from left to right: Raimund Feldmann, Mehdi Benna (foreground), Capt. Dave Sommers (background), Ann Sommers, Steve Elliott (background), Robin Sparer, Lee Wahler, Steve Smith, Cliff (crew)
The Atlantis Rangers chartered the dive boat Akyla for three days of diving over the July 4th holiday weekend. The Akyla (pronounced akoola) is a 36' Hatteras sport fishing convertible. It is equiped with twin Caterpillar 420hp turbo diesels that let the boat cruise at 18 to 20 knots and put six divers in warm, clear Gulf Stream waters in under two hours. The Akyla is owned and operated by Dave and Ann Sommers. Dave and Ann have enthralled the Rangers at our regular meetings with some excellent videos shot off North Carolina and on their trips to the Caribbean. They have equipped their boat for diving by adding a very sturdy "T" rung ladder off the stern, "Roll-Control" racks to keep tanks in place. On the stern there is a full width swim platform to make the entry easy. They also use submerged granny lines to make the descent and return simple along with a surface supply safety regulator for those who might run short on the stop.
T ladder makes it easy to reboard (S.Smith)
Lion Fish on Tarpon (R.Sparer)
We started our dive Saturday morning at a reasonable 8 AM, and were on our first dive site, the Tarpon, by 9:30. Located near the Proteus wreck, the American submarine Tarpon is a thrilling sight as you descend the anchor line. Much larger than the German U-boats we have dived, when the Tarpon comes into view, her long hull disappears into the distant haze and her size becomes apparent. She rests on the sand at 140’ with the uppermost portion of the wreck at 110’ (the bow section). We had never done this wreck before and were all pleased with the bottom temp of 74 and a large variety of sea life - sharks, cobia, grouper, triggers, queen angels and the elusive lion fish that Robin spotted at 135 feet.
Our next dive was the Catherine Monohan in 100 fsw. The 185 foot long wooden four masted schooner was carrying a cargo of portland cement when it went down in 1910. This cargo, upon contact with the sea water, did what it was intended to, and solidified. Even though the wreck has slowly disintegrated, the sacks of cement remained as they did when the vessel sank marking its outline. This wreck was toad fish heaven. Temp was 75 degrees and about 30 ft of vis.
Steve Elliott on the Tarpon making his 200th dive. (S.Smith)
July 3
On Sunday we boarded again at 8:00 AM and headed north across Diamond Shoals. Seas were flat when we departed but picked up a bit over the shoals. Capt. Dave told us that seas were much worse to the south where we had been yesterday.
Our first dive was on the Kassandra Louloudis. The "Loulou", a 5000 ton Greek freighter, was filled with war materials bound for the WWII Pacific theater in 1942 when it was sunk by the U-124. The wreck now lies largely intact in 80 fsw. It has a starboard list and the actual starboard rail is under the sand with the port side rising above the sand for most of the length of the wreck. The water was a pleasant 72 on the surface but quickly dropped to – burrrrrrrr - 56 degrees on the bottom! The wreck carried US army mess flatware and medicine bottles. Several of us spotted found a very new looking pot lying in the sand. Thinking that some other boat has thrown it over board we left it. It was in fact an artifact.
Robin finds artifact on the Cassandra (S.Smith)
Our second dive was the Hesperides. She lies in just 40 feet of water, with the highest relief little more than 20 feet beneath the surface. When the waters of the shoals are calm, this wreck provides a picture-perfect dive from the stern to the bow. On this day we had a bit of a surge which clouded our vis, but had a great time swiming under the remaining decking and over the cargo of iron ore. The temp had improved to 66 degrees.
Lee Wahler on Hang (S.Smith) | 
Steve Smith on Hang (L.Wahler) | 
Raimund Feldmann on Hang (R.Sparer) |
On Saturday evening, the Sommers had invited us to their new Frisco home to enjoy a delicious meal and view some dive videos. On Sunday, we reciprocated with a crab and shrimp feast at our rented house in Avon. As is years past, we rented through the Hatteras Motel and were very pleased with the accommodations. The house (called "John Annie 2") had been fully renovated with a brand new kitchen and the rental included linens and towels. Over the weekend we made several trip to local stores to stock up on food and necessities. Costs were split equally among the participants.
Crab feast (L.Wahler)
July 4
On Monday, the winds had shifted again and we headed south in search of warm waters for our last day of diving. We planned to dive the British Splendor but when we arrived several fishing boats had already laid claim. Captain Dave tried to negotiate some space but to no avail and we turned east to the Proteus.
The luxury liner Proteus sank after a collision with the tanker Cushing in 1918. Both ships were running without lights to avoid German submarines. Today it lies on a hard sandy bottom in 125 feet of water. We found her intact from bow to stern with the port side low in the sand and sections of the starboard hull rising almost 20 feet from the bottom in places. We tied in at the boilers. The water was clear and warm 77. There was tons of sea life - purple spotted morays crammed the holes of the boilers, sharks, a white nudibranch and a large sea turtle we saw while ascending.
Nudibranch (S.Smith)
Tiny Moray (S.Smith)
Our final dive was the Keshena, a 142' ocean going tugboat that struck a mine in 1942. Now 80' below the surface, the wreck remains organized and contiguous bow to stern. She sits on her keel and is upright except for the stern which has a heavy starboard list. Varied sea life is always found at this site and often in great numbers. Even after making long dives on the Proteus, we had good bottom time here.
Sand Tiger on Tarpon (S.Smith)
The Sommers and mate Cliff made our three days very enjoyable. Some of our group left for home on Monday evening, others stayed over in Hatteras Village to watch the fireworks. Each day was great and we saw our favorite sand tiger sharks on every dive.
Report by Robin Sparer and Steve Smith