Virginia Beach Diving

Aboard the Flying Fish
Lenny Monopoli, Divemaster

    Try these great local adventures with divemaster, Lenny Monopoli.  Meet at the dock at Rudee Inlet, Virginia Beach 45 minutes prior to listed departure time and board the Flying Fish.  Diver are responsible to bring all their gear including tanks and weights. Each day provides two dives on the selected site.

    For more information contact Dive Connections  434-964-9200

2003

The Esteridge: This is a brand new wreck site. A 110' tug boat sunk in 62' of water.

The Capt. Rick's: - An intact fishing trawler sitting upright in 80 ft of water. The wreck is covered with all kinds of marine life. This is a good wreck for u/w photography.

The Esteridge: This is a brand new wreck site. A 110' tug boat sunk in 62' of water.

The Brass Spike: A unknown wooden wreck laying in 75'. Due to the lack of rigging, the vessel was most likely a converted schooner barge, a common sight along the Mid-Atlantic during the early 20th century. The wreck is contiguous with a few remaining brass spikes along the hull, hence the name. Off the port side of the stern remains the rudder debris, (as of 9/98) with one large brass grudgeon left. The site is commonly dove now, but used to be home to abundant quantities of large tautog when first visited.

John Morgan: Perhaps the most well-known wreck off Virginia, the 7,176 ton Liberty ship sits in 110' after colliding with the SS Montana on its maiden voyage, June 1, 1943. The John Morgan was loaded with lend-lease cargo which included trucks, motorcycles, P-39 airplanes, 10 Valentine tanks and tons of assorted ammunition. The most visited portion of the wreck is amidships to the stern. The bow section is a vast area of abundant wreckage, great for lobstering, though difficult to navigate. The stern is intact and canted to port, with many areas that can be penetrated and explored. Between the amidships high section and the stern, lie many of the Valentine tanks, as well as a plethora of 88mm artillery shells. The wreck is especially rewarding to dive early in the season, as large tautog, some exceeding 20 pounds, can be found on the extreme stern section.

Gulf Hustler: A commercial fishing vessel, similar to the Doxie Girl, sitting intact and upright in 80'. The large A-frame rises up from the stern with a large majority of the wreck covered in mussels.

The Bell: A brand new wreck just located about a year and a half ago.  A wooden schooner sunk in 60 ft. approx. 28 miles off shore.   Plenty of sand tigers sharks.

The Schooner: The Schooner, when first dove in early 1997 from the vessel Deep Explorer, was an amazing site: an intact sailing vessel with clouds of black sea bass and large tautog. This wreck, heavily sanded in and lying in 110', is intact and an easy dive due to the small size. When I first dove this site, there were six large brass scupper frames lying loose within the wreck. The other unique treasure on this wreck is the abundance of deadeyes, remains of the ships' rigging, that are found around the wreck which make beautiful artifacts when cleaned up and conserved. Aside from the black sea bass and large tautog that reside here, an abundance of flounder are found by mid-summer. The wreck consists of approximately 3' of hull protruding from the sand, the remains of one of the lower decks. A large anchor rests up by the port side of the bow. The interior of the wreck is heavily sanded in, but with a little fanning the wood deck (keel?) is visible in many areas. Copper pipes run along the inside hull, and small assorted machinery rests amidship.

Private Charter

John Morgan: Perhaps the most well-known wreck off Virginia, the 7,176 ton Liberty ship sits in 110' after colliding with the SS Montana on its maiden voyage, June 1, 1943. The John Morgan was loaded with lend-lease cargo which included trucks, motorcycles, P-39 airplanes, 10 Valentine tanks and tons of assorted ammunition. The most visited portion of the wreck is amidships to the stern. The bow section is a vast area of abundant wreckage, great for lobstering, though difficult to navigate. The stern is intact and canted to port, with many areas that can be penetrated and explored. Between the amidships high section and the stern, lie many of the Valentine tanks, as well as a plethora of 88mm artillery shells. The wreck is especially rewarding to dive early in the season, as large tautog, some exceeding 20 pounds, can be found on the extreme stern section.

The Esteridge: This is a brand new wreck site. A 110' tug boat sunk in 62' of water.

The James E. Haviland: A former Liberty ship, the Haviland had her upper structures razed and was sunk as an artificial reef.

The Lillian Lukenbach:  A 6,369 ton freighter sunk in 105' on March 27, 1943 after colliding with SS Cape Henlopen and now lies on her port side. The bow is recognizably intact, though flattened out with the amidships section more broken down. The superstructure is scattered in the sand. The wreck is largely contiguous along the centerline, though large debris fields may lure divers away from the main part of the wreck. Tires and engine parts abound throughout the wreck, with the remains of P-39 Aircobras buried under wreckage. The stern rises up dramatically approximately 30' at a break, with the starboard shaft protruding foward. The stern superstructure, previously attached to the tilted stern, has now slid off and is lying upside down to port.

