July 17, 2012 - They're Back

Photo of the Week
A gathering of sand tiger sharks on the wreck of the Caribsea off the
Outer Banks of North Carolina. (New) Taken with a Nikon D800.
©Mike Gerken
www.evolutionunderwater.com

     Due to work obligations to the boat I skipper, the Midnight Express with Olympus Dive Center, I was unable to dive this past weekend and was subjected to the torment of diver after diver coming up the ladders with reports of awesome conditions and dozens of sand tiger sharks on the wreck of the Caribsea.

     Feeling rather dejected, but not defeated I woke up early on Monday to go diving on board the Olympus on my day off. As luck would have it, my brand new Sea & Sea MDX D800 housing arrived in the mail the day before and I was to be armed with my new DSLR with a whopping 36.3 Mega Pixels and 1080p HD video. In addition, Capt Robert Purifoy of the Olympus indicated they were diving the Caribsea again that day. With a promising weather forecast and Venus aligning with Mars all was right in the universe and the potential for a great photo/video shoot was now possible.

Carcharias taurus. (New)

     The morning of the dive I was scrambling to set up my new housing and get her ready for the dive. After hooking up the strobes and switching out the dome ports I was ready except for one thing. I needed to insure this pricey rig before leaving the house. So there I was at 0530 online with Diver Alert Networks equipment insurance plan signing my gear up for coverage. With that very important detail taken care of it was time to get going.

     We arrived at the Caribsea a few hours later and got all of the divers in the water and on there way to a great shark encounter. My plan was to wait until all had returned before heading down myself. Capt. Robert would be going in as well armed with his video camera. 

Captain Robert Purifoy of the M/V Olympus
perched atop the bow stem, filming the hordes
of sand tiger sharks. (New)

     Word had it that the grouping of sharks were down towards the bow hovering in about 50-60 feet of water with 40-50 feet or more of visibility. The water temp on the bottom at 90 feet was about 71F with 25-35 feet of visibility. With this information I made my way down toward the bow of the wreck fiddling with my new camera and checking for leaks while I kicked.

    As I approached the bow I didn't see many sharks at first until I looked straight up and there they were, over 50 sharks parked end to end, side by side as far as I could see. I immediately swam for the tip of the bow, turned the video camera on and starting shooting. Pretty soon, Capt Robert showed up with his camera rolling and proceeded to sit atop the piece of metal that is left of the bow stem. Both of us spent the next 35 minutes shooting this awesome gathering of sharks. There was no shortage of subject matter. 

     Every time I have witnessed this event I have noticed the sharks are more docile then usual and getting in close to them without startling them is much easier. Every once in a while a shark would bump in to another shark causing both sharks to bolt away creating a loud shotgun blast sound with the whipping of their tails.

A mere handful of sand tigers that were present
on the Caribsea wreck. (New)

     Switching back and forth from stills to video and back to video again, I found the versatility of the D800 superb. My only problem was getting use to the new location of the buttons, knobs and switches on this unit. I struggled at times missing a few good opportunities but for each missed one I had two others fill its place. Over all, it was a super dive and photo shoot. Both Robert and I surfaced after that dive with a very satisfied look on our faces as did all of the divers on board that day. I can't wait to get back there.

My cousin Melissa Miehling on the stunning wreck
 of the USS Schurz. (New) Taken with a Nikon D300.

     Earlier in the week my cousin Melissa Miehling visited me from Virginia to do a bit of diving and enjoy the topside attractions of the Morehead City area. We managed to get out diving to the wreck of the U352 and the Spar as well as the USS Schurz. With good visibility and a strong presence of marine life we had a great time diving together. You can enjoy a few of the photos I took of her in the photo gallery at the bottom. The next time I see her may very well be in Palau when she comes to visit once I move their to be captain of the Palau Siren starting in October of 2012. More to come on these events in the future.

Happy Diving!

-Mike

  Photo Gallery

Schooling sand tiger sharks on the wreck of the Caribsea, NC. (New)

Melissa telling fish stories underwater. 

A sand tiger on the wreck of the Spar. (New)

When I said to get closer all I got was an "ok this is far enough" look from my cousin.

