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Home :: USA: North Carolina :: Crystal Coast / Morehead City :: Dive Sites :: Papoose

Papoose

Novice Divers Intermediate Divers Advanced Divers   Overall Total Reviews: 0   1   3   4   Average Rating:     4.0   4.3   4.2   This spot is considered Advanced.

Reviewed By: joediver815		October 19, 2009
Awesome This was one of my first deep actual shipwrecks, and it quickly became one of my favorites; if for nothing else, the many, many sandtiger sharks that patrol the hull. Make no mistake, although they tend to shy away, and won't bother you too much, occasionally, one will coast on by to check you out, more out of curiosity than anything else. You'll also see giant barracuda, big amberjacks, batfish, makeral, and scores of baitfish. Current on the "Papoose" (which has been discovered to in reality be the Hutton, but operators out there continue to refer to it by it's former name to avoid confusion) can be tricky at times, so it's important to use the hull for relief when appropriate. The inverted hull is so big, you still won't be let down. This can easily be a three tank dive. One for cruising the stern, one for the bow and one for the break / penetration. In the past, there were more than a few lionfish on this wreck. Look for a couple of moray eels in the break area near the keel, and always be on the lookout for those big loggerhead turtles. You can certainly find your share of shark teeth and nudibranchs if you take the time to look for them. Olympus and Discovery are the main diving outfits here, and I like diving with both of them. Viz out there frequently gets +80' in the summer months, but can drop below 30' in the winter or when the current gets ripping. In Winter, the Sandtiger sharks use this area to pup. You can literally find hundreds of sharks on the wreck in January. IF you can get out there. I dive this with a steel 120 AND a 30' pony for redundancy, for safety's sake. You should also know how to shoot an ascent line if you're going out here, at the very least dive (and stick) with a buddy who does. That's just my two cents. ;-)

Reviewed By: bschorer		April 13, 2007
Papoose is loaded with sharks and penetration opportunities Dove the Papoose (now considered to be the EH Hutton) with Olympus out of Morehead City. Boat is broken in two parts so that you can explore the bow with one dive and the stern on another. Jacks, amberjack, lots of sand tigers, HUGE rays inhabit this wreck. So much to explore that 3 dives on this did not cover it all.

Reviewed By: ScottR		April 7, 2007
Great dive Dove this site with Olympus out of Morehead, NC in April 2007. Visibility was reletively OK at 40'-50'. Good wildlife with many Sandtigers and saw one Blacktip wandering around under the boat. Two large rays hanging out on the bottom at 120 fsw. Good penetration opportunities for those so trained. Lots to see. Great dive, I would recommend.

Reviewed By: fourwheel		March 2, 2006
A good place for VIS and alot of Creatures Went with Discovery Diving. it is a good location to dive seen lots of sand tigers and vis was 100+. Recommend at least two tanks. Good Site

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