Shipwrecks off North Carolina in the Nags Head Area
Frequently Visited Wrecks Off Nags Head
AR-140 - N.C. Fisheries artificial reef; approximately 60 ft of water covers this sight which has two barges and assorted railroad boxcars, an excellent training and certification site.
Advance - Formerly USS Worland, PCE-845, WWII patrol craft, 860 tons, 184 ft long, decommissioned in June 1, 1964, subsequently used as a research vessel by Cape Fear Technical Institute. Upper deck is at 65 with the sand at an approximate depth of 80 ft. The Advance is an excellent training and certification sight. For more information about the Advance follow the link: USS PCE-845
Bedloe - U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, 241 tons, 125ft long, sunk in a hurricane Sept. 14th, 1944, Loss of all men onboard except for the Commanding Executive and Engineering officers with 9 enlisted men. The Bedloe was separated from her sister ship the Jackson during the storm of 44 and sank approximately 21 miles south of Oregon Inlet. She lies in 140ft of water and is on lying her port side. The vessel is intact except for the transom which appears to have been dragged off by a fishing net.
Benson - Tanker, 7,593 tons, 465 ft long, torpedoed by the U-522 on April 5, 1942. She lies in 90 ft of water approximately 25.5 miles NE of Oregon Inlet.
Jackson - U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, 241 tons, 125 ft long, sunk in the great hurricane of 1944, on the 14th, with a loss of 21 men. She is located approximately 8 miles NE from Oregon Inlet and lies in 80ft of water. The stern is broken from the bow with a separation of 80ft. The stern sits upright with all sections exposed to the sea. The sand which had previously covered most of the wreck has been moved off exposing many features that had been previously covered. The bow is sitting with a list to the starboard at 40 degrees the port side sea anchor is visible which still in it's hawser. For more information follow the link: WSC-142 Jackson.
Mirlo (Green Buoy) - Tanker 6,978 tons, sunk by mine from the U-117 on August 16,1918. The Mirlo was previously mistaken for the Ciltvaira when she was originally found and identified. The Mirlo sits about 20 miles South of Oregon Inlet in an area that has slightly warmer and clearer water. This area is also prone to having higher currents and therefore it can be a challenging dive. The Mirlo sits at 120 ft, the vessel is broken in two. The forward section of the wreck is flipped with her decks in the sand. The stern area which is still attached by a debris field settled upright to starboard at a 45 degree angle. Because of the warmer clearer, water this site is ideal for photography, turtles, tropical and game fish are often seen on this site.
U-85 - Type VII-B, U Boat, 753 tons on surface, 218 ft long. Sunk by the destroyer USS Roper on April 14th 1942, with the loss of all hands. The conning tower is at an approximate depth of 85 ft, with a maximum depth of 110 ft. For more historical information about the U-85 follow the link: U-85 History
U-701 - A VIIC U boat sunk off the Coast of Cape Hatteras by aerial depth charge on 7/7/42. 218 ft in length she displaced 1070 tons fully loaded. The crew was approximately 60 men with a full compliment. She was sunk by a A-29 while on the surface. The U-701 was under constant attach for many days from the aerial bombers and this was to be the fatal blow. The 701 had returned to the surface to air out the interior of the boat when one of the look outs missed the attacking plane. Of the 17 crew which made it off the sinking vessel only 7 were to survive the action of the day. The 701 site is on diamond shoals and this area provides some of the most challenging dives to be found on the Banks. The cooler Labrador current and the warmer Gulf water off Hatteras Island mix here and there are often currents in excess of 2 knots.
York -
Freighter, 253 ft., 2677 tons, She lies in approximately 12 miles
NNE of U-85 in 100 ft of water. She was torpedoed January 22, 1942 by German
submarine U-66
Zane Gray / Dionysus - WWII Liberty ships, 7,191 tons, 441 ft long, first ships to be sunk off the coast of North Carolina in 1974/1978 as artificial reefs. N.C. Fisheries sight AR-160. This type of vessel was the first to use prefab construction making the best delivery time for this type of vessel approximately 4.75 days. Depth ranges from 40 to 70 feet and they lie approximately 4 miles S.E. of Oregon Inlet. For more information about the liberty ships follow the link: Liberty Ships
Huron -
Federal
Gunship steamer with sail 541 tons, she ran aground November 24, 1877 with the
loss of 98 crewmen. Located at milepost
11 the Bladen St.. access. She is 250 yds North of the Nags Head Fishing Pier
in approx. 25 ft of water.
Kyzickes -
(Triangle Wrecks)-
Tanker, Milepost 7, Second Street
access approximately 100 yards offshore. She ran aground during a storm with a
cargo of oil. Four lives were lost. Depth is about 20 ft of water.
Carl Gerhard
- (Triangle Wrecks)- Freighter, Milepost 7, The wrecks are
broken in half with the bow section of the Kyzickes lying on the outer sand bar
about 200 yards offshore. The Carl Gerhard went down in 1929 carrying a cargo
of plasterboard.
Metropolis
-
(Horse Head Wreck)- Freighter, 124 ft. long, 879 tons, Located
three miles south of the Currituck beach light in Corolla. She went down in
1878; 91 lives were lost. She was carrying 500 tons of iron rails and 200 tons
of stones. The Metropolis was formerly the Federal Gunship Stars and stripes.
She is currently covered with sand and not dive able.
Oriental - (Boiler Wreck)- Federal Transport, 210 feet long, 1,202 tons,
sank May 16, 1862. She lies approximately three miles south of the Oregon
Inlet, approximately 200 yds. offshore in about 20 ft of water. This wreck is
reachable from the beach but can be a difficult swim.
Explorer -
Tugboat, went down on December 12, 1919. Located on milepost
11 at the Bladen St.. access. She is about 100 yards north of the Nags Head
Fishing Pier, 150 yards offshore in about 20 ft of water. A good portion of
this wreck is covered by sand.