Laurel Divers
Monthly Newsletter
 Home
 Previous Month
 Next Month
February 3, 2000
President:  Diane Turcovsky  (814) 695-6878 
Vice Pres:  Josh Keyser (814) 536-3308
Secretary:  Denny Beecher  (814) 472-5776
Treasurer: Donna Bender (814) 472-9796

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on March 2, 2000.  The meeting will be held at the Penn Gables Restaurant in Ebensburg at 7:30 P.M.
The next board meeting will be on March 9, 2000.  The meeting will be held at Maurer's Dive Shop in Carrolltown at 7:30 P.M.
FEBRUARY MEETING
A presentation at the Altoona Hospital took the place of our regular club meeting in February.  The Altoona Hospital has installed a hyperbaric chamber, and is in the process of securing DAN approval for the treatment of decompression sickness.  Dr. Zlupko gave the talk, and proved an excellent and entertaining speaker who was well-versed in hyperbaric medicine.  Approximately 50 people, including about 40 Laurel Diver members and 6 Nittany Diver members, attended the demonstration.  A big thanks to Sandy Verdevoir for arranging the event.

Treasurer’s Report: Income: $82.00, Expenses: $104.09, Current Balance: $2,296.14.

THIS & THAT

We are in the process of finalizing our annual calendar.  If you would like to run or suggest a trip (even a weekend or day trip), please let any of our officers or board members know as soon as possible.

We will be handing out tickets for our annual fundraiser at the March meeting. The prize will be $100 for each of five days based on the PA daily lottery number during Memorial Day week.

Laurel Diver Jackets are still available.  The jackets are red with white lettering and a fleece lining.  Cost for the jackets are $66.95 each.  Please call Donna Bender at 472-9796, or e-mail her at Donna@Bender.net if interested.
Please note that the Laurel Divers web page has moved.  If you go to the old site, a link will direct you to the new address at http://LaurelDivers.com.

PAST EVENTS

Thirteen club members traveled to Miami and set sail for Bimini aboard the Pirates Lady in mid-January.  Heavy seas made for a long, arduous and extremely rough Gulf Stream crossing (both directions), and limited the diving once they arrived in the Bahamas.  The group was able to get in two full days of diving however, and reported beautiful healthy reefs with every kind of sea creature imaginable.

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 19th at 1:00 (snow permitting) will be the cross-country ski party at Joe Gordon's cabin on the Ghost Town Trail.  Bring your own antifreeze--hot drinks, bread, chili and soup will be provided by Joe and Karen.  Ski rentals are available at The Locker Room in Hollidaysburg (695-8515), Pedal Power in Altoona (942-4537), Miller Pools in Johnstown (266-3501), Ski Den Sports in Johnstown (266-7669) or Cycle Sports in Indiana (724-463-0818).  If we're snowless, we'll swap the event for a pool party at Maurer's Dive Shop at 6:00 on the same day.  If you have any question regarding which event, please call any of our officers or board members.  Directions to Joe's: From Ebensburg, take Route 422 West.  Go 8 miles to the Triangle Restaurant, and turn left on Route 271 South.  Go 1/2 mile to sawmill, and turn left on Red Mill Road.  Go about 2 miles to Red Mill parking lot--white house on the left is Joe's.  The cabin is 1/4 mile up the Ghost Town Trail extension.

Saint Francis College Scuba Club invites Laurel Divers to join in the fun at the 3rd annual Underwater Olympics to be held on Feb 20th, from 7p-8:30p at the Stokes Complex Pool.  [Note:  this even is  *cancelled *and will be rescheduled in March]

On Saturday, March 18th at 6:00, there will be a discover scuba night held at Maurer's Dive Shop in Carrolltown.  This is a free opportunity for non-divers to try breathing underwater.  If you have any non-diver family or friends who may like to try scuba in the comforts of a heated pool, please bring them to the event.  Any club members who wish to attend to help out are also invited.  Call Maurer's Dive Shop at 344-6641 for further details.

On March 25th, we will be holding a racquetball / wallyball party at the Ebensburg Health and Wellness Center in the Ebensburg Industrial Park.  Full details will be at the March meeting, and details and directions will be in the March newsletter.

The trip to Morehead City, NC is now booked for July 28th - 31st.  We will be diving for two days aboard the Diver Down, and will likely visit the wreck of the U-352.  Cost for the diving is $70 per day, and the trip is limited to 18 divers.  A deposit of $140 is needed to reserve your spot.  Payment is due by the April meeting, but it is suggested that you book early to reserve your spot.  Call Jim Smith at 696-1938 for further details.

