Beaufort, NC

[NYC-Diver]

Hi,

I'm planning to make my first dive trip to North Carolina next month -- Beaufort to be exact.

Can some folks recommend some decent dive operations and some of their favorite dive sites in the area? I'm only interested in non-technical, non-penetration, recreational dives.

Also, by summer will I need my drysuit or will a 5mm work?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[fireflock]

Check out the information on GoDiveNC

Non-technical non-penetration rec dives is what 95% of the divers do there in the summer, so no worries...you will be in good company. Most people wear a 3mm suit this time of year. You can expect water in the 75-80 degree range.

You can also find some good stuff about diving from charters at:
NCDivers.com • View topic - Wreck Diving from Charters for the inexperienced......

Discovery Diving is located right there in Beaufort, and Olympus Diving is located just across the bridge. Both do a fine job, and there are a few smaller ops in the area too.

Rich

 

[Patrick_NC]

I had a great experience this past weekend with Diver Down Charters, which is just a few minutes drive away from Beaufort in Morehead City.

It's a smaller operation than Olympus or Discovery, but after diving with Discovery several times my dive club switched to Diver Down and liked it so much that we now dive with them exclusively.

I recommend that you check them out at:
Diver Down Scuba Diving Charters - Captain Bobby Cox
before booking with Olympus or Discovery.

If you're diving here in the summer, your 5mm will be more than adequate. Most wear even less than that.

As far as dive sites, since you're traveling a good distance to get here you should make sure to get to the submarine (U-352) at least once. It's by far the most famous wreck in the area.

Patrick

 

[Natch]

I dove with Olympus in September and I would recommened them to everyone. Natch

 

[Diveral]

Diving off of Cape Lookout is great. Check out this site for information North Carolina Wreckdiving & BFDC home page

Here are some of my favorites

Good Starter Dives
Indra and the Carib Sea

Some good intermediate dives:
Aeolus, Spar, Verbana, Hardee

My favorite awesome dive sites:
Hutton (Papoose), U-352, Atlas, Schurz

and here are my recommendations for operators:

Discovery Diving Co., Inc. - North Carolina Wreck Diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic

Olympus Dive Center

Atlantic Beach and Morehead City , North Carolina Wreck Diving and Dive Charters to the NC Shipwrecks

AL

 

[Nevis Diver]

Never dove in that area but what about Diver Down?

Diving off of Cape Lookout is great. Check out this site for information North Carolina Wreckdiving & BFDC home page

Here are some of my favorites

Good Starter Dives
Indra and the Carib Sea

Some good intermediate dives:
Aeolus, Spar, Verbana, Hardee

My favorite awesome dive sites:
Hutton (Papoose), U-352, Atlas, Schurz

and here are my recommendations for operators:

Discovery Diving Co., Inc. - North Carolina Wreck Diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic

Olympus Dive Center

Atlantic Beach and Morehead City , North Carolina Wreck Diving