Lots of bait fish and a happy diver. (New)

July 2, 2012 - Sand Tiger Night Club

Photo of the Week
Carcharias taurus within the wreck of the Aeolus. (New)
www.evolutionunderwater.com

     The wreck of the Aeolus, which lies 28 miles south of Morehead City, NC was the sight of a very exciting photo shoot for myself this past Saturday where numerous sand tiger sharks, maybe a dozen strong, had gathered within the wreck. Every once in a while you will find a shark or two loitering about inside the wrecks here in North Carolina, but to see this many is a rare occurrence. From the stand point of a photographer, this makes for some great subject matter.

     With my favorite 10.5mm Nikon fisheye lens and D300 camera I carefully made myself at home inside the stern section of the wreck and snapped away until my fingers bled. OK, maybe that's a stretch; my fingers didn't actually bleed, but the opportunities for great photos were everywhere and my flash was firing rapidly. The eerie light emanating from outside of the deteriorating wreck made for a superb backdrop for the sharks lurking about within their dark night club. I was a kid in a candy store with one 'keeper' photo after another filling my camera's memory card.

     Several sharks even swam up and down the companionway on the port side of the wreck which is lined with stunning brilliant purple colored sea fans. There's nothing like adding a little color to a scene to spice it up your image. Human models couldn't have posed for a better shot than these sharks and I don't have to pay them.

     After about thirty minutes of pure bliss with my 'fave' sharks, it was time to head up to my divers waiting up top. This past weekend a group from Seahorse Scuba in Midlothian, Virginia chartered the boat I skipper for Olympus Dive Center. They too had a look at the Aeolus and her sand tiger shark squatters.

     The past few years the Aeolus has had sporadic sand tiger sightings on her remains while the neighboring wreck of the USCGS Spar was the hot spot for shark sightings. Although the Spar still has sand tigers on it this season, the Aeolus seems to attract more this dive season. Not much is known why or where sand tigers roam in their range of habitat but studies are being done in Delaware State University by Dr. Dewayne Fox and by The Guy Harvey Research Institute. By attaching transmitters much is being learned of the sharks migratory patterns. When I find out more about the results I'll be passing this information on to you.

     The Aeolus wasn't the only wreck visited by the divers from Seahorse Scuba. They also got a taste of the USCG Cutter Spar and were introduced for the first time to the wreck of the legendary U-352. A visit to the North Carolina coast to dive would not be complete until one scratched a few lines into their dive log about this wreck experience. Visibility has been around 30-40 feet depending on where you dive. These conditions certainly aren't the best North Carolina has to offer, but not the worst either.

     Presently, the Midnight Express has been grounded due to bad weather on this day, but we are scheduled to run again on Tuesday and Wednesday with the gang from New Joisey's, Ocean Explorers headed up by Jim Masters and Donna Gunn. I'll have more about their dives very soon. Rumor has it we are heading to the Caribsea to see some sharkies. So what else is new?

Happy Diving!

-Mike Gerken

Photo Gallery

Crazy Outer Banks weather can be scary and awe inspiring at the same time. This storm dumped more than an inch in a few hours and caused damage up and down the eastern coast of the US.
Shot taken on July 1, 2012 at the Olympus Dive Center dock.

Sand tiger shark on the wreck of the Aeolus. (New)

Sand tiger with brilliant purple sea fans. (New)

Sand tiger 'strolling' down the port companionway
of the Aeolus. (New) 

Sand tiger hanging out in 'Club' Aeolus. (New)

Annette Papa shooting with her new D7000 on the W.E. Hutton aka Papoose.

A black and white sand tiger shark. A very rare species.

Annette Papa posing with her new 'baby'.

Annette Papa hanging out in the deep dark and dangerous.

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June 22, 2012 - The 'Naeco'

Photo of the Week
The Wreck of the Naeco; the stern. (New)
©www.evolutionunderwater.com

    

Papoose
     Midweek charters on board the Midnight Express at Olympus Dive Center were a little slow these past five days, so I took advantage of the down time and stowed away on board the M/V Olympus on Wednesday June 20 to dive the W.E. Hutton aka Papoose for a pair of dives. It was a good day to play hooky from my desk jockey responsibilities and go diving. The seas were flat calm with visibility edging over 30 feet on the bottom but with much bluer water above that. 

     I also managed to go diving with my lovely girlfriend, Annette who was anxious to display some of her new underwater modeling tips she learned from professional photographer Chris Crumley. (Please visit his web site to learn more about Chris and the beautiful work he does). Annette drove all the way to Virginia a few weeks ago to take Chris's course and so far so good with her new poses.