AROUND THE CLUB

Please keep the information coming.  Did you cross a new dive milestone, receive additional training, or have something else interesting happen?  Let me know at a meeting, call me at 472-5776, or e-mail me at Mosskeetoe@aol.com.

The warm clear waters of Bimini helped a few of our members reach milestones in their diving.  Congratulations to the following members for their accomplishments:
Dan Turcovsky entered dive number 200 in his logbook.
Kim McGee logged his 100th underwater hour.
Sandy Beecher made her 50th underwater splash.

GERMAN U-BOATS (PART II)

 Last month, we began a two-part series on German U-boats.  Both World Wars were wars of commerce, with opponents trying to strangle each other's economies to force a surrender.  Prowling U-boats extracted a tremendous toll on Allied shipping.  In World War I, German U-boats sank more than 5,000 ships, causing the loss of over 15,000 lives, and resulting in nearly 13 million tons of lost cargo.  World War II ended with over 3,000 Allied ships lost to U-boats.
 This success did not come without a heavy price.  178 U-boats and nearly 5,000 men were lost in World War I.  By World War II, the Allies had developed even more effective counter measures, and 781 German submarines were sunk.  Of the 39,000 men in U-boat crews in World War II, 28,000 lost their lives, and 5,000 more were captured.  Seven out of ten U-boats were sunk by the Allies.
 There are currently at least 10 known U-boat wrecks in American waters--seven on the East Coast, one in Lake Michigan, and two more off the coast of California.  Here's a brief look at some of the wrecks:
 U-352: This sub was a 220-foot long, 750 ton craft armed with an 88-millimeter gun on the conning tower, and two 20-millimeter anti-aircraft guns on the bridge.  It had four torpedo tubes in the bow, and one in the stern.  After an unfruitful excursion in the North Seas, the U-352 left Germany for her final trip in April of 1942.
   After a handful of unsuccessful attacks, and a narrow escape when they were bombed by a passing aircraft, the crew of the U-352 was anxious for success.  On the afternoon of May 9th, the sub spotted a single mast on the horizon, and fired two torpedoes without making a positive identification of the ship.  The vessel was the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Icarus.
 Both torpedoes missed their mark, and the Icarus responded with depth charges.  After several depth charge attacks, the U-352 was irreparably damaged and floated helplessly toward the surface when her buoyancy tanks ruptured.  The crew of the U-352 abandoned ship amidst machine gun fire from the deck of the Icarus.  Fourteen were killed in the turmoil, and 32 were taken prisoner aboard the Coast Guard cutter.
 The U-352 lies today in 110 feet of water off the coast of Morehead City, NC.  It is undoubtedly the most popular North Carolina wreck due to the Gulf Stream currents that ensure excellent visibility and warm temperatures.
 U-85:  This sub was a 220-foot long, 500-ton U-boat built in Lubeck, Germany in 1941.  After tours on duty in Norway, Newfoundland, and New York, the U-85 set out from Germany for her fourth and final trip to battle in March of 1942.
In early April, the U-85 was patrolling the coast of North Carolina when she was surprised by the USS Roper, a destroyer built in 1918 to combat the first U-boat invasion.  The Roper's searchlight beam caught the conning tower of the U-85 with five men running along her half-submerged deck toward her gun.  The Roper opened up with 50-caliber machine guns, killing all five men.  The U-85 fired one torpedo that went wide of her target, and began to submerge while the Roper fired with three-inch guns.  One of the shots scored a direct hit at the base of the conning tower, and the U-85 was finished.  The entire remaining crew of 40 was lost when the U-85 sank.
The wreck lies today in 100 feet of water east of Nags Head, NC.  Unlike the U-352, this wreck is not in the Gulf Stream--summertime bottom temperatures are usually 65-degrees or less, and visibility averages 10 - 30 feet.  The vessel lies upright and lists sharply to her starboard side.  Her conning tower and one of her propellers are still intact, her hatches are all open, and her deck gun points toward the ocean's surface.
 UC-97:  Once I heard of a German sub in Lake Michigan, my curiosity was instantly aroused, and I searched for information about this wreck.  According to information I've uncovered, the UC-97 was a German mine laying submarine built in 1918.  She was never commissioned for active duty, but was surrendered along with 175 other German U-boats at the end of World War I.  The U.S. brought five of the surrendered subs back to the States for technical study, and to be used as war trophies for advertising the Victory Bond Drive.  As per the terms of their surrender, all of the German U-boats were eventually destroyed.  The UC-97 was towed into Lake Michigan and sunk for gunnery practice by the U.S.S. Wilmette.
The wreck was located in 1992 by A&T Recovery.  Although A&T released a public video of the wreck, they did not disclose its location.  The video indicates that the wreck is approximately 250-feet deep.