BadaBing
Registered
Would very much appreciate if someone could post GPS coordinates for this wreck (it is about 40 miles out of Cape Fear Inlet). And if you have any experience diving it, would like to hear about it. Thks.
18 Fathom Wreck
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It is a great wreck. You need to buy the Maps Unique Chart. It has somewhat accurate numbers for all the wrecks and a lot of hard bottom numbers. I was on the 18 Fathom with AS out of Wilmington in January a few years back. It was covered in Sand Tigers. I don't have verified numbers because Tortuga has never been there, but email me and I will send you the numbers off my chart.
As long as you have a good bottom reader and some patience, you can usually find the wreck with the chart numbers as a starting point.
As long as you have a good bottom reader and some patience, you can usually find the wreck with the chart numbers as a starting point.
ScubaBadger32
Contributor
any ideas on any updates that may have occurred with the quality of the wreck?
DeepSeaExplorer
Contributor
I was the first person to dive it back around 1987.
Its a single piston steam engine that rises up from the bottom (~90fsw) like a church steeple. Quite spectacular when the viz is good. I have a few dishes and the Loran coordinates stashed somewhere.
Its a single piston steam engine that rises up from the bottom (~90fsw) like a church steeple. Quite spectacular when the viz is good. I have a few dishes and the Loran coordinates stashed somewhere.
DeepSeaExplorer
Contributor
I might have my wires crossed. It’s been a long time. The wreck I mentioned about was later discovered to be the City of Houston. At the time I dove it, it’s name was not discovered yet.
The wreck on the charts are the 18 fathom wreck was an ore freighter. We surveyed the wreck and took ore samples to evaluate salvaging the ore. It was too expensive to do it that far off shore. It had spectacular amounts of fish and the biggest school of huge barracuda I’ve ever seen. We also saw a great white on the wreck once.
The wreck on the charts are the 18 fathom wreck was an ore freighter. We surveyed the wreck and took ore samples to evaluate salvaging the ore. It was too expensive to do it that far off shore. It had spectacular amounts of fish and the biggest school of huge barracuda I’ve ever seen. We also saw a great white on the wreck once.
ScubaBadger32
Contributor
oh my gosh ive always wanted to be someone to be the "first to dive a wreck". but that usually means finding a wreck people dont know about (which is hard), or getting there before the navy or coast guard divers (they will probably get mad at me if i am interfering with a search and rescue/recovery operation), or sink a boat myself (planning an artificial wreck is hard, and sinking a boat without the owner's permission is usually frowned upon).
maybe someday the stars will align for me
Cthippo
Contributor
oh my gosh ive always wanted to be someone to be the "first to dive a wreck". but that usually means finding a wreck people dont know about (which is hard), or getting there before the navy or coast guard divers (they will probably get mad at me if i am interfering with a search and rescue/recovery operation), or sink a boat myself (planning an artificial wreck is hard, and sinking a boat without the owner's permission is usually frowned upon).
maybe someday the stars will align for me
Bathymetric Data Viewer
www.ncei.noaa.gov
Hit that site and turn on "BAG color shaded relief" and turn off everything else, then go nuts. Use it in conjunction with the AWOIS list and other resources to filter out known wrecks and start from there. I found a...something... in Bellingham Bay and am getting close to being ready to dive it. I have found that the position coordinates given by that site can be off by tens of yards, so expect to be doing some sidedcan work before you get in the water.
If this was easy everyone would be doing it!
100days-a-year
Contributor
Being dove since the 70s,sorry. Dove regularly by commercial spearfishermen since the early 80s. The ore was partially salvaged a few years ago.
DeepSeaExplorer
Contributor
The 18 fathom wreck was already on the charts in the 80s. If IIRC, it was sunk by a U-Boat in WWII. Interesting that somebody finally salvaged the manganese ore. Curious, how that came out financially.
100days-a-year
Contributor
A guy who tended the suction hose worked for me after that. He said they told him it was low grade ore and it was being shipped somewhere to refine. Wreck still gets covered in sand tigers occasionally in fall and winter. I found teeth every time I dove it.
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