Papoose
Conditions & tides
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Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
The Papoose is a tanker wreck about 12 miles from Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, 453 feet (138 m) long and 56 feet (17 m) wide. She was built in 1920 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation and first commissioned as the Portola Plumas. When she sank she was traveling alone and unarmed from Smith's Bluff, Texas to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania with 65,000 barrels of heating oil.
The German submarine U-124 torpedoed her on 18 March 1942, and 23 survivors were rescued. The wreck was first taken for the SS Papoose, and her real identity as the W.E. Hutton was only confirmed recently, so the site is still officially called the Papoose.
The wreck is rated intermediate and reaches about 120 feet (36.8 m). Sand tiger sharks, turtles, jacks and stingrays are seen, mainly from June to October.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Loggerhead Sea TurtleCaretta carettaReported here · unconfirmed
Atlantic Spotted DolphinStenella frontalisReported here · unconfirmed
Bandtail PufferSphoeroides spengleriReported here · unconfirmed
Planehead FilefishStephanolepis hispidaReported here · unconfirmed
Tiger SharkGaleocerdo cuvierConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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