Welcome aboard.
When is the best time of the year to dive NC? I heard diving there was all off shore and very weather dependent .
May through November mostly unless you like cold or dry suit. I've dived the 352 on Christmas. Like to froze and I had on a 3 mil, a 5 mill over that, gloves, and hood.
We have "inshore" wrecks that are 65 feet or so and "offshore" wrecks that are 100-120, and tech-level wrecks beyond rec limits. Not very many walk-in sites worth getting wet for.
Yes, NC is very weather-dependent. On average, during the dive season, 20% of our dive days are "blown out". The most common condition is 2-3 foot seas, which compromise about 50% of our dive days. What we have problem with here is wind. In the summer our prevailing winds come from the Southwest, offshore. So there is no protection offered by land. When the wind blows, the seas get rough, and it can change in a matter of minutes. That's why you see so many complaining on SB about the local dive shops cancelling their dive on short notice. The captains simply can't predict what the wind is going to do in advance. I've been on offshore dives with the local shops where it was pretty nice when we went in, but when we got back to the boat 30 or 40 minutes later the 10-rung dive ladder was coming clear out of the water at the top of a chop, then it would slam back down all the way to the first rung in the trough. That's why the captains will cancel so often. In those cases you have to be experienced enough to time it right so when the ladder gets to the bottom, get your fins on the bottom rung and grab the top rung and hang on. You'll come out of the water like a rocket and ride the swell up. Then you'll come slamming back down again like you're in a washing machine when the boat comes back down the other side of the chop. It just isn't safe in those conditions. Get under the ladder and you got a 40 ton dive boat slamming down on your head.
If the forecast has words like "
light and variable" or "
winds 5 to 10 knots", you're in for a wonderful "dead slick calm" day on our water. Another common forecast in North Carolina is "
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots", which is a lot like saying "50% chance of rain" in that you're being provided with information, but in reality, the forecaster doesn't have a damned clue about what to expect. 2-3 foot seas make for a pretty good day on the water, though it is a tad bumpy. Solid 3 foot seas is doable not miserable, whereas 4 foot seas are probably doable but miserable. 5 foot seas are not fun at all and if you are in 5 foot seas you might be on your way back to the dock instead of on your way to the dive site. Anything 6 foot or over, you most likely didn't leave the dock.
All in all, North Carolina is great diving with a good variety of wrecks at all experience levels and sand tiger sharks that you can meet face to face... If the weather cooperates.
