ScubaFeenD
Contributor
This past weekend I had a chance to dive the Papoose and Spar with some buddies in NC. We used Tortuga charters, a small six pack, which is a great operation and highly recommended if in the Morehead City area.
We arrived to the boat and were just in time for a minute of silence for our fallen brothers are the World Trade Center in 2001. It was nice. After the minute of silence we were off on our 2hr boat ride to the Papoose.
Once we arrived at the dive site, we saw that conditions were great. Slightly sunny with really calm sees. The DM returned from hooking in to report 60-100'vis with bottom temps of 82'. At that point I was chomping at the bit to get in the water.
I finally kitted up and sat on the side of the boat. ScubaSam and I were buddies so we decided to enter the water from opposite sides, which ended up in a mini disaster. ScubaSam lost her mask on entry but couldnt find any help becuase when i entered the water the light cord (on the loaner light from light monkey) got snagged, ripped out of the canister and cause loud noises and expletives to flow from my mouth. Every thing turned out OK, though. Sam replaced her mask, I handed up my can and light (now separate and leaking water) and we started the dive (luckily I had very bright backup lights).
We descended onto the most beautiful site I have seen in NC ever! It was crystal clear and the water was like a bath. We got to the hook on the papoose and could see a long way in both directions the rest of the wreck. Sam and I penetrated a bit and then decided to swim around the wreck for a bit looking at the fish and corals that were all over. We were able to find a single 4' shark and followed through what appeared to be a huge break in the wreck. It is hard to really formulate a string of words than can describe the surreal image of the combination of claear blue water and the break in the wreck. It was like a canyon from a dream you where things are just a bit fuzzy, but clear enough to remember. On the other side we went over the wreck again, where we were then greeted with the amazing site of non-moving baitfish everywhere. Let me assure you all that looking up at a wall of baitfish in such clear water is the most amazing site you can imagine.
Max Depth: 118'
Avg Depth: 101'
Bottom Time:26
Gas: EAN31
We ascended up making a half stop at 50' and then hitting all our remaining stops and got back on board for lunch and snacktime brought to us by ScubaSam. She has the greatest snack packs EVER.
We all decided to go to a different wreck for the first dive and we picked the spar for its shallower depths and shark presence. Vis was reported to be ~30-40' and when we got on the wreck that is what we found it to be. Sam and I buddied again and she watched me as I penetrated a bit (~5') and found some sea cucumbers (about 2' in length!). From what I could see I would very much like to go back to this wreck with the gas and gear to do a proper penetration, as it seems like a prime place to see some great stuff inside. We then ascended to the bow and swam around a bit, just observing the growths that covered the wreck. We made our way up the pilot house and decided to swim through there, where I saw a small spotted eel just hanging out. It was great, and the first time I have seen an eel on a dive.
After the pilot house, we made our way forward to where th pilot house drops to the deck area (about 15' below) and all we saw was a school of sharks--BIG SHARKS. We looked at each other and both nodded, "HELL YEAH!," and proceeded to descent onto the sharks.
They were everyhwere, and all around us. They swam in close and ranged in size from 3'-9' long; absolutely AMAZING. They were so close if i had sculled a bit I would have run into them. We decided to spend some time there just looking and wondering at the amazing creatures.
We finally decided to move around the side and got to see a ray on the sand swimming away from the wreck, very cool. After a few peaks here and there we were at minimum gas and it was time to ascent. We hit all our stops and surfaced with HUGE grins on our faces. Sam and I were lucky; no one else on the boat had the shark encounter we did--they all went an opposite way than we did.
SI:2:00
Max Depth 95'
Avg Depth 92'
Bottom time 25min
Gas:EAN30
The next day was blown out with 6-8' seas, but the previous days dives made it all worth it.
It was an amazing weekend! I got to meet a bunch of great dive buddies. Also, I would like to say how awesome Tortuga Charters was. Cpt James was extremely friendly, hospitable, and accommodating, and his son, the DM, was so helpful and friendly the whole time. I would recommend the charter to anyone considering NC diving.
