The Cave Divers

Frank Sinatra once said, “The secret to life, baby, is to never be scared of anyone or anything.” Frank was fearless in almost everything in life, but that might have been because he had enough common sense and perspicacity to stay away from places that are beyond scary and extremely dangerous, and perhaps haunted with the relics of predators millions of years old.

Relics of the ancient world are always fuel for the imagination. Anything from Egypt, dusty mummies, and curses that can span millennia easily kindle a spark of frightening excitement, but ancient remnants from a real sea monster can easily take a large bite out of any competition for scary.

Scuba divers love to collect trophies. Many divers display their underwater exploits like artists display art, but for divers, rare pottery or artifacts from inside deep shipwrecks can be the stuff that fuels inspiration. When the retrieval process of underwater trophies reaches into the depths of what is almost impossible, and what could easily take a life, trophies from the deep become even more valuable.

In scuba diving, clear open water with sunshine streaming to a sandy seafloor brings to mind episodes of exciting but peaceful encounters with colorful tropical fish and stands of majestic coral. When light and color go missing, however, and deep, dark, and suffocating underwater caves replace any image of freedom and escape, only the idea of forbidden treasure can compel the bravest divers forward and into the abyss.

Near the coast of North Carolina is the Graveyard of the Atlantic and Cape Fear. Near these treacherous shoals is a treasure trove of Megalodon shark teeth that are at least 3.5 million years old. The word Megalodon means “large tooth,” and for the divers that seek out these rare and exotic teeth from true sea monsters of the past, the underwater journey to retrieve these relics can be almost as terrifying as the giant sharks themselves.

Among the urban legends and folklore of cave divers is the story of the Megalodon caves. Apparently, the Atlantic caves are hard to find, and almost a mystery, but for anyone brave enough or crazy enough to dive with extra air tanks to a seafloor raging with dangerous currents and riptides, a treasure of three to four-inch Megalodon teeth is waiting in a very dark place beneath the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

According to divers who have lived to tell the tale, an approach to the Megalodon caves can only be safe at certain times. Full moon and dark of the moon time zones are off the table because the tidal currents sweeping through the caves can be terrific and even deadly. Calm seas on the surface are another factor for safety, but timing is always critical.

During the recent expedition that brought out enough black and fossilized Megalodon teeth to fill a bucket, two very adventurous cave divers were wary but determined. On the day of the dive, the water on the surface was calm, and the “slack water,” or the time between the tides, was the best it could be.

According to the other divers that made it out the caves alive, the very best situation is a 22-minute window for safety. Nine minutes into the cavern room, four minutes to scour the sediment on the floor of the bowl-like chamber for the big teeth, and another nine-minute interval to get out before the tidal current begins to reverse and there is no chance to escape.

The dive actually began on the seafloor. Because the timing was crucial, the cave divers waited near the rocks at the entrance to the caverns until the outgoing tidal flow finally stopped and signaled the beginning of the 22-minute safety window.

When the water stopped moving, the divers dropped the air tanks through which they were breathing and changed to the tanks they were wearing on their backs. After traversing the initial entrance and the clock-ticking through three minutes, the divers, one by one, had to remove their air tanks, push the breathing apparatus through a small crevice, to a larger chamber, and follow behind their gear while still breathing through the attached air hose and regulator.

At the five-minute mark, one of the two dive lights began to flicker and then went off completely. Twenty seconds were wasted as the cave divers looked at each other in the now half-light and then nodded and began to carry on. Before the cavern room, another tight crevice was waiting, and once again, the cave divers followed their dive tanks through another constricted squeeze.

When the two divers with only one light were awash in knee-deep silt in the bowl of the cavern room, the Megalodon teeth were easily found in the rising and now swirling slit alongside several squirming eels that were disturbed in the frantic search for the relics.

When the divers’ mesh bags were full of the monster teeth and a full minute and a few seconds of the escape time had already passed, the divers realized they were low on air from rapidly breathing through the overwhelming anxiety and excitement.

During the second squeeze and through the final crevice of pushing an air tank through a crack in the void, and under the Graveyard of the Atlantic, one of the mesh bags snagged on an outcrop and tore apart. After half of the expedition’s treasures were lost and spilling back into the cave and the incoming tidal current that was starting to press and swirl, the cave divers saw the sunlight filtering through the water and knew that they too had lived to tell the tale. They also knew that the Megalodon teeth in the surviving bag were now twice as valuable when they came to rest in a Marco Island home.