I've just recently joined ScubaBoard and have been reading through some of the posts/forums both old and new. I will take the opportunity to weigh in on the recurring thread of Blackbeard and the Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck site near Beaufort Inlet, NC.
I'd be glad to answer any questions anyone may have regarding the site and am actually qualified to do so as an underwater archaeologist, scuba instructor, scientific diver, and the QAR Project Archaeologist/Field Supervisor/Diving Safety Officer, with a couple hundred hours of bottom time on the site in the past five years.
Just a few facts to offer up front, from skimming the old posts.
1) Water temps vary greatly on the site. I've been wet in Dec and early April with temps in the low 50s. Summer temps have reached the low 80s depending on wind, waves and the gulf stream.
2) I have seen visibility over 50' (once). Typical vis is 2'-5' with 10' being good.
3) It is a near shore, ebb-tidal delta environment about a mile offshore and half mile from the modern channel. Conditions vary greatly with the tide, wind direction and storm activity, even offshore. I was out on the Monday before Hurricane Isabel hit on Thursday. We had 10' swells coming in when we finally left. Something to consider is that the water depth is only 26' at high tide. Can you say washing machine.
4) The site is designated a culturally significant protected area by the state and is completely restricted within 300 yards. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places. It is under constant video surveillance as well as watched by Coast Guard, Fisheries, and Wildlife patrols.
5) DiveDown will begin again in mid-April 2006. Cancelled finally last fall because of the tropical activity. We couldn't keep postponing and rescheduling you all. As mentioned in earlier posts, contact Lauren Hermley at Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City. She is coordinating DiveDown scheduling. lauren@olympusdiving.com
6) This has always been a State of NC project through the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Department of Cultural Resources. NEVER an East Carolina University project.
7) I can also address many questions regarding historic shipwrecks in NC waters, Civil War and otherwise (I've seen a few on here asking about the Ranger and Beauregard as beach dives).
Cheers
Ç
I'd be glad to answer any questions anyone may have regarding the site and am actually qualified to do so as an underwater archaeologist, scuba instructor, scientific diver, and the QAR Project Archaeologist/Field Supervisor/Diving Safety Officer, with a couple hundred hours of bottom time on the site in the past five years.
Just a few facts to offer up front, from skimming the old posts.
1) Water temps vary greatly on the site. I've been wet in Dec and early April with temps in the low 50s. Summer temps have reached the low 80s depending on wind, waves and the gulf stream.
2) I have seen visibility over 50' (once). Typical vis is 2'-5' with 10' being good.
3) It is a near shore, ebb-tidal delta environment about a mile offshore and half mile from the modern channel. Conditions vary greatly with the tide, wind direction and storm activity, even offshore. I was out on the Monday before Hurricane Isabel hit on Thursday. We had 10' swells coming in when we finally left. Something to consider is that the water depth is only 26' at high tide. Can you say washing machine.
4) The site is designated a culturally significant protected area by the state and is completely restricted within 300 yards. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places. It is under constant video surveillance as well as watched by Coast Guard, Fisheries, and Wildlife patrols.
5) DiveDown will begin again in mid-April 2006. Cancelled finally last fall because of the tropical activity. We couldn't keep postponing and rescheduling you all. As mentioned in earlier posts, contact Lauren Hermley at Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City. She is coordinating DiveDown scheduling. lauren@olympusdiving.com
6) This has always been a State of NC project through the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Department of Cultural Resources. NEVER an East Carolina University project.
7) I can also address many questions regarding historic shipwrecks in NC waters, Civil War and otherwise (I've seen a few on here asking about the Ranger and Beauregard as beach dives).
Cheers
Ç
