Who Has Dove The U-352 Off Of North Carolina Coast?

[WetLens]

Been there a number of times and agree with points others have made. Can't go wrong with Discovery, Olympus, Atlantis, Tortuga, or others for that matter. Wouldn't stay in business in a tough market if they didn't have a following. Discovery has an on-line calendar that will at least give an idea of what dates are available (don't rely on it for near term accuracy as they don't keep it up to the minute).

Should be fine with a 100 steel and 30% if you are bringing your own. Call well ahead if you want to rent anything other than an 80 as supplies could be limited.

Hard to get disoriented on a wreck like the U352, but a key point in dive planning is knowing where the boat is tied in and being able to find it well ahead of time. You must come up the anchor line.

The boats I've been on (Discovery, Olympus) send a DM down to tie into the wreck. The DM will come up and provide a vis and current report before you head down. Most of the dives I've had on the sub have been rather quiet conditions as far as current goes, but have had one where it was difficult to see much of the wreck as we had to hide in the relative lee of the structure. Biggest pain I've had on the dive has been the sheer number of fish surrounding the wreck - been on there several times where it was difficult to see the wreck, let alone take any worthwhile WA photos.

Others have mentioned the SPAR for sharks. Good, but I'd recommend the Caribsea. Shallower and typically lots more sharks. Been down much longer, so a lot more growth and marine life as well.

 

[TulsaTime]

@drrich2 has an excellent detailed account of his week diving from Morehead City last August which includes a trip to the U-352.

 

[macado]

Lots of good information here. The U-352 is a great dive. Definitely one you'll want to do when you dive off Morehead City, NC. I drive down to North Carolina from Boston almost every year in May to dive for a week. It is however a small wreck in comparison to other wrecks in North Carolina. After 1 or 2 dives, I do get bored on the wreck however I do agree it is a bucket list dive if you're there.

Also be sure to check out Spar, Caribsea, Aeolus, Shurz, and Papoose while you're down there. Just to name a few.. Honestly I think the diving in North Carolina is some of the best on the east coast of the United States.

Due to the nature of the wrecks in North Carolina being 25-30 miles offshore you do have a higher chance of getting blown out. It's best to plan for multiple days of diving in North Carolina so you have some wiggle room here. Take sea sick medication as a precaution even if you aren't one to normally get sea sick.

You'll want at least AOW and Nitrox with comfort and experience diving to ~100ft depths. Deep Diver cert is not necessary but is not a bad idea. I recommend diving it with an HP100/HP120 and Nitrox 30%. You should also have experience using a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB).

Currents and visibility can be variable. In early May the water temperatures will be in the high 60s/low 70s. Visibility 40-50ft+ I dive a full 7mm without a hood and I find it adequate. The further offshore the closer to the gulf stream and the warmer the water will be. I've done dives in the same week (for example the Indra) and had 67F degrees for water and then had 72f on the U-352 the next day.

Past June you'll probably be able to get away with a 5mm or 3mm depending on your temperature tolerances. As summer approaches the Gulf Stream gets closer and you will have high 70f / low 80s and visibility is often over 70ft-100ft+

Currents can be an issue on the surface. I've had dives on the U-352 (as well as other wrecks in NC), where I've had to pull myself hand over hand down the mooring line. Usually current dissipates at the bottom however occasionally there is noticeable current on bottom. These are not wrecks you want to do free ascent/descents on...

 

[drrich2]

For sharks, I found the Caribsea (sharks hanging out over it; did 1 dive) and the wreck of the Aeolus (with the 'shark room' where you can rest on your knees and let circling sand tigers come quite close) to be the bomb. Enjoyed a couple of U352 dives but didn't see a shark on it.

Olympus Dive Center was excellent, and I had no trouble renting 2 120 cf steel tanks with EAN 30% every diving day. So if you need plenty of gas, get it. That said, I found the offshore wreck diving to be NDL limited rather than remaining gas limited.

When you look at average depths on dives, remember the safety stop affects that. Most of the dive is spent quite deep. Safety stops are entertaining; enjoy watching the big barracuda or two hanging out over the boat below you.

It's fun diving.

Richard.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . Deep Diver cert is not necessary but is not a bad idea. . . .

I had forgotten that I used my weekend with Olympus to do a Deep Diver course. My dive on the U-352 was actually part of the course.

 

[tlj3071]

Add my vote for Olympus. Also, call ahead and see if there is any plan to dive the Proteus - it's a llloooonnnngggg way out, so it isn't dove too regularly, but it's a really good dive (118' to the sand IIRC).