Five-Mile Boxcars
GPS 34 06.217 / 077 44.950, AR 372
Approximately five miles from the
inlet at a 154-degree heading, as the
name suggests, this reef was originally
built with 10 railroad boxcars in 1986.
A couple of large 220-foot barges were
sunk there in 1990. One hundred
twenty-eight reef balls were dropped
around the location in 2001. At a depth
of 48 feet, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel,
barracuda, cobia and assorted bottom
dwellers like flounder and black sea
bass are hooked here.
Ten-Mile Boxcars
GPS 34 03.283 / 077 39.633, AR 376
About 10 miles from the inlet at a
heading of 142 degrees and about 10
miles from Masonboro Inlet, this reef
was also started with 10 railroad boxcars,
sunk in 1986. Concrete chunks were
added in 1992 and 1997. The average
depth is around 60 feet. King mackerel,
Spanish mackerel, black sea bass, barracuda,
cobia and assorted bottom dwellers
like flounder are found here, as well as
the occassional mahi-mahi, sailfish and
amberjack.
44
WBM june 2012
Left: Concrete in different forms, like these box
culverts at AR-366, can be found at multiple
artificial reefs off Wrightsville’s coast. In addition
to a 215-foot hopper dredge, The Hyde, and
10 railroad boxcars, a 300-foot dredge, The
Markham (below), and a 150-foot barge used
by the Cape Fear Community College Marine
Technology Oceanic Laboratory, The Alton
Lennon (bottom), can be found at the Lennon/
Hyde Reef (AR-386), better known to anglers as
the School House.
The Dredge Wreck
GPS 33 58.583 / 077 41.283, AR 382
Approximately 10-and-a-half miles
from the Carolina Inlet sea buoy, the centerpiece
of this reef is the 800-ton dredge,
Playa, which was being towed from dry
dock in Wilmington to Morehead City
when it began to sink unexplainably
on February 5, 1931. The 24 crewman
were rescued by the tug boat, Barrenfolk,
but because it was a navigational hazard
the U.S. Coast Guard sank the barge
about six weeks later in 65 feet of water.
Additional vessels were added to the reef
Photos courtesy of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
150-foot long, 60-foot high, The Alton
Lennon Oceanic Laboratory. The floating
classroom was sunk in 1987.