Venerable submarine at Patriots Point soon to become artificial reef off Winyah Bay

Plans are in place for another massive piece of structure to be added to South Carolina’s Marine Artificial Reef Program. This addition is chock full of history, and will hit the bottom east-southeast of the Winyah Bay jetties.

The venerable submarine USS Clamagore is a fixture at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mt. Pleasant, but its new home will soon be on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean as an intriguing artificial reef.

The Clamagore is expected to be sunk within the same Permitted Area — PA 17 — as the Vermilion, a 460-foot ship that has long been popular with divers and anglers. The plan is for the Clamagore to settle on the bottom within a mile of the Vermilion, which is located 27.5 nautical miles east-southeast of the south jetty at Georgetown’s Winyah Bay in 120 feet of water.

The historic submarine, built by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Conn., and the only GUPPY III submarine preserved in the United States, was first launched in 1945, served 30 years in The Cold War and was decommissioned in 1975. It was added to the fleet at Patriots Point museum in 1981.

The Clamagore weighs 1,975 tons, measures over 322 feet in length and will provide approximately 40 feet of relief off the bottom as an artificial reef.

The future of the submarine had been uncertain, with options including repairing and preserving it, leaving it in its current state in Charleston Harbor to further deteriorate or use it as an artificial reef.

“It’s an environmental hazard as is,” said Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Murrells Inlet. “It has to be cleaned and to sink it as an artificial reef, it’s going to cost the state over $2 million dollars. We also considered (preserving it) as a museum ship at a cost of $10 million.”

Goldfinch calls sinking the submarine as an artificial reef “the most fiscally responsible option.”

Gov. Henry McMaster vetoed the project and its $2.7 million price tag but in June, 2019, the South Carolina Legislature voted to override the veto.

“It was unanimous or pretty close to override the veto,” said Goldfinch, who says no date is set to sink the Clagamore. He hopes the project will be completed by this summer.

Goldfinch, himself an avid diver and fisherman, pushed for the reef to be established locally.

“I said ‘it’s going off Murrells Inlet and Georgetown if it’s up to me,’ “ said Goldfinch.

The senator is excited at the prospects of what the submarine will offer as an artificial reef.

“If it lands upright, it will have 40 feet of relief (from the bottom) — that’s a big piece of relief,” said Goldfinch. “I think it’s going to be a fantastic addition to our reef program. It’s going to be fantastic for pelagics like dolphin and tuna. It’s going to be a worldwide attraction for divers. I think it’s going to be a big draw for Murrells Inlet and Georgetown.” Goldfinch has a request in to make the massive submarine as accessible as possible for divers.

“One of the requests I made is to cut holes in the side for diver accessibility,” said Goldfinch. “They’re planning to cut holes so (divers) can see the quarters, the galley, all the inner workings of the ship.”

Bluefin on Bluefish

Capt. Brant McMullan has headed north from his family’s business, Ocean Isle Fishing Center in Ocean Isle Beach, to take part in the commercial fishing season for giant bluefin tuna off Nags Head, N.C.

McMullan and crew have had excellent success aboard the OIFC’s 37 Freeman, landing one bluefin each of the four days they’ve fished including Jan. 31 and then on consecutive days last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

McMullan and company have been fishing in the midst of boats that are competing in the Wicked Tuna series. On Tuesday, the OIFC Freeman and a handful of other boats witnessed quite a spectacle.

A school of giant bluefin had a massive school of large bluefish balled up on the surface about 45 miles off Nags Head in conditions that were, well, wicked. The tuna are seen on a video cutting through the bluefish, picking them off. The video can be viewed on the Ocean Isle Fishing Center’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

“It’s an anomaly,” said McMullan. “That’s a rare occurrence in the neighborhood. A couple of the Wicked Tuna boats were there, so they were filming and it definitely will be on an episode.”

McMullan says most of the tuna caught thus far in the season have measured 91-99 inches and weighed 400-500 pounds. The largest caught thus far measured 109 inches.

“The fish just started arriving,” said McMullan. “They’re slow to come in but they will be there typically the entire month of February.”

Almost unvaryingly, the conditions are cold, rough and nasty for the boats targeting the giant members of the tuna family out of Nags Head.

“It’s extreme out there,” said McMullan. “It’s almost always rough. It’s a tough place. It ain’t for everybody.”

CCA-Georgetown

The Winyah Chapter of Coastal Conservation Association South Carolina is looking for volunteers to help bag recycled oyster shells.

The event will be held Feb. 22, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Winyah Bay Fishing and Observation Pier. The bagged oyster shell will be placed in strategic spots in the bay this summer to help build new oyster reefs.

For more information, call 843-250-0566.

This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 1:28 PM.