Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
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 USS Monitor was a Union ironclad famous for its 1862 Civil War battle with the CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads, the first engagement between ironclad warships. It sank later that year in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and its wreck now lies on the seabed near the coordinates given, within what became the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. The wreck sits upside down in deep water off the Outer Banks, a depth and location that puts it well beyond recreational diving limits and makes it accessible mainly to technical divers and research teams. Its rotating gun turret, one of the ship's most significant design innovations, was recovered in 2002 and is preserved onshore rather than left at the site.
AI overviewMarine 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
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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