North Carolina Wrecks · United States · Wreck
USS Schurz
A deck gun in the sand beside boilers that are still standing
Photo: National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain
A German gunboat that ended up an American cruiser. SMS Geier was seized during the First World War, recommissioned as USS Schurz, and rammed and sunk by the merchant ship Florida in June 1918. The wreckage rests on sand at 35 m with the top of the structure at 29 m, boilers still standing, ammunition scattered and a deck gun lying clear in the sand.
Also known as SMS Geier.
Where it is and how deep
34.1870° N, 76.6021° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
Boats tie into the wreck and divers follow the line down; the top of the structure comes up at 29 m, with the rest of the ship spread on sand at 35 m. That is a narrow band to work in and a short one at these depths, so the dive is usually planned as a single circuit outward from the tie-in point and back, rather than an attempt to cover the whole 84 m hull.
What is left is a broken ship rather than a standing one, but the heavy pieces survived. The boilers remain intact and are the obvious landmark on the site, ammunition is strewn about the wreckage, and a deck gun lies in the sand. The wreck is protected by sovereign immunity, so recovering anything from it without permission is illegal; everything you find stays where it is.
Sightings of large stingrays, cobia, turtles and sand tiger sharks are very common here, and the sharks hold over the metal through the warm charter months. Visibility generally runs 15 to 30 m, which on the clearer days is enough to see the boilers from the descent line. In 2013 Scuba Diving magazine named the Schurz one of the top ten wreck dives in North Carolina.
The wreck
- Vessel
- USS Schurz
- Type
- Unprotected cruiser, ex-SMS Geier
- Length
- 84 m (276 ft)
- Built
- 1894
- Sunk
- 1918
- Cause
- Rammed by the merchant ship Florida at 04:44
- Lies
- Broken on sand at 35 m, with the top of the wreck at 29 m
Launched in October 1894 and commissioned a year later, the Bussard-class unprotected cruiser SMS Geier was built for the German Imperial Navy and seized at Honolulu after the United States entered the First World War. Recommissioned as USS Schurz, she was rammed by the merchant ship Florida at 04:44 on 21 June 1918; one crewman was killed instantly and twelve others were injured. The wreck is protected by sovereign immunity, and it is illegal to recover artifacts from the site without permission.
Marine life and season
- Sand tiger sharks
- Stingrays
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season |
Season follows North Carolina Wrecks: Charter season runs roughly April-November; sand tiger shark aggregations peak in September-October, while December-February seas are too rough for most boats.
Know before you go
- The bottom is at 35 m and the useful structure sits in the last 6 m of that, so no-stop time is short and gas planning has to be honest.
- Ammunition is strewn about the wreck; leave it where it lies and keep buoyancy off the debris field.
- Current over the site varies and the tie-in line is the only way back to the boat, so stay in contact with structure throughout.
Photos from USS Schurz
National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain
Unknown author · Public domain
Dive videos
Wreck of the USS Schurz - Dive Educators - 08/16/14 · Diver Doug’s Adventures on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the USS Schurz?+
The wreckage rests at 35 m with the top of the wreck at 29 m, so the whole dive sits in the deep end of the recreational range and is planned around a short bottom time.
Can you take artifacts from the USS Schurz?+
No. The wreck is protected by sovereign immunity, which makes it illegal to recover artifacts from the site without permission.
Are there sharks on the USS Schurz?+
Yes. Sightings of sand tiger sharks are very common, along with large stingrays, cobia and turtles.
Sources
- USS Schurz — Wikipedia
- Dive Sites — Discovery Diving
Photo credits
- Two divers with bubble trails swim over wreck timbers engulfed in a dense school of orange and silver fish. by National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- A diver hovers over a wreck beam thick with fish, a second diver trailing bubbles in the background. by National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Black-and-white photo of the masted gunboat USS Schurz at anchor in a harbor, American flag flying aft. by Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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