Caribsea
The wreck of the Caribsea lies in a comfortable 85 feet of water
about ten miles east of Cape Lookout Shoals. The visibility
in summer is on average about 40 feet but can range into 80
or 100 feet. The proximity to shore makes this one of the more
frequently visited wrecks during the summer months. It is scattered
and broken up due to the Navy Salvage Service, which depth charged
and wire dragged it as a hazard to navigation in the spring
of 1944. The bow section of the wreck extends to about 60 feet
from the surface and the rest of the wreck is scattered in a
roughly continuous debris field. There is a windlass on top
of the bow and the anchors are still attached. The wreck is
a popular hangout for the Atlantic Sand Tiger Shark with large
schools of the shark staying over the summer. There are many
other fish living on the Caribsea including grouper, sea bass,
and damselfish.
The
freighter Caribsea, previously known as the Buenoventura and
the Lake Flattery, is but one of many victims of the German
war machine. A most careful man, Captain Nicholas Manolis, ran
her. Captain Manolis, having been told of the dangerous U-Boats
lurking in these waters, took many unusual precautions to save
his crew. The radio operator was only on duty at night with
instructions to transmit an SOS at the first sign of trouble
without orders from the bridge. The engine room likewise was
told to run aback full in case of an explosion without orders
from command. The lifeboats were equipped with hatchets to cut
them away instead of trying to lower them normally. In spite
of all these precautions they were no to help his ship.
The
weather on the evening of March 10, 1942 was clear with fair
visibility, around 2 a.m. the lookouts reported to the captain
a tanker was in sight and that another unidentified ship was
off the bow. A few moments later two torpedoes fired by the
U-158 detonated against the hull. In three minutes the ship
was lost. Captain Manolis' preparations were to no use however,
no SOS was ever sent. The lifeboats were not launched and of
a crew of 28 only seven were rescued the next day.