     

     With the visibility a little on the low side getting close to subjects would be the name of the game to achieve any decent images. As Annette and I swam down the wreck we started to come across some very large sand tiger sharks, but none of them appeared to want to cooperate for a close encounter photo.

Annette Papa and a very friendly giant southern stingray. (New)

     Pretty soon we stumbled upon a large southern stingray with a pair of very large cobia swimming underneath it. Cobia are well known to follow stingrays and dart to and fro as if they were following a Pied Piper. This image of ray and cobia has been on my shot list for years now and I thought I might have a chance to nail it this time, but unfortunately neither party was interested in having their portrait taken and they swam off in to the blue green water with indifference to the eager photographer behind them.

     Suddenly Annette and I found yet another jumbo stingray laying partially buried in the sand and I decided this might suffice. Without having to so much as look at Annette, she maneuvered herself carefully in to position so not to startled the resting stingray for a photo. After a few test shots and a very cooperative ray, I managed to get a 'keeper' for the photo album and all thanks to Annette.

Ashton Allgood inside the wreck of
the W.E. Hutton aka Papoose. (New)

     On our trip back to the boat, I practiced firing off some portraits for practice for the both of us. With her new talents as a UW model, hopefully, you will begin to see Annette in print more and more in the future. Don't tell her I said this, but I think she enjoys it as well.

    Dive two on the Papoose was another enjoyable portrait photo shoot with long time Olympus employee, Ashton Allgood. On this dive, Ashton and I swam through the internal remains of the Papoose to try to obtain a tone of deep, dark and mysterious in our photos. Considering this was Ashton's first time posing for me I'd have to say it went rather well. She hasn't seen any if these images as of press time so I will let her decide.

(Scroll down to the Photo Gallery)

Naeco

     That night, after the Papoose dives, I received a phone call from Captain Bobby Edwards of the 'six pack' dive boat, Atlantis IV that operates out of Atlantic Beach. He asked me if I would like to dive the wreck of the Naeco the next day since I had the day off. The Naeco was sunk in WWII by a German U-boat approximately 41 miles due south of Beaufort Inlet. She lies in about 130-135' of water and is known to have fantastic visibility and warm waters from the Gulf Stream. I hadn't been to the Naeco in more than 10 years and I dared not turn down such a gracious invite. I told Bobby I would be happy to go.

Northeast divers on the Atlantis IV.

     That morning at the dock, as we were loading gear, I was introduced to the group of divers that had been chartering the Atlantis IV all week. One of the guys, by the name of Charlie, had looked awfully familiar to me, but I could not place the face. On the ride out to the dive site we got to talking and low and behold we discovered that we had dived together on several occasions in the north east some 15 plus years ago.  On one such trip, after diving the wreck of the USS Bass off of Block Island, RI, our dive vessel nearly sank in a wicked squall that swooned down unexpectedly upon us. The rain, wind and seas were powerful enough were we began donning our drysuits in the event we should sink. Believe me, it was hairy!

    Needless to say we did not sink and came through the storm much better than the S/S Minnow did. We pulled in to Block Island and sought out the nearest bar, sat out the second dive and opted for a cold beer to calm our rattled nerves. An event like this one sticks in your mind rather well and Charlie and I hugged and joked about almost perishing in that storm together. Thankfully we could laugh about this event since the alternative outcome was too grim to think about.

The Naeco steering quadrant in the background. (New)

     Once arriving at the Naeco the five divers on board jumped in for their dive as I followed slightly behind. My goal was to shoot some wide angle images with my Nikon D300. The visibility was an easy 70 feet and ideal for the type of shot I wanted to get. As I arrived at the bottom some 130' below I framed a shot and fired the shutter. The camera clicked, but the strobes did not fire. I knew that it could be a bad connection in my sync cord or just a tad bit of grease on the hot shoe. 

     Confronted with this problem before I decided to drop back even a little further than usual and shoot ambient light only rather than abort the dive. In the back of my head I knew that converting such photos to black and white would work well. So that is what I did and in the end I was pleased with the outcome, but I wish my strobes had fired all the same. Any photographer will tell you that if you can land one really nice 'keeper' image per dive your doing pretty well.

     The second dive of the day was on the  Wreck of the U-352. One of the divers on board had never been and the other four quickly agreed that it was a must dive for him to experience. The visibility however was a little on the low side at around 20-30 feet so I left my camera on the boat and took up a pole spear and caught a few black sea bass for my dinner table instead. Sea bass are in season now and abundant on the many wrecks. Many will tell you, including myself, that these modest sized fish are some of the tastiest in the ocean. Keep an eye out for my fish recipes in my next Dive & Photo Newsletter.

