US Schurz
- Rank: This is a top rated wreck in the Graveyard of the Atlantic and is a 'must see'. Many divers choose to do a 'double dip' on her because she is that good!
- Sunk: Jun 21, 1918
- How: She collided with the SS Florida
- Linage: She was a luxury vessel confiscated and retrofit as a gunboat for the war efforts.
- Size : 255 ft x 32 ft x 14ft (quite small by war standards)
- Tonnage: 1603 tons
- Type: Coal-fired steam powered
- Depth: 95-110 ft.
- Visibility: Good to very good; 50 to 100+ ft. However visibility can be reduced to less than 10 feet because of the schools of bait fish
- Current: Slight to moderate
- Temperature ( Jun to Oct): high 70's to low 80's
- Wreck Notables: Bow and stern deck guns, boilers, engine, port anchor, rudder/steering quadrant, ammo locker with various sized ammunition & bullets remnants, small hexagonal tiles from one of the ship's bathrooms, brass elements and more. Of particular interest items to be recovered include portholes, 3 in brass screws, a gold fountain pen, etc.
- Critters to See: Massive schools of bait fish, frequent sand tiger sharks, amber jacks, occasional sea turtles, conger eels, numerous small tropical fish, moray eels, Southern Stingrays, and more.
Sources:
Background & History:
In 1894 a German armed cruiser named the SMS Geier had both steam and sail propulsion and was a mix of copper sheathing, steel and wood. The Geier would eventually become the US Schurz. The Geier served in the German navy during the Spanish-American War (1894), the Boxer Rebellion (1900-1905), and Turkish-Italian War (1911-1913).
During the beginning days of WWI, the Geier was in the pacific and was being pursued by Japan. She entered the then neutral port of Honolulu, Hawaii in 1914 for supplies and repairs. The US was neutral at the time and not yet entered the war but German interests did not align with those of the United States. The Geier was interred at that point and the US Navy prevented her leaving so that she would not support German war efforts. Almost 3 years later, she was seized when the United States entered into WWI in 1917. She was re-fitted and launched as the US Schurz in October 1917 and served in the US Navy in convoy duties as a patrol vessel.
On June 18, 1918, the US Schurz was struck by the SS Floridia who was running with lights out to avoid detection by German submarines. The US Schurz sank several hours later with one crew member losing their life.
U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command via NOAA
Locally she is known as the "WWI" wreck or World War One or the Geier. The wreck of the US Schurz is contiguous and lies on its keel. According to Gary Gentile It actually lists to its port side This is more noticeable near the stern than anywhere else on the wreck. The highest point on the wreck are the boilers. From the boilers, forward to the bow, the wreck is quite flat and without very much relief. For the most part the wreck is in large chunks or pieces with distinct large remains of machinery within the collapsed outline of the hull. Despite its small and compact size, there are days where the vast schools of bait fish make it quite easy to get disoriented on this wreck, especially if its your first time diving her. Sometimes the bait fish are so thick that despite massive water viz and clarity, you can't see more than a few feet in front of you. The wreck has been hit by many storms in the Atlantic and is slowly disappearing to the sand and the sea... but it is one of the prettiest wrecks in the Graveyard of the Atlantic with lots of fun things to discover such as the ammo locker where small munitions can still be found on the bed of the ocean floor or the ship's guns which now provide a tie in point for some of the local dive operators or the remnants of the massive brass screws that held down the luxury teak floors near the bow. The boilers not only provide relief on the wreck and acts as a midship navigational tool but also provide homes for lots of marine life including conger eels, rays, a few turtles, octopi, lion fish and a few sand tigers roaming this majestic relic of war!
