Hatteras, NC. Breaking my single screw rule, I get propositioned by a manta.+

[DocVikingo]

Weekend before last:

Part I

The Venue

History:

Cape Hatteras, NC (Map) is called the "The Graveyard of the Atlantic" for good reason--there are more than 1,500 wrecks, with more 200 named & identified, from Corolla to Ocracoke. Arrayed on a poster in the dive shop, they tell a sad and somber tale of the perils of seafaring and warring. To get the most out of your diving experience, I strongly recommend purchasing Gary Gentile's Shipwrecks of North Carolina from Hatteras Inlet South.

Topside Cape Hatteras is laid back and relaxed, belying the often tragic maritime history that lies off its coast. No where near as developed as Nag's Head, it is a congenial mix of locals and vacationers, and the citizenry and businesses seem to genuinely welcome tourism and to be interested in your having a good time. Upon interacting with the residents, a bit of sociable chit-chat is customary and just plain good manners, so don’t be in a hurry. Can learn lots, too. Fishing (tuna, marlin, dolphin & red drum), diving, beaching & birding are the primary visitor activities, although there is wind and kite surfing (lessons/rentals available), bicycle rental and mercifully limited miniature golf, go-carting and amusements of that ilk.

As you may know, Hurricane Isabel pummeled Hatteras last fall and uncannily, like a tornado, took out some structures while sparing those just next door. It cut a breach across the island ( Photos Compiled by the Relief Fund ), but all damaged road has been repaired and new telephone poles erected. They're obvious. Listen and you will hear numerous, bitter tales by those affected about outrageous treatment by insurance companies, FEMA & the SBA, but these difficult to discourage, hard-working & capable folks have returned to business as usual, easy or no.

Some Recommendations:

Destroyed by a 50' rogue wave were the Sea Gull Motel where I used to stay and Sand Bar & Grille across the street where I used to dine and share a cold one with locals. The restaurant has moved to larger, waterfront quarters to the north (highly recommended for spiced shrimp; sushi on Sun; nice views), while the motel may rebuild. Also destroyed was Taste Buds, a bakery that made dyn-o-mite apple fritters. It's in new quarters north in Avon and worth the ride. Although it no longer does fritters (sobbing), I’d offer that you won’t be disappointed by tucking into an apple, cherry or blueberry turnover.

On the subject of food, recommended for breakfast is Diamond Shoals (lots of combos & tasty grits), for dinner the Sand Bar & Pop's (try broiled/grilled king mackerel if it’s on the menu, but in any case don’t miss the spiced shrimp), and for ice cream confections (hint—nut fudge sundae), Eddy's. Best bar is over on Ocracoke Island. Take the scenic free ferry (~30 minutes) over, drive on thru the park until you see the first edifice on your right, Howard's Pub. Very extensive beer menu, as well as alcoholic ciders & lemonades (a rarity in this region). Also, good food and excellent views. BTW, Hatteras bars/restaurants serve beer and wine, but no hard liquor. Distilled spirits in NC must be purchased at a state outlet (ABC Store) and be consumed in your room (no set ups). There is one on the island. Father down the road on Ocracoke are candy, ice cream & gift shops of a generally far higher quality than on Hatteras.

The Dive Infrastructure

Obviously a scuba destination of some repute, I saw a number of private dive boats from elsewhere and even a charter that motored all the way down from Ocean City, MD.

If you wish to dive Hatteras on a local charter, there's only one full service game in town, Outer Banks Diving, in Cape Hatteras Village.

You can also go with one of NC's true characters (and the competition in this category is fierce), Capt Art Kirchner's Atlantic Wreck Diving, although he has no shop, tends to cater to techies & wreckies, and says he's getting out of the business after this season (likely has said this before).

