This day of diving was hands down one of my best days ever! The visibility was terrific, the weather worked out to be primo, and everything was safe. And... We rocked 2 of the best dive sites on the East Coast; the German U Boat 352 and the Coast Guard Cutter "Spar."
The wrecks lie 30 miles offshore and it took about 2 hours to get there. The excitement on the boat was truly evident. Everyone was talking like rapid fire. Our first stop was the U-Boat. Gavin, the 2nd mate, did the fast descent to tie our boat off. That requires jumping off with an anchor, chain, and a bunch of rope. When he came back up to give us the details, he wasn't that happy. He said the visibility was great, but current was considered strong. Strong for North Carolina we soon found out means STRONG. But on the bottom it was minimal. Descending the anchor line was imperative. If you let go, we would have to pick you up in the middle of the Atlantic. And, you would have to suffer the embarrassment of returning to the boat with other divers making fun of you. We were very careful.
Michael descending in the current. Notice how bent the line is.
We were the last to hit the U-Boat, so there were a lot of divers, but they soon spread out.
Sera doing some yoga poses just off the U-Boat's bow.
The wreck is in 115' of water and partially in the sand. It lists to starboard and was covered in fish, including lionfish.
We kicked into the current heading from bow to stern, then returned with a free ride coming back. This is a shot of Chris with the conning tower just in front of him.
Katherine at the conning tower.
Michael getting some great video!
Don't touch.
Coming back to deck after a great dive like this one, the energy is astounding. Everyone was talking about how spectacular it was bring out every detail of their dive. It went entirely smooth. No one fell off the line like I thought. I was never cold in the drysuit. The temp was 75 down on the floor, and typically I get cold on a longer dive. Not this time. I had practiced with the drysuit the days before, and now it worked perfectly. This U-Boat is something I will never forget!
If you want more info on it, check out the Olympus Diving site on it.
Katherine and Michael resting during the surface interval.
Chris admiring the rebreather on the bench. You thought diving was expensive? It just got more expensive if you get into that rebreather stuff.
A look through a door on the SPAR.
The spar was littered with sand tiger sharks.
K and Chris.
Odd shaped swimmer alert!
Lou, the Travel Channel show host is on the left. They think the show will be ready for TV in the fall. I will have to check into that. The film crew was ecstatic with the shots they got.
Katherine, Sera, and Gavin back at the dock. What a great time!
Chris with the God of the sea. It's not a Tri-dent he is holding, it's more like a 2.2-dent Chris said. One of the spikes was broken off by vandals late one night.
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