Mystery Shipwreck Exploration Project 2013

2013-06-07T11:50:00.001-07:00

Spots are still available for the Mystery Shipreck Exploration Project ! Continuing on August 9th through August 11th. Sponsored by Dive Rite this year. Open to all interested experienced Wreck Divers. This is a Scientific survey, research and exploration of the Green Bouy Wreck site to identify the Wreck using NAS Archaeological techniques. Come and join us and have some FUN !!!

This is part of our ongoing surveys on all the Historic Wrecks throughout the Summer that any certified divers can join in on any of our dives at the Outer Banks Dive Center. You can learn Basic Underwater Archaeology skills and help gather information about these wrecks to be put in a public data base.

We are hitting the ground running this dive season with a four-day expedition to the Green Buoy site, an unidentified shipwreck north of Diamond Shoals. For decades, divers and historians alike have puzzled over this mysterious wreck. In his 1993 Shipwreck’s of North Carolina from the Diamond Shoals North, Gary Gentile first described this wreck. So many vessels were lost in the area and never found. Could it be the Ciltvaira? Or the British tanker Mirlo, famous for the heroic USCG rescue of her crew in 1918? Or perhaps another ship lost to marauding U-boats in the infamous Torpedo Junction?

Unable to determine an identity, the site was dubbed Green Buoy by local wreck divers. It was once again in the spotlight in 2006 by noted author, diver, and shipwreck researcher Michael C. Barnette. He published an article in Volume 10 of Wreck Diver Magazine entitled Scrambled History: A Tale of Four Misidentified Tankers. Based on personal accounts and historical records, Barnette proposed another possibility: Green Buoy is actually lost British tanker San Delfino, sunk by U-203 on April 9th, 1942. Compelling as his article was, Barnette was unable to provide definitive evidence to determine the identity of the Green Buoy shipwreck.

Thus, the mystery remains; a mystery Bill and his crew want to shed some light on. Putting his scientific and archaeological dive training to work, Bill is gathering a select group of divers to visit and document the Green Buoy site. What’s more, Bill has invited former Outer Banks Dive Center staff member John Bright to come along. John left the dive center in 2009 to pursue a career in maritime archaeology, and is returning to help Bill research the Green Buoy wreck. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, the gang from Dive Rite is also coming along!

This is the perfect time to break out your photo and video equipment, or to help with underwater mapping and documentation. As always, preservation and protection are paramount, especially on these war graves, so there will be no disturbance or artifact recovery. This is an opportunity to contribute to the rich maritime heritage of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, so don’t miss out. Come join us in being a part of this important research trip. Spots are limited, so book your space now, they are filling up fast!