Independence 2001 Carolina III

The SS Carolina was a 380 foot long passenger liner sunk in WWI by the U-151 on "Black Sunday", June 2, 1918, along with five other ships, including the freighter Texel and collier Winneconne. The wreck was discovered and dived in 1995 after extensive research by John Chatterton and John Yurga. The Carolina lies in 250 feet of water approximately 65 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

For additional information on the background about the SS Carolina, the Seeker's Carolina page.

The private dive boat Independence is a 33-foot BHM that cruises up to 25 knots. This boat is especially outfitted for deep wreck diving expeditions far offshore.

Dan Bartone drives the boat on this beautiful, warm Sunday morning...
	...as famous movie star Frankie Pellegrino catches some ZZZ's. Frankie starred in that latest Michael Douglas flick as (what else) an NYPD scuba cop! If you didn't blink, you saw him walk by at one point.
After we arrive, Paul Whittaker helps me prepare for my dive. The Mk-15 closed-circuit rebreather enables an extremely clean gear configuration.
	Down on the wreck, Frankie stowed his stages near the tie-in point.
Frankie explores the wreckage of the Carolina. Even though visibility was good, it was rather dark that day.
	A ling cod lounges around the wreckage.
One of many portholes that are still attached to the wreck. Almost everyone seems to have one they are working on (they take a lot of work unless you can find one that is free). Working on various artifacts is one reason there aren't many underwater pictures of the dive today. ;-)
	Feeling lightheaded, Frankie wants to go up. ;-) ;-)
Frankie does his hang. Here the danger of being blinded by his headlight subsides. ;-)
	Here is a vegetable plate I got. It is slightly larger than the one I found earlier in the season.
Frankie drives the boat back on this fun day.
	We pass the Barnegat Lighthouse on the way back to Dan's house. I hope you've enjoyed these SS Carolina trip pictures.