Living memorial heads to sea

MOREHEAD CITY - The final journey of a former Carteret County fishing vessel will be to the bottom of the sea, where it will serve as an artificial reef and memorial to a scuba diver lost at sea two years ago.

The 180-foot Coastal Mariner once used by Beaufort Fisheries was rechristened the Captain Greg MicKey by his friends and family Friday in Morehead City and is scheduled to be sunk today off the coast of Wrightsville Beach.

In its resting place on the ocean floor near Frying Pan Shoals, it will transform into a reef full of sea life; a living memorial to the husband, father and friend they say lived life to the fullest and loved the sea.

"This is a way to give back to the one thing Greg really loved," said friend Donna Starling of Wilmington, a member of the committee that formed to create a lasting memorial to MicKey.

MicKey was lost as sea on June 18, 2005, in a diving incident near Frying Pan Shoals. According to accounts on the committee's Web site, he was last seen by his diving partners about 50 feet from his boat, Details.

A strong current swept him and his dive partner, Andrew Illobre, northwest of the boat during a free ascent after they failed to find the anchor line at the end of the 110-foot dive.

Illobre was found by the Coast Guard nine hours later, but MicKey's body was never recovered.

"It was such a great loss. We needed something to memorialize him," Starling said.

A tribute at sea seemed most fitting for a man who was an experienced diver and avid fishermen, but exactly what to do evolved after exploring various options.

Renaming a reef could be difficult, and an initial idea of sinking a reef ball with a plaque in MicKey's memory didn't seem like enough, Starling said.

After talking with Jim Francesconi, artificial reef coordinator with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, the committee decided to pay tribute to MicKey by giving him a reef of his own.

And with no structures yet at the permitted artificial reef site AR400, the dive site will long bear MicKey's name.

"When people go diving, they'll say they are going to dive on the Greg MicKey," Starling said.

With the support of the Onslow Bay Artificial Reef and Long Bay Artificial Reef Association and the Division of Marine Fisheries, she said, the Capt. Greg MicKey Committee has successfully completed a $75,000 project.

The Coastal Mariner was taken to Norfolk, where a crew has worked for the past 15 months to clean and prepare the vessel for sinking. It was towed to Morehead City for the rechristening and was scheduled to leave Friday night for the artificial reef site.

Plans are to flood the vessel this morning.

MicKey's widow, Julia, and Illobre, will make a dive at the site after the vessel's sinking, according to the Capt. Greg MicKey Web site.

Francesconi said the new artificial reef will be a living memorial that supports marine life for years to come. And a reminder of what can be accomplished when people join together.

"This is an example of what people can do when they want to do it," he said.

Contact staff writer Jannette Pippin at jpippin@freedomenc.com or (252) 808-2275. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this story.