Morehead City, North Carolina, United States

USS Schurz

The USS Schurz was a 90-metre former German light cruiser, originally launched in 1894 as SMS Geier, that was seized in Honolulu when the United States entered the First World War in 1917 and recommissioned into the US Navy as a patrol vessel. On the foggy night of 21 June 1918 she collided with the SS Florida off Cape Lookout, North Carolina, and sank shortly afterward, making her one of very few WWI shipwrecks accessible to recreational divers in US waters. The wreck rests on a sand bottom at 33 metres about 30 nautical miles south of Morehead City. The bow section, boilers, engine and aft superstructure are still recognisable, with portholes, fittings and ammunition still in place. The site is heavily encrusted with sponges and hydroids and is a regular sand tiger shark aggregation site in the warmer months. Currents follow the Gulf Stream and visibility is reliably 18 to 30 metres in summer. Advanced certification required.