Housed in smallish wooden building on the right side of main drag (such as it is) as you drive south, Outer Banks runs two boats, rents a full range of gear, sells a full range of gear including spearfishing guns, does hydos & VIPs, pumps nitrox to request and has souvenirs from the sea floor, many at seemingly silly prices, but then I’m not a business person. The owners, John ("Johnny") & Amy Pieno, are pleasant and accommodating. Actually, he used get a bit rattled and testy under pressure but has mellowed notably this year. They have a young son and daughter who are occasionally around the shop. Amy teaches school when the diving season is over. John is remarkably knowledgeable regarding the local dive sites, water craft, scuba and other matters nautical, and is the kind of handy, gritty chap one wants on their boat when things break down or the going gets difficult. The shop has among the best crews I’ve run across and mates Boomer, Rich, Wells and others work hard so that you can simply enjoy your diving. BTW, they’re pretty much in it for gratuities so if they do the right thing you should consider reciprocating.

Be sure to reserve well ahead during season (usually Apr 1-Dec 16, but call for specifics) as they do get booked up, especially on weekends. Of possible interest to some is a bluefin tuna dive in the mid-winter months that can be arranged given sufficient interest. This involves anchoring out in cold weather and hanging off a line in open and probably mid-60 degree water to observe migrating tuna. Those who have done it say it’s quite a thrill having VW sized bluefins (can exceed 100 inches & 600 lbs) rocketing past.

As regards the cast of characters you're likely to encounter on the boats, this includes members of the Richmond Dive Club which charters regularly and in numbers. As such, their desires often hold sway on the boat. My dive buddies and I were particularly unhappy on one past dive trip when the seas were about as good they get far offshore, but where whinging by a couple of members resulted in the rest missing high quality diving for lesser sites nearer to the coast. Perhaps it's just choleric and petulant old me, but if you want gonzo diving I'd recommend trying to get on whichever boat they are not. As a final suggestion, dive outings are long days so take a lunch, drinks, snacks, a windbreaker & whatever else you’ll want for comfort.

The boats themselves are the original Bayou Runner, a twin screw 42'er that can take 14 single-tank divers, and a new addition this year, the Dolphin, a one screw 35'er that can take 8 single-tank divers. Ever since being stranded out on the Chinchorro Bank off Xcalak due to a seized starter, I’ve tried to make it a rule of thumb not to go great distances in a single engine watercraft. However, since the Dolphin was being accompanied by the Runner I made an exception.

The Runner is by far the cushier, with padded seating on the upper sun deck, a canopy for the rear deck, stand-up head and cabin seating for all. The Dolphin is more intimate as mostly the divers sit on a padded engine cover, stand on the uncovered dive deck or sit on the small, padded, uncovered bench on the bow. It's a pretty sure thing that you'll get wet anywhere but inside. Johnny captains the Runner and Milton, a long-time mate with the shop, now handles the Dolphin. In fact, our dives on Sat were his first official solo charter. WTG, Milton.

Both boats negotiate the often somewhat rough trips that can be 16 1/2 (i.e., Dixie Arrow) to over 20 (e.g., Proteus) miles out. Despite its smaller dimensions, the Dolphin, probably due to its weight, cuts through the swells with a minimum of jouncing. In any event, I've witnessed a number of people get quite ill on these trips, so if you're prone to mal de mer search this board for my artilce on combating sea sickness. Entries from the Runner are made by giant stride from the forward sides of the dive deck with exits by ladders on the stern, one for fins-on, one for fins-off. From the Dolphin, you can enter either by back roll from the small space between the tank rack/seats and cabin, or by a short stride off the rear platform. Exit is fins-on via a center mounted ladder. Both boats have super rigs involving a down line and a spacious, weighted H-hang line at 15’.

In season, motels in the Village tend to get booked up, so plan ahead. Also plan on spending $85-$100/night or more all told during times peak demand. Amy will gladly assist you with accommodations. BTW, most require a deposit and a two night minimum stay, and some have cancellation policies as far as 30 days in advance so if money is an object obtain and honor the policies.

