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Carbisea
 Cape Lookout, NC
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Max Depth: 71-80ft/22-24m
Average Viz: 26-30ft/8-9m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Sand
Aquatic Life: Plenty To See
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Rating: 4.15 by 13 divers
Spring: 56-60°F/13-16°C
Summer: 76-80°F/24-27°C
Fall: 56-60°F/13-16°C
Winter: Under 50°F/10°C
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Carbisea is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in Cape Lookout, NC. This dive site has an average rating of 4.15 out of 5 from 13 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 71-80ft/22-24m. The average visibility is 26-30ft/8-9m.
Name: CARIBSEA
(previous names:
Buenaventrua [1940],
Lake Flattery [1923])
Type: Cargo Freighter
Built: 1919 by McDougall-Duluth Shipbuilding Co., Duluth, Minnesota
Owner: Panama Railroad Steamship Line
Home Port: New York, NY
Size: 261-0 x 43-9 x 24-4
Tonnage: 2,609 tons
Propulsion: Single screw oil-fired steam engine/
speed 9.5 knts
Cause: Torpedoed by U-158
Date Sunk: 3/11/42
GPS: N34° 36.414’/W76° 18.846’
Because it is relatively small and the wreckage is contiguous from bow-to-stern, the
Caribsea is an easy wreck to navigate on even in the worst visibility!
SHIP HISTORY: (
Sources: Gentile, Hickam, Moore, Stick) The
Caribsea was sailing alone en route from Santiago, Cuba to Norfolk, VA. with a cargo of manganese. At 0200 EWT, she was struck by two torpedoes on the starboard side. The first hit the #2 hold and the second hit amidships. The ship sunk in less than 3 minutes. The crew was unable to launch of the ship’s lifeboats and jumped overboard. Only 7 of the 28 member crew managed to cling to wreckage and survive the 10 hours in the water before they were picked up by the freighter
SS Norlindo. It is reportd that the
U-158 circled the survivors during the night, shining a light in their direction before finally submerging. They were taken towards Cape Henry, VA before being transferred to a Coast Guard boat. Two months later, the
Norlindo was sunk near the Dry Tortugas by the U-507.
DIVING NOTES: Diving Depths: 70-90 ft.
Current: None to slight
Visibility: Highly variable and susceptible to ocean swells; generally in the range of 10 to 40 feet
Summer Temperature: mid to high 70s with thermocline
Points of Interest: Two boilers, engine, port and starboard bow anchors, rudder, intact bow section
Fish/Animal Life: Large groups of spadefish, baitfish, amberjacks; frequented by stingray and cobia, spanish mackeral in the summer and generally numerous sandtiger sharks.
Description: Because it is relatively small and the wreckage is contiguous from bow-to-stern, the
Caribsea is an easy wreck to navigate on even in the worst visibility! The boilers, engine and bow are the highest and most notable sites on the wreck. This wreck is one of the best for marine life. It is often covered up with bait which attracts sharks, amberjacks and other large predators. Visit the bow while you still can, because it won’t remain standing for long. The beams supporting the upper deck have given way and the deck, with its heavy anchor windlass, has been dropping and twisting to star board ever since 1993. The storms of late 1994 caused more significant damage. The upper decking is now almost completely gone. The windlass has twisted and dropped even further and has dragged the port anchor on to what used to be the upper deck. Much of the fish concentration and feeding dynamics occur above the high point of the bow. Just hanging above the bow for the entire dive can prove entertaining as your are engulfed in schools of bait, groups of sandtigers sharks and marrauding bands of amberjacks. In the fall, the viz can often be reduced to less than one foot by the dense schools of bait.
Update 2006: The
Caribsea is getting more and more fragile — particularly in the bow section. The weight of the windlass has collapsed the decks and all the surface metal is thin and rotten. The two anchors, once sitting proudly in the hawse pipes are now gone. The starbard anchor has fallen to the sand and the port anchor has been covered in the collapsing debris. Even the anchor windlass has started to collapse. The engine and boilers remain as solid as ever and fish life still abounds, with groups of sentinel sandtigers sharks sitting above the bow and stern.