TheRedHead:
The sharkburst is way cool. I want to dive there. Did you post a trip report?
Well, we stayed at the Econo Lodge in Morehead City for about $65 a night. Comfortable with a Continental breakfast that starts at 6am--time for donuts and juice before going to the boat. We planned 5 days of diving and were blown out for 2 days in early May. We dove 1 day on a 6-pack out of Discovery Diving. Very nice people at Discovery Diving, but the boat, Captain's Lady, was not comfortable in rough seas. We dove the rest of the time from the Atlantis IV, which is a very nice 45' wooden-hulled sport fisherman. I highly recommend that boat. Great crew and a comfortable ride. Google "Atlantis IV Morehead City" to find their web site.
We dove one day (2 dives) on The Spar--a wreck intentionally sunk as an artificial reef about 30 miles out of Morehead in about 120' of water. The wreck is picturesque and we found a few smallish (4-6') sharks.
We dove exclusively on The Papoose--a sunken freighter about 35 miles out in about 125' of water--the rest of the time. Large numbers of big sharks, which was the object of this trip. The wreck is keel-up and is not very attractive, but the sight of a dozen or so big (to 10' and larger) sand tigers "stacked and racked" is quite impressive. Almost every shark is covered with bait fish, which can be a problem for photography both in terms of clarity and exposure (the bait fish are far more reflective than the sharks, and it's easy to ruin a photo with blown-out bait fish).
The weather off the NC coast is very volatile due to the temperature disparities caused by the Gulf Stream. Water temp can vary almost 10 degrees from day to day. For example, the water was mid-60's (F) on our first day, then jumped up to low-70's the next day. The warmer water is also clearer. Vis ranged from 25-50 feet on the wrecks. It's a neat place, and I plan to go back. -Clay