Blue water diving NC style. (New)

     At the end of the day, I shook hands with Charlie and all the guys, exchanged business cards and said, "see you out there again".  I have no doubt that we will see each other again. The diving industry is a small one and you never know who your going to bump in to on a dive boat in the middle of the Atlantic.

     I'll be back in action on the Midnight Express starting tomorrow and Sunday. The weather looks promising so we shall see. As of right now there is plenty of space on board for the following midweek dives so give us a call and book your dives. We would love to share with you what we already know is world class diving.

Thanks for following!

-Mike

Photo Gallery

Instructor Bubba Flores on video shoot for the Military Channel
with his Go-Pro head cam. (New)

Annette Papa swimming the hull of the W.E. Hutton aka Papoose.

Ashton Allgood inside the W.E. Hutton aka Papoose. 

Ashton on the ascent.

Annette Papa hangin' out.

Rush hour on the ascent. 

Ashton and Annette stopping for a pose. 

Ashton Allgood, Annette Papa and Nema Triplett.

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September 27, 2011 - Michael J Norwood Event 2011

To all those who are new to my blog, to get the gist of it please read, "Welcome Aboard",  from the May 1, 2011 posting and peruse a few of my other Dive Blog Reports from weeks past at the side bar to the right.

Visit www.evolutionunderwater.com to see video shorts from the 2011 season at Olympus Dive Center and click here for more info about myself.


Remember to share this Dive Blog Report with anyone you think would enjoy it. Thank you!

Photo of the Week

The Morehead City Waterfront as seen from the sun deck of the M/V Olympus.
The Midnight Express is the last boat on the right. (New)

     The winds blew, the seas were bumpy and the skies unloaded a deluge of rain upon the Carolina Coast this past weekend but, the divers who attended the Michael J Norwood Event of 2011 defied the adverse weather and went diving regardless and with much success. The fact that John Chatterton was the guest diver on board the M/V Olympus and Midnight Express for this years event made the diving that much more exciting for everyone involved.

John Chatterton.
Photo Courtesy of John Chatterton.

     For those who are not familiar with John Chatterton's work, he is probably one of the most accomplished divers in the world today who leaped in to the public spotlight when he assisted in the discovery and identification in the 1990's of a German U-Boat, the U-869 that was sunk off the coast of New Jersey. The story of these events was published in to a best selling book titled Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. John was also one of the hosts to The History Channels popular programs, Deep Sea Detectives. John's many other accomplishments are too vast to write in this Blog Report so click on the links above to familiarize yourself more with his career.

    In December of 2003, while filming an episode in Palau for the Deep Sea Detectives, John's partner, Michael Norwood died while diving the WWII destroyer, the USS Perry. In his memory, his widow, Diana Norwood created the  Michael J Norwood Memorial Research Fund whose purpose was to raise funding for Diver Alert Network (DAN) to research diving related injuries. 

Diana Strauss Norwood on the left and Carla Chatterton on the
 right standing in front of the USS Schurz display at the dive shop. 

This year marked the 6th year for the 'Norwood Event' where divers sign up to go diving for a long weekend on one of Olympus Dive Centers dive boats with John Chatterton and also get to meet Diana and John's wife Carla.  (Carla Chatterton, by the way, is one of the leading volunteers for Soldiers Undertaking Disabled SCUBA (SUDS) and has committed a lot of her time and energy to the cause. To learn more about SUDS please read my Dive Blog Report July 22, 2011 - Suds and Subs.) A percentage of the proceeds from the charter fees from the weekends diving is contributed to the Norwood Fund along with additional monies raised from the auction during the Michael J Norwood dinner on Saturday evening.

Group leader for Lynnhaven Dive Center
on board the Midnight Express, Dana Chapman.

     This years turn out was impressive. Nearly every spot was booked on both the Olympus and the vessel I captain, the Midnight Express for all three days Friday September 23rd through Sunday September 25th. Taking up the lion share of the spots was the group from Lynnhaven Dive Center based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Since there was only one John Chatterton and more than 20 divers from Lynnhaven, the group was split up and divided on to both boats where John shared his time on each.

Captain Robert Purifoy of Olympus Dive Center.