We arrived to the boat and were just in time for a minute of silence for our fallen brothers are the World Trade Center in 2001. It was nice. After the minute of silence we were off on our 2hr boat ride to the Papoose.
Once we arrived at the dive site, we saw that conditions were great. Slightly sunny with really calm sees. The DM returned from hooking in to report 60-100'vis with bottom temps of 82'. At that point I was chomping at the bit to get in the water.
I finally kitted up and sat on the side of the boat. ScubaSam and I were buddies so we decided to enter the water from opposite sides, which ended up in a mini disaster. ScubaSam lost her mask on entry but couldnt find any help becuase when i entered the water the light cord (on the loaner light from light monkey) got snagged, ripped out of the canister and cause loud noises and expletives to flow from my mouth. Every thing turned out OK, though. Sam replaced her mask, I handed up my can and light (now separate and leaking water) and we started the dive (luckily I had very bright backup lights).
We descended onto the most beautiful site I have seen in NC ever! It was crystal clear and the water was like a bath. We got to the hook on the papoose and could see a long way in both directions the rest of the wreck. Sam and I penetrated a bit and then decided to swim around the wreck for a bit looking at the fish and corals that were all over. We were able to find a single 4' shark and followed through what appeared to be a huge break in the wreck. It is hard to really formulate a string of words than can describe the surreal image of the combination of claear blue water and the break in the wreck. It was like a canyon from a dream you where things are just a bit fuzzy, but clear enough to remember. On the other side we went over the wreck again, where we were then greeted with the amazing site of non-moving baitfish everywhere. Let me assure you all that looking up at a wall of baitfish in such clear water is the most amazing site you can imagine.
Max Depth: 118'
Avg Depth: 101'
Bottom Time:26
Gas: EAN31
We ascended up making a half stop at 50' and then hitting all our remaining stops and got back on board for lunch and snacktime brought to us by ScubaSam. She has the greatest snack packs EVER.
We all decided to go to a different wreck for the first dive and we picked the spar for its shallower depths and shark presence. Vis was reported to be ~30-40' and when we got on the wreck that is what we found it to be. Sam and I buddied again and she watched me as I penetrated a bit (~5') and found some sea cucumbers (about 2' in length!). From what I could see I would very much like to go back to this wreck with the gas and gear to do a proper penetration, as it seems like a prime place to see some great stuff inside. We then ascended to the bow and swam around a bit, just observing the growths that covered the wreck. We made our way up the pilot house and decided to swim through there, where I saw a small spotted eel just hanging out. It was great, and the first time I have seen an eel on a dive.
After the pilot house, we made our way forward to where th pilot house drops to the deck area (about 15' below) and all we saw was a school of sharks--BIG SHARKS. We looked at each other and both nodded, "HELL YEAH!," and proceeded to descent onto the sharks.
They were everyhwere, and all around us. They swam in close and ranged in size from 3'-9' long; absolutely AMAZING. They were so close if i had sculled a bit I would have run into them. We decided to spend some time there just looking and wondering at the amazing creatures.
We finally decided to move around the side and got to see a ray on the sand swimming away from the wreck, very cool. After a few peaks here and there we were at minimum gas and it was time to ascent. We hit all our stops and surfaced with HUGE grins on our faces. Sam and I were lucky; no one else on the boat had the shark encounter we did--they all went an opposite way than we did.
SI:2:00
Max Depth 95'
Avg Depth 92'
Bottom time 25min
Gas:EAN30
The next day was blown out with 6-8' seas, but the previous days dives made it all worth it.
It was an amazing weekend! I got to meet a bunch of great dive buddies. Also, I would like to say how awesome Tortuga Charters was. Cpt James was extremely friendly, hospitable, and accommodating, and his son, the DM, was so helpful and friendly the whole time. I would recommend the charter to anyone considering NC diving.
