The Wrecks of the Carolina and the Texel

The John Jack spent the 4th of July weekend diving the wrecks of the SS Carolina and the Texel. These two ships were among the six sunk by U-151 on "Black Sunday, June 2, 1918.  We left the dock midnight Thursday and made the 75 mile trip at our leisure, arriving at the Carolina near dawn.  With the crew changing watch every two hours, everyone enjoyed a night's sleep and was ready for some first class diving.  The Carolina continues to be a fine dive site and an example of the type of off-shore wreck that the John Jack was designed to travel to. After three dives, we moved the boat to the wreck of the Texel. The short 4 mile hop to the Texel had us tied in and back in the water in a few hours.  The Texel gave up a couple of lobsters that we added to the dinner fare on Saturday. Our chef had prepared great meals for this trip. We had Italian sausage and peppers one evening and baked ziti with meatballs the next. Besides offering a great dive platform and fabulous diving, the John Jack continues to feed our customers like a 5 star restaurant. Chief Tony also provided a home cooked carrot cake for desert and when served with sherbet, it's a small wonder that the crew still fit into their dive gear. If we ever decide to give up diving, we can offer dinner cruises and probably get a Zagat review and rating. Saturday night brought the wind and it blew hard all night. On Sunday, the 6 - 8 foot seas curtailed diving plans so it was one and run.  As we slowly headed home and the seas flattened, we increased our speed and covered the 75 miles home in a brisk 4 1/2 hours.  As we cleaned the boat, the crew all agreed this was another wonderful weekend on the John Jack.