     On Friday morning, the weather seemed to be cooperating by the looks of it at the dock but, the forecast was ominous with a small craft advisory posted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather service which indicated there was to be 5 foot swells offshore with some heavy winds. Based on the information we had on hand on that morning Captain Robert Purifoy of the Olympus and the proprietor of Olympus Dive Center, deemed it safe enough to head out and as we say in North Carolina, "take a look at it". I concurred with his decision and continued to load up all the divers and gear on to the 'Midnight' and head out for a days diving. My plan today was to head south out of Beaufort Inlet and go as far as allowed on a full day charter to try to avoid the low visibility conditions that have plagued us since Hurricane Irene tore through the region last month. The general rule is, the further you go offshore and the closer you get to the Gulf Stream, the clearer the water would be. With John Chatterton diving on the Olympus today, my group, headed by Dana Chapman from Lynnhaven Dive Center, and special guest Dr. Nick Bird from DAN, agreed with my idea and liked the sound of diving the wreck of the W.E. Hutton, aka Papoose 32 miles south.

Dive mate, Mike Phillips
on the deck of the
Midnight Express with ominous
cloud cover in the background. 

     The ride out was uneventful the first 25 miles with a modest ground swell and 10-15 knots of wind chop on top beating in to the 'Midnight'. As the last seven miles ticked off my GPS on my way to the final waypoint, the seas began to pick up some what and the swell heights increased. "This day might prove to be a little more challenging than I had hoped", I thought to myself. The conditions were still within limits with the skill set of the divers I had onboard so I would continue on. Not having any idea what the visibility would be today I discussed with my mate, Mike Phillips what to do in the event of low 'viz'. I said, "If you can see more than ten feet we will give it a try". As luck would have it, Mike called up to me on the head set that the viz was about 10-15 feet. I was pleased as punch. 10-15 feet of viz on an average day would be terrible but compared to what it has been it was pretty good. 

Divers preparing for a dive on the deck of the Midnight.

     I gave the heads up to all the divers what the skinny was with the dive and fortunately I heard no grumbles from any of the them. They were here to dive and "to hell with the visibility", seemed to be there silent motto. With sunlight overhead, clear water beneath and decent size waves tossing the boat about the divers one by one disappeared over the side and headed down the anchor line to get a glimpse of the Papoose lying in 120 feet of sea water below them. The crew and I sat back and kept watch while we waited for the divers to return. Soon enough the tell tale sign of bubbles could be seen rising up from the anchor line below the stem of the 'Midnight'. As each diver made his and her way back on to the boat I asked them, "how was your dive and what would you say the 'viz' was?". Each and every one of them reported they had a great dive and they could see at least 20-25 feet. You would think I was the one returning after a great dive based on how excited I was to hear this news.

The U-352. (Stock)

     Once all were collected up and roll call completed we pulled anchor and headed over the U-352 (please see previous Dive Blog Report Hunter Turned to Hunted) to try our luck over there for dive number two. Another dive boat in the area had reported 25 foot of 'viz' earlier in the day so it seemed that it would be good call to dive the Sub today. Sure enough, after my last diver was up after diving the U-Boat all seemed elated at getting a crack at this epic WWII wreck. Many of the divers on board had already dived the Sub before but that didn't seem to matter. This is not a wreck dive that most enthusiasts grow weary of all too quickly. The 'viz' was reported at around 15-20 feet while others indicated it was better than that. (Visibility is one of those things that in a crowd of 20 divers you sometimes will get twenty different interpretations of the 'viz'). With a pair of successful dives under our belt and the wind blowing 15-20 knots it was time to turn tale and head for home.

Empty cylinders at the fill station.

The 5 plus foot swells at the stern of the 'Midnight' it made for a interesting ride in to shore as we surfed down the face of the waves and climbed back up the back of the next one in front. In no time at all we made it back to shore safe and sound. The divers began transporting empty dive cylinders to the fill station to top them off again for the next days diving. Stories were swapped and plans for the next day were laid down. With weather permitting we would try for the wreck of Aeolus.

     On Saturday morning at 0445 I flipped open my lap top to check the weather forecast for the day. I didn't see anything that would give me cause for alarm except the rain and storm systems I was seeing along the coastline on the radar. Once at the dock Capt. Robert and myself assessed the conditions and waited for the storm to dissipate that was right over our heads. Once this happened and the coast was clear, the 'Midnight' headed out alongside the Olympus for another go at diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Today however, I had the honor of John Chatterton join us for some diving. Having John on board sharing his stories, knowledge and love of diving is enough entertainment by itself. 

