Bermuda · Bermuda · Wreck
North Carolina
A bowsprit and rows of deadeyes still standing in 13.7 m
Area photo: c&rdunn · CC BY-SA 2.0
An iron-hulled English barque of 62 metres (205 feet), wrecked in 1880 and sitting upright on sand in 7.6 to 13.7 m. Bow and stern are still fairly intact while the middle of the ship has collapsed, which leaves two standing sections of a Victorian sailing ship — bowsprit, deadeyes and all — in water shallow enough for a long, unhurried dive.
Where it is and how deep
32.2616° N, 64.9591° WPublished position for this site.
Site maps published elsewhere
The dive
The barque sits upright on a sandy seabed roughly 14 km (8.5 miles) west and five miles south of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, in 7.6 to 13.7 m of water. Bow and stern are still fairly intact; amidships she has collapsed, so the dive runs as two standing sections of ship joined by a lower field of wreckage rather than one continuous hull to follow.
The bow is the part divers linger over — a prominent bowsprit still projecting forward and rows of deadeyes along the deck railings, the rigging fittings of a 62-metre iron sailing ship (205 feet) rather than anything mechanical. Hogfish and snapper are often sighted around the structure. With a maximum of 13.7 m there is gas enough for a slow circuit of both ends before you come up.
The wreck
- Vessel
- North Carolina
- Type
- Iron-hulled English barque
- Length
- 62.5 m (205 ft)
- Built
- 1876
- Sunk
- 1880
- Cause
- Ran aground after rudder damage forced a Bermuda detour; her own anchor then broke free and holed the hull
- Lies
- Upright on sand in 7.6–13.7 m, bow and stern fairly intact, collapsed amidships
Built in 1876 in Scotland by the Macmillan & Son shipyard, the North Carolina was a 533-ton iron-hulled barque owned by a Liverpool company. She was running from Baltimore to Liverpool in the winter of 1879 with a general cargo of cotton, bark and fuel when rudder damage forced her towards Bermuda. She ran aground there, and her own anchor later broke free and crashed through the hull, tearing a huge hole; she was lost in January 1880.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Bermuda: May to October is the season, warmest July to September at 27–28°C; the water falls to about 19°C by March, and winter storms make diving the exception.
Dive videos
North Carolina Wreck | Blue Horizon Diving · Blue Horizon Diving on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the North Carolina wreck?+
She lies in 7.6 to 13.7 m of water, with a maximum depth of 13.7 m — one of the shallower wrecks on the Bermuda platform.
Sources
- North Carolina — Bermuda 100 (UC San Diego)
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