NOTE: The bronze hubs to the stern steering station, previously suspended upside down in the stern superstructure, now lay loose inside this wreckage. However, the hubs are still connected to the large steel shaft. I conducted several dives working to cut the shaft in an attempt to remove these artifacts, but due to other commitments, was unable to complete the task.

The stern guntubs still are evident on either side of this wreckage. Largely thought to be picked over, the Luckenbach still yields an occasional prize for an observant diver; on one dive in 1998, I recovered a cage lamp in plain view while another diver recovered a nice porthole. This a very interesting wreck but often overlooked in favor of the nearby John Morgan.

The Eureka: Traveling in a thick fog from New York to New Orleans with a cargo of general merchandise, the Eureka collided with the Benison. The Eureka was equipped with steamer's engines as well as rigged with four masts for the use of sails. The damage from the collision was too great, and soon the Eureka lay upright on the bottom with her mast exposed. The wreck was further disgraced by demolition from the USS Despatch, as she presented a hazzard to navigation. Divers from the Baker Salvage Company first descended on the wreck in August, contracted to recover the cargo that still remained with the wreck. After work was completed, the wreck was abandoned.

Mike Boring was the first diver to view the Eureka since the salvage divers left the wreck in 1888. His dive boat, the Sea Hunter, was on a charter to the site believed to be the Chenango in 1990. He persuaded his charter into checking out a set of numbers he had received from a commercial fishermen. Mike anchored up to the wreck, and on his first dive recovered the brass capstan cover that identified the wreck as the Eureka. His charter was not impressed with the site, and they opted to do their second dive at the Chenango. Mike soon returned with others to begin recovering the many artifacts that abound on the wreck. The Eureka quickly became known for the copious amounts of porcelain doll heads, arms and feet, as well as toy tea sets.

The wreck lies in 115' of water, though the engine and boilers rise 20' off the bottom. The port side of the stern rises 20' off the bottom, though the steel is rusting through in several areas. Forward of this, the wreck breaks down until the large engine and boilers are encountered. The hull of the wreck has flattened outward, the edges rising only 2-3' off the bottom. Although contiguous, the wreck has become heavily sanded in over the years, thus one must dig in the sand to reveal its secrets. The genral cargo areas are found just forward of the boilers, where most of the artifacts are recovered. Cabin areas and more cargo as well as the remaining portholes, may be found towards the stern. Far from shore, visibility on the site is consistently around 40'. The temperature, too, is a constant, due to the site's vicinity to deep water. Artifacts recovered include numerous types of medicine, liquor, and perfume bottles, various gauges, deadeyes, portholes, a small bell, copious amounts of various ammunition, a pewter lantern, marble doorknobs, cases of leather boots, a gold pocket watch, and an ornate capstan cover. On a trip in May of 1998, I was lucky enough to come across a complete case of Hennessey & Co. cognac, and successfully recovered 9 intact bottles, along with marble doorknobs and a porcelain dolls head. A lone porthole, glass intact, remains on the port side of the wreck (as of December 1998), even after several attempts to recover it. With some dedicated digging, divers may be handsomely rewarded.

Gulf Hustler: A commercial fishing vessel, similar to the Doxie Girl, sitting intact and upright in 80'. The large A-frame rises up from the stern with a large majority of the wreck covered in mussels.

John Morgan: Perhaps the most well-known wreck off Virginia, the 7,176 ton Liberty ship sits in 110' after colliding with the SS Montana on its maiden voyage, June 1, 1943. The John Morgan was loaded with lend-lease cargo which included trucks, motorcycles, P-39 airplanes, 10 Valentine tanks and tons of assorted ammunition. The most visited portion of the wreck is amidships to the stern. The bow section is a vast area of abundant wreckage, great for lobstering, though difficult to navigate. The stern is intact and canted to port, with many areas that can be penetrated and explored. Between the amidships high section and the stern, lie many of the Valentine tanks, as well as a plethora of 88mm artillery shells. The wreck is especially rewarding to dive early in the season, as large tautog, some exceeding 20 pounds, can be found on the extreme stern section.

The Margaret Hanks was a former clam dredger that now sits in 60' of water. She lies on her starboard side, sanded in. Her A-frame extends out from her stern, and gear from her former dredging days lies scattered out in the sand. She is beginning to break apart, as a dive in 1997 revealed a large fracture in her hull. Due to a large surge rushing around the wreck, the crack could be seen to expand and then come crashing back, creating a tremendous noise. This site is heavily utilized as a training site for new divers.

Descriptions of wrecks courtesy of