First Mate of the 'Midnight',
Danny Facciola.

     As planned, we headed out to see what the 'viz' was like on the Aeolus. The Olympus, being a somewhat speedier vessel, had beat me out to the dive site first and sent his diver down to tie in on the wreck of the USCG Cutter Spar which is only a few hundred feet away from the Aeolus. With the exception of the rain and occasional bolt of lighting the weather was cooperating and actually calmer than what the forecast had predicted. I stood by and waited to hear back what the conditions were like before I would send my diver in as well. As it would be, the rain was coming down heavy and the cloud cover was dense allowing for very little sunlight to poke through. It was about as dreary and dark as it can be in full daylight. I expected that with these dark conditions the 'viz' on the Spar would be low. After a few minutes Captain Robert came over the VHF radio, "my diver landed in the sand and can't see the wreck, five feet of viz and very dark, over". "Yuck" I thought to myself. I'm heading south to where I know it was decent the day before, the Papoose. If I'm lucky the extra 8 mile drive due south might bring us out of the rain and darkness. So without delay I headed over to the Papoose once again. Unfortunately, when we got there the rain continued to come down but it seemed as though there was a tad more ambient light now than earlier. I dropped my new first mate, Danny Facciola (John Thompson sadly had to pack his saddle bag and move on) on to the wreck to tie in and reported similar conditions from yesterday but darker due to the cloud cover.

The inside of the
W.E. Hutton aka Papoose on
a clear day. (Stock)

    After giving yet another briefing, I opened the 'pool' and let everyone jump in for a dip. The long short of this day of diving is, everyone had a great dive and managed to see the local residents on the wreck, the Sand Tiger Sharks. The dive was good enough where all listened to my recommendations and stayed here for the second dive as well. When conditions are adverse and unknown elsewhere you stick with what is good and what works. That's a rule to live by in this business. After the diving was completed we turned for home with a boat load of water logged divers tucked away below. The forecast for tomorrow once again did not look promising but being that it was far from accurate the last two days I wasn't making plans to lay on my couch and take a day off. I stayed optimistic and hoped for a go the following morning.

     On Sunday AM, the rain continued to come down but the wind was almost non-existent. Swells from an unknown storm system far offshore were predicted to build more from the day before. Many of the divers on board both boats, the Olympus and Midnight were feeling as though they had enough diving in these conditions. Captain Robert picking up on this vibe did the noble thing and allowed anyone who wished to, to back out of the last days diving. With about half of all participating divers calling it quits the remaining divers were moved to the 'Midnight' including John Chatterton who had no interest in staying at the dock on this day. After settling everyone in, dock lines were cast off and we pulled away from the dock. My intention was to head over the the USS Schurz to try our luck out on this famous WWI US warship. The Schurz is only three miles from the Papoose making it likely that the conditions would be about the same. The worst thing that could happen is if the dive on the Schurz was no good due to low viz we could easily head over to the Papoose.

The USS Schurz when the water is more than 20 feet of viz. (stock)

     The ride out yielded once again torrents of rain interspersed by drizzling rain with a touch of showers mixed in for flavor. I kept joking with my mate Danny by saying every hour or so, "It's raining out". Despite this depressing weather the moral of all the divers on board as well as the crews was high. It seemed that nothing would get this group bummed out. On the ride out, as I looked at the ships radar set on 24 mile scale, all I could see was a large blob on the display that indicated rain with the 'Midnight' right in the middle of it. As the last ten miles ticked off I noticed an opening in the radar that showed the promise of a break in the rain. As I got closer I could start to see the semblance of light way ahead as it continued to pour on us. Within the last mile, the "Midnight' poked her head out from the rain clouds to discover the first signs of the sunlight in a partially cloud covered sky. My crew secured the boat to the wreck and radioed up to me that the 'viz' was pretty decent at around 20 feet but still a little dark. It was a go! I hurried to the back deck, briefed the divers and said the light switch was in the on position but it didn't look like for much longer so hurry up and get in the water.

John Chatterton returning from a dive.

