. The first dive is on the Spar. A former USCG buoy tender sunk as an artificial reef, the Spar lies just 400 ft. from the Aeolus. She is upright and fully intact, and is in fifth season as an underwater home for new marine life. It’s a great dive for penetration even if it is a little “sterile”. As we hit the deck I looked up toward the surface and was a little concerned to see a 10’ bull shark keeping a watchful eye on all of us in the distance. You know it’s a bull when they stay just in the fringes of your vision. The Sand Tigers will come around for a look, the bulls just come along for a taste when you’re not looking! I got a really cool bow shot of the wreck out in the sand. A little disconcerting when the ship disappears in a school of fish in front of you!
Here’s a great shark pic I got on top of the wreck: 
And here’s a picture of Swink got of me taking the picture.
We had a pretty good surge on the wreck. Whilst following Sharky through the wreck I watched him get “pooped” out of a deck hatch!! I couldn’t figure out how he got through the hatch so quick until I got in front of it myself and found myself getting shot out of it like a bullet!! The 2nd dive is on the Aeolus, which is another artificial reef created in 1988. The Aeolus was a cable layer/repair ship when she was sunk, however, she was over 80 years old and served in the S. Pacific during WWII as an Attack cargo ship. She was fully intact until 1996 when a hurricane tore her into 3 pieces. We got onto her stern. Of all the wrecks we dove, I heard the most complements about this ship. We got sand tigers, tons of fish and overall the wreck was just really interesting to look at. Although sunk as an artificial reef, it really has the feel of an older wreck with artifact possibilities!
Log Book: Depth: 109
Time: 49 min
Viz: 80-100 Depth: 110
Time: 50 min
Viz: 80-100 Conclusion
The weather was a little rough this year, but, Bobby came through and got us out every day of the trip! Even though it was windy, we had lots of sun and great underwater conditions! Its typical during a week trip to loose a day to weather, so, I feel fortunate for us to of got out all 3 days! It is some of the most treacherous seas on the Atlantic coast after all! I think everyone on the trip had a great time! The diving was superb, but, even better were the dynamics of the group. The only complaint I heard was that we had too much food and that the trip was too short! Now that’s my kind of trip! Bobby paid us all a great compliment by calling us “Just Add Water” divers! He was really impressed with how easy our group was to manage. Everyone’s experience and training of really paid off!! I hope everyone can make the trip next year. The dive dates are June 23rd – 27th with the option for anyone who wants to add on dives on the 22nd or the 28th. Here’s a picture of the whole gang courtesy of Gwen Roberts. 
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