In terms of quality of digs, I'd rank order the ones I've seen as Ramp Motel (brand new), Hatteras Marlin, Hatteras Harbor Hotel and the Burrus Motor Court. The later is by far the cheapest, yet fully serviceable if you don’t mind Spartan & snug quarters. Old man Burrus often doesn't answer the phone, so keep at it. There are other places to stay farther north.

This trip we stayed at the Hatteras Harbor Hotel (2 night min; 2 night deposit required; wicked cancellation policy, at least on paper). It is a solid brick building (unusual for this area) with a small fresh water pool. The rooms are well-maintained and very clean with lots of hot water, potent AC, a telephone & TV, and the expected garish drapes & bedspreads. A nice feature about the place is that you can walk to the dive shop, a True Value, grocery store & several restaurants. Just behind it is a marina, so by sticking your head out of the door you can calculate with a high degree of confidence if you’re going diving or not by the absence or presence of charter fishing boats at the dock.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

 

[DocVikingo]

The Diving

The important matter of getting blown out must be appreciated. This is not the Caribbean and the nature of mid-Atlantic weather and distances to the dive sites mean that trips do get scrubbed with some frequency. If Amy has advanced notice that bad weather seems probable (e.g., storm or hurricane approaching), she will call before you leave home to warn or suggest that you not come. However, bad conditions often cannot be predicted so there is some element of risk involved. On this trip, there was no diving on two out of four days. If you have the time, best to leave yourself a few blow days just in case.

But what a sublime time when we did make it out: Air temps over water=85 plus/minus 2 degrees; full sun with a light breeze; surface water temp of 80 plus/minus a degree; water temp of 78 plus/minus a degree @ 90’; vis 80-150’; only a trace of current. With only 5 divers and 3 crew, it was comfortable trip and lots of personal space u/w.

Both dives that day were on the Dixie Arrow, my favorite site among those I have seen. You’ll hit sand at ~90’, from where you can appreciate the bow (doesn’t look like much from above) as she sits upright on her keel. Amidships is a jumble of steel beams & plates, and a great place to find sheltering tropicals, conger eels and oyster toadfish. The stern provides some relief from the hard sand bottom, rising to about ~65’. Hook a finger and check out the open water for sharks, rays and passing schools of fish. Although I have in the past, I didn’t see any sand tiger sharks this trip, but they’re common on NC wrecks and duskies and lemons had been seen at a distance just a few days previously. With vis up to and exceeding 150’ (this dive it was ~120’), you can be properly awed by the ship’s substantial size.

On this dive, the high point happened when I was doing just that and a big manta happened past. Being the only diver to witness it, I was greeted with polite skepticism when I boarded. But, the Doubting Thomases were soon to get their comeuppance.

A second high point was discovering an oyster toadfish (talk about a face only a mother could love; ( Photo & Courtship call ) caught on a hook. The line was entangled on the wreck and attacked to large lead sinker; it was obvious that without assistance this hapless fellow was going to have a very restricted neighborhood and likely a rather short life. Lowly as he might be, cutting him free provided a feeling of great usefulness.

Also seen were gray, rough and queen triggerfish, belted sandfish, greenband wrasse, and various early tropical juveniles.

Diving this region never fails to bring to mind how pathetically over-fished much of the Caribbean is, how paltry the fish stocks, and how rarely one observes large schools or members of any species approaching their maximum reported size. Not so at depth far off the NC coast. With nothing but sand bottom punctuated by wrecks, sites like the Dixie Arrow are veritable black holes for fish life, drawing them with irresistible force.

Within the refuge of the wreck, small to moderate schools of Atlantic spadefish take safe harbour, including what is the Godzilla of Atlantic spadefish—at least twice as big as any I’ve yet seen. In Spanish, you’d say he was a grandote. Hanging at about 20’, a school of spadefish numbering several or more hundred passes lazily by in the distance, while a closer group of perhaps 150 allows me to insinuate its core without sign of distress; I transcendently float within the silvery mass, wishing for gills.

Hanging with mouths open in a doltish, toothy grin are massive great barracudas in the 5-6’ range, whom I deem it best not to tell to their face. Also in evidence are solitary or pairs of greater amberjack in lengths and weights to make the spearfisher's heart quicken.

Attached to the wreck’s metal are small sponges in purple & yellow, fire tip anemones gracefully waving about for their next morsel, and goldline arrow crabs, some so immature they appear as minuscule spiders. Seaweed blennies coyly peek out from various algal growths at flitting sunshine reef fish sporting iridescent blue masks of Zorro and yellow capes. On the bottom, a conger eel in his finest gray flannel motionlessly holds a wad of seaweed in its mouth, as if to break up tell-tale contours. To the side are a pair of courting jacks. The top one’s bright silver in stark contrast to the blackness of the one below. They waltz in perfect harmony, the lower fish as a shadow of the one above.

Needless to say, when the captain asks if we want to remain there for the next dive we stumble over each other to blurt out, “Hell, yes.”

During the surface interval, a discussion about the local lionfish situation proves informative. Most saliently, they are obviously there to stay. The local population is conservatively estimated at over 100, some of most respectable size (like a soccer ball) and most indubitably not threatened by cold water. A tech diver has a video of one at a little over 300’ where the temp was recorded at 42 degrees. Probably due to their spines, feathers and other structural frippery, they do not do well in current and surge and quickly head to deep water under such conditions. But, they’ll be back.

The second dive on the Arrow brings lesser vis, but still over 80’ and warm water that hosts pinfish, spottial pinfish & tomtates. Schools of mackerel scad numbering in the hundreds to thousands scud and carousel past my mask.
Hearing an ecstatic dive buddy screaming thru his reg, I turn to see the manta making slow and sweeping circles as it simultaneously feeds and satisfies curiosity about these two ludicrously awkward creatures in neoprene. Passing overhead, I note it is a female, perhaps 16’ from wingtip to wingtip. Like a grand dame in her finery, her luxuriant, smoky back is decorated with whitish epaulettes dappled with gray. Accompanied by an entourage of remoras mincing below her white bodice, they for some reason do not attach. Perhaps she is simply too regal for such clutter. In a trance, I swim along side. She allows me within 3-4’ on numerous occasions over a period for 15-20 minutes. Going to feed, she swoops below between myself and the wreck and blots out large sections of it.

My 100cf tank allows her & me some private time. The effortlessness and grace with which she traverses expanses leaves me dumbstruck and riveted and embarrassed to move lest my clumsiness ruin the moment. As if out of compassion, she stops within 5-6’ of me, turns her posterior and gives it an apparently flirtatious wiggle as if to say, “That’s all right, Old Pippin, you can’t help yourself, plus you’re getting rather distinguished as you age.” On the other hand, I could have read too much into it and perhaps she was actually saying, “Bite me.”

As if sensing my melancholy at having to break the encounter, a pair of African pompano, their crinkled and burnished finishes seemingly fresh off the buffering wheel, ponders my bubbles while emitting coruscating winks of solace.

The wreck of the Kassandra Louloudis lays upon the NE side of outer Diamond Shoals, within 3 miles of the light tower. Due to ocean conditions, the Shoals are only dove about 6 times a season, and this wreck laying at about 70’ has yet to be fully stripped of her treasures. Digging deep into the sand in a rear hold, by feel alone we locate silverware & bottles. But, the real gems are delicate, pristine 6-oz clear glass ampullae with elongated necks said to contain “blood expander.” I suspect the light straw-colored liquid inside is a plasma expander based on extracted human albumin. This was frozen & later used to support blood pressure in the face of blood loss secondary to wounds. Whatever it is, the perfectly intact & unblemished vessel makes for a very special artifact. Gleefully clutching one that John had just freshly dug during our dive, I later see that a few are in the shop display case carrying a price tag of $75. Will your dive be one of the lucky ones?

I sure hope so.

DocVikingo

 

[Kriterian]

Well done report. I'm really looking forward to getting up enough experience to start engaging in these types of my dives myself.

You really did a good job of expressing the feelings one encounters while diving. Thanks a bunch!