Blue Moon Dive Club   

German Submarine U-85: Post-Dive report.

We dove with the fine folks at the Outer Banks Dive Center, owned and operated by Bill McDermott, who has been a Guest Speaker at a previous club meeting. The shop is located across the road from Jockeys’ Ridge, in Nags Head. Go to www.obxdive.com for more information.

U-85 was the first U-boat to be sunk off the North American coast after the start of the Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag) on January 13, 1942. On the day that she was sunk, 14 April, U-85 stayed on the surface through the engagement. After repeated hits on the boat, fatally damaging her, the order to abandon ship was given and maybe half of the crew got into the water and then U-85 started to sink again fast. USS Roper then dropped 11 depth charges onto the already sinking U-boat and its 2 dozen survivors and in the process killed everyone in the water. She now rests on the bottom, with her conning tower at approximately 85’and we all registered between 96’- 99’ to the sand.

U-85 Conning Tower

During the week leading up to the dive, weather conditions had forced some cancellations,but on the day of our dive, the wind calmed down and we had a pleasant and uneventful ride out of Broad Creek Marina in Wanchese, NC to the dive site, which is approximately 18 miles from Oregon Inlet. After our 50 minute ride on the R/V Go-Between, which is a converted crew boat, the divemaster tied us into the bow of the wreck and then gave us our brief. Visibility was around 30 feet for the first dive and 20’ – 25’ for the second dive and bottom temperature, below the thermocline, was around 70°, while the surface temp rose from 82° to 91° while on site.

The U-85 Forward Deck Gun

The dive, simply put, was awesome. The conning tower, torpedo tubes and deck gun are easily recognizable. Larry brought his camera and documented all the sealife, which was abundant. One of the forward torpedo tubes is home to a Conger eel, there were triggerfish and spadefish all over the wreck, and Larry snapped photos of anemones, starfish, oystertoads, and coral.

Coral and Anemones

Most impressive, from 60’ to 20’, we were in the middle of the biggest school of bluefish that I’ve ever seen. These fish were so large, that I originally mistook them for jacks!

Bluefish on the anchor line/Forward Deck Gun with Unexplained Growth

Dive equipment varied. Larry started his first dive with a hood and his two-piece 5MM wetsuit. For the second dive, he left the hood and half of his suit onboard, as it was just that warm on the bottom! Shawn dove a lined skin and a 3MM shorty. I dove an unlined skin and a 5MM shorty. We all wore gloves, for hand protection if not thermal protection.

This dive is a MUST-DO! You will not find a better wreck this side of the Caribbean. On June 28^th, there was over 100’ visibility – From the hang-out bar at 15’, you could view the entire wreck! However, due to the depth, this dive is for Advanced Open Water divers only, as is the case with most wrecks off the VA/NC coast. Our plan is to dive the wreck of the Zane Gray next month, which is a good spot for seeing Tiger sharks. Unlike most dives in this area, this one is open to Basic Open Water certified divers

A big thanks to Bill. The dive was almost cancelled, as he normally requires 6 divers for a trip to go, due to fuel and crew costs. However, between us 3 and 2 more folks from DC who were in the area for the weekend, Bill let us go out with only 5 divers onboard.