     Without delay and with precision, all the divers made it in and headed on down to the wreck for a looksy. The Schurz is a very old wreck with a steep history (read the link) and also very low lying to the sand. Not much of her remains that is more than five feet above the sea bed. For some divers this makes the wreck more interesting while for others they would prefer a more intact wreck. Once the divers all returned and delivered their reports I don't think the latter type of diver was present. All seemed pretty jazzed with their trip down to the wreck including John Chatterton. Just as the last of the divers clambered back on board a squall made its presence known to the boat with gusting winds and you guessed it, rain! The wind and rain is usually not an issue when at sea unless extreme. It is lighting that gets my serious attention. A metal dive boat in the middle of the ocean is like a lighting rod. When a smaller vessel can avoid being in lighting it is always wisest to do just that and avoid it. So far today I saw plenty of rain but no lighting to speak of. 

Duncan Pinnock with Lynnhaven Dive Center
scored a few nice Grouper over three days.

     With that said, I would move the boat over to the U-352 once again for the final dive of the day. It was decent here two days ago and I couldn't see any reason why it would be different. My mate secured us to the wreck and indicated the 'viz' was about 15 feet in the dark. Once again it was a go. Knowing my divers as I did I knew no one would have an issue with these conditions. I made a quick brief and discovered everyone on the boat has been to the Sub before but one man. With that said I announced to everyone we had a U-352 virgin on board where an applause burst out right after. Seeing the enthusiasm the other divers had for this wreck must have excited him more than usual. 

     Everyone, especially John, made the dive on the Sub. Since John has a special affinity for U-Boats he was one of the first divers in the water. After a while everyone returned to the Midnight with a thumbs up attitude. Seriously, their was no getting this group down. There positive attitudes and enthusiasm for sport diving carried them through a three day weekend of below average dive conditions for North Carolina. For them, this final dive on the Sub was more icing on an already sugary cake. Before I started patting myself on the back, it was time to get the boat underway since the skies opened up yet again this time with angry thunder and cracks of lighting threatening us. It was a 'loot and scoot' day and I was very ready to scoot.

Chip and his helmet Go-Pro Cam. Don't knock it until
you try it. They're awesome.

In a few minutes the 'Midnight' was heading due north at a speed slightly faster then sound. I had had enough of this weather and wanted to get home sooner than later. Besides, everyone and everything on the boat was soaked and smelled like my high school gym bag after a week at football camp. The divers turned to passengers hunkered down and made themselves comfortable and in no time most all were in a deep coma probably dreaming of U-Boats filled with contraband gold.

     As I pulled the boat in to the dock and my crew secured the lines I felt a sense of accomplishment. The Olympus boats managed to safely make it out for three days of diving when weather forecasts said we could do otherwise. From my position most of the divers with us on this Norwood Foundation event had memorable dives even those who took the last day of diving off. One thing for sure is Captain Robert and myself tried to make the best of adverse weather and dive conditions and show everyone a good time but like in politics you can't make all the people happy all of the time.

Future SCUBA diver, Samantha Faatz
trying to keep dry. Photo courtesy of Scott
and Sara Faatz.

     For the next hour, divers packed bags, unloaded gear, shook hands, swapped business cards and made plans for the next dive trip back to Olympus Dive Center. Diving is more than a recreational sport it is a social culture all of its own with groups of people sharing a common interest doing what they love to do. The crew of the Midnight Express, the Olympus and all of the staff at the shop wanted to thank everyone especially John & Carla Chatterton, Dianna Strauss Norwood and Dr. Nick Bird for making this a fantastic weekend of diving. At press time it is unknown how much money was raised for the Norwood Foundation but rumor has it it was a good year. Once this information is known you should hear about it on Olympus's facebook page.

Olympus crew and friends at John Chatterton's birthday party at Floyds 1921.

    As for me, I have yet to make a dive since 'Irene' swept through and the weather conditions kept me on the deck of the boat the whole weekend. Don't feel too sorry for me though since I'm able to live vicariously off of my passengers. I still have several more weekends of charters in October so I hope to get some more video, photos and stories to share with you all very soon.  Stay tuned for more Dive Blogs in the coming weeks. I still have to report on my Top Ten Dives of All Time and the making of The Wrecks of Truk Lagoon and The Wreck of the SS President Coolidge dive documentaries.

Happy Diving!

Mike Gerken

See Mike's Facebook account for more photos from The weekends diving.

     See below for the shameless self promotion

section of this blog!

Please visit Mike's web site
www.evolutionunderwater.com
to peruse his portfolio of underwater photography, view his video excerpts from his documentary films and purchase fine art prints from his online gallery.

If you wish to dive Graveyard of the Atlantic contact
www.olympusdiving.com

Olympus Dive Center, Morhead City, NC.

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Mike Gerken