Advice & recommendations needed please

[Blackrock]

My buddy and I would like to do some diving in North Carolina this August. Since we don't know much about the sites and conditions there I figured I would ask here.

Any advice on sites, dive ops or where to stay (or all 3 combined) would be much appreciated.

Here's the background info you need to direct your wealth of knowledge:

-My buddy and I have about 50 logged dives.

-He is OW and I will have my AOW & Rescue by then.

-His wife is coming and she only has about 12 logged dives. (just cert. in Bonaire in
January). She is comfortable going to 100+ feet though. He and I have no problem
with depth. We're more concerned about the dive op requiring AOW or a minimum # of logged dives.

-We obviously are not trained to penetrate, so something impressive from the
outside would be nice.

-I would like to see some sharks and other marine life, not just the wreck.

-We plan on doing about 3 days of diving and will have a car. So sites spread out
along the coast are Ok.


Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[RAD Diver]

You will get lots of advice, & I will give you some recommendations, but 1st thing is 100fsw in Bonaire is nothing like 100fsw off the N.C. coast. I prefer the N.C. coast, but the conditions will be different to say the least.
Try to do something such as the Hyde/Markham (80fsw) dive in Wilmington 1st to get used to the way things are done & local conditions. Aquatic Safaries are the best http://www.aquaticsafaris.com/ around. You will probably see Sharks there. Once that happens maybe try for the City of Houston (95fsw) & the Normannia (110fsw) both good dives.
Further North is Morehead City/ Beaufort which will get you to either Discovery Diving , Olympus or Atlantic Beach diving. This will get you to the U-352 a WW2 German Submarine (110fsw) good dive once maybe the Spar (100fsw) or the Schurz (105fsw) both should have Sharks. Most ops will have you do something shallow to prove yourselves like maybe the Indra (70fsw) a good dive with a decent shot at seeing sharks.
Further North is Cape Hatteras some excellent diving, but someplace to stay would be expensive in August. But some easy sites are the Abrams (90fsw) & the Dixie Arrow (95fsw) are pretty sure fire Shark sightings. Outer Banks Diving Outer Banks Diving Is a good op there.
Good Luck

 

[fireflock]

Following up on what RAD Diver says, here is a page from a respected local dive shop that I think lays out why NC diving is a little different (scroll down to the wreck diving section): Gypsy Divers Aquatic Center; Raleigh's Finest Family Aquatic Center It's not just the depth, it's the whole experience (boat ride, distance, seas, current) that can be overwhelming at first. I don't want to paint a grim picture; We have lots of days with flat seas, little current, and fantastic vis. Plenty of recreational divers come every year and enjoy some fantastic dives off the coast of NC.

The main thing, in my experience, is to be upfront with the dive op and see what they recommend. A lot of people hire a private DM for their first trip and get a personalized crash course with tons of tips for NC wreck diving. The Hyde and Markham out of Wilmington are great place to start, as are the Indra and Spar out of Morehead City/Beaufort.

I like www.aquaticsafaris.com in Wilmington. In Beaufort I like Discovery Diving Co., Inc. - North Carolina Wreck Diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic and in Morehead City I like www.olympusdiving.com (who probably has an ad at the top of this page )

 

[mow2000]

Wilmington has a good selection of affordable lodging. Water is warmer than northern outer banks. Aquatic Safaris has been around a long time and is very reputable. Try the "Alexander Ramsey", a liberty ship three miles off the coast which sits in 50' of water. It's a good, cheap dive which will give you some easy penetration, schools of fish. "John D. Gill" is a great dive but quite a hike at 25 miles out. The submarines are neat but a short (deep) dive and not much to look at.

If the sea conditions are at all in question then don't do it! Some charters will take you out in high seas and at that point they've got your money and half the people on the boat are sick... no fun.

 

[BabyDuck]

seriously consider everyone having aow. yeah, it's silly, but many ops require it, so just have it & you won't be unpleasantly surprised.

if you're going to have several days, you could stay either in the wilmington area or the morehead area the whole time, or swap around. diving in the 'norther' outer banks tends to be colder & less pleasant, so i'd stick with either of those.

this NCDivers.com • View topic - Wreck Diving from Charters for the inexperienced...... is a *great* thread about diving from nc boats. i hope you all have a really wonderful time!

 

[Blackrock]

You will get lots of advice...

I guess that's all the advice I'm going to get for now. Thanks Rad diver, fireflock, Mow2000, and Babyduck.

I started looking into some of the links provided - some do require AOW.

Many of the charters were already booked for many of the summer dates. Is this common? Is it possible to not get a spot with anyone if you don't book by May?

 

[dvrliz1]

Actually, you might want to get in contact with Joe Gaydeski at www.openwateradventures.com He is excellent. He is located in Charlotte, but I am sure would provide with a huge amount of info and coordinates trips in North Carolina.

 

[fireflock]

Many of the charters were already booked for many of the summer dates. Is this common? Is it possible to not get a spot with anyone if you don't book by May?

Yes, it is common for summer months. Once you know when you are coming, you want to book charter spots as soon as possible if missing a day or two would really disappoint you. At the same time, I usually don't have a lot of problem finding one or two last minute spots on the weekdays if I call around. Weekends can be another story. There is a list of charter operators on the front page on NCDivers.com (the sticky in this forum is a little dated).

Rich

 

[RAD Diver]

1 other thing is that the trip may be listed as full & sometimes a dive shop will book the boat & sell the spots through their shop, so if you go to the Charters site & see who has it booked, then you call the shop & see if they have a spot open.
Thats what I had to do for a dive this month.
& the price is normally the same as going through the Charter as they get a few free spots for booking the boat & thats how they make some $$$.

 

[Blackrock]

Thank you RAD, that is a very helpful hint. I was getting a bit worried and thought I would have the start looking into N Jersey diving or something like that.