Morehead City, North Carolina, United States

Aeolus

The Aeolus is a 124-metre former United States Navy cable repair ship, originally USS Aeolus (ARC-3), that served from 1955 through the 1980s and was scuttled as an artificial reef about 17 nautical miles south of Morehead City on 19 June 1988. She landed upright on a sand bottom at 33 metres but was torn into two distinct sections by Hurricane Fran in September 1996; the two halves now lie close together, with the highest superstructure around 24 metres. The artificial-reef program scrubbed the ship before sinking, and purpose-cut openings allow safe penetration into the holds and bridge for trained wreck divers. The Aeolus has matured into one of the best dives in the Olympus and Discovery Diving Co. roster: large sand tiger shark aggregations through summer, schools of bait fish and amberjack, queen angelfish, lionfish (the invasive Pterois) and dense growth of cnidarians and sponges. Visibility 12 to 25 metres.