U-352

[Erin.]

A friend and I are trying to plan a dive trip down to Morehead, NC to do some wreck diving. We are looking at Olympus Diving and would really like to do the U-352. We each have around 150 dives and have cold water and strong current experience. What other wrecks should we checkout and what is the boat ride like (one of us gets seasick). We are looking to go mid-September.

 

[Jlpskydive]

The ride out could be anything from lake like to 8 foot random swells. I went out a few weeks ago and it was ROUGH!!! But it's the NC coast you will not know until you get here.

 

[Jlpskydive]

If you are going t be here for a few days you should do the Hyde to warm up with. And then do the sub.

 

[gconner]

A few options for you:

W.E. Hutton (aka Papoose)
Atlas
Spar

All of these are great dives.

The boat rides can be rough. I get seasick as well and ended up having my doctor give me a prescription for motion sickness medication. The over the counter stuff just wasn't working for me. Took a little while to figure out the best dose on the meds but they seem to be doing good. If you get seasick, talk to your doctor. Spending 6 to 8 hours barfing over the side of the boat is no fun.

Anyway, you're looking at 2 1/2 to 3 hours each way. You'll typically dive one site, pull up anchor and stop at a second site on the way back. The stated before, the conditions vary from day to day and hour to hour. I've left the dock in calm water and ended up in 5-6 foot seas on the way back. Not a fun ride. However if the conditions are not safe the boat will not go out.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your dives on the NC Coast.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Odds are that you'll end up on a wreck close to the U352 on a two tank trip. The Spar is pretty common, as is the wreck formerly known as the Papoose. On rough days, you may get dumped on the Indra, which is ok but viz is generally poor and more closely related labrador current diving than gulf stream diving.

The Atlas is a large wreck with good relief and I had my best NC wreck dive ever on the Carribsea with 150' viz, tons of sharks, dolphins, an enourmous bait ball, and reef and pelagic fish of all sizes everywhere. An epic dive. However, I have also had 5' vis on each and ran line to keep from getting lost.

If you can get a six pack you can also get some to some of the smaller less traveled wrecks an it makes a nice change from the usual cattle boat destinations.

 

[JayJudge]

You can do the combo of the Atlas and the Caribsea, they are through the slot, the bad part is, unless a boat gets over there, the vis is completely unknown... The 352 and the Aeolus, Spar, real W.E. Hutton, Schurz are some of the combos done on most 2 tank runs. Boat rides- millpond to horror movie- bring snacks (I love uncrustables- they help me keep my coffee down usually) take your meds, I like bonine, most of the others put me to sleep. The boats do their best to put you on the wreck the group wants, but change based on waves, wind, vis, experience, etc. Anyway you look at it, there are great wrecks there, sometimes unreal vis- I saw end to end on the 352 once, and tons of large animals. Have a great time!

 

[herbdb]

We did the USCGC Spar with the U-352. It was a great dive, covered with sharks. I was so fascinated with them that I never really looked at the wreck which was largely intact.

 

[davetowz]

the 352 is an awesome dive. I did her on Memorial weekend and had to pause and reflect upon the losses .

 

[DA Aquamaster]

We did the USCGC Spar with the U-352. It was a great dive, covered with sharks. I was so fascinated with them that I never really looked at the wreck which was largely intact.

The Spar is a 180' class "C" buoy tender launched in 1943 and commissioned in 1944 and as such, is also a WWII era vessel. She also performed convoy duties off the coast of Brazil so being close to the U352 is fitting.

The Spar was extensively modernized in 1976 with improvements such as a bow thruster that you'll note is you dive to the sand near the bow. She was decommissioned in 1997 and reefed in 2004 so she has been in the water for a significantly shorter period of time than most of the other WWII vessels in the area.

The Indra is the other WWII era vessel reefed after a full service life. The Indra was laid down as an LST and launched in 1945 but converted to a landing craft repair ship. The Indra missed combat in WWII but supported Navy Riverine forces in Vietnam in 1968 before being decommissioned in 1970 and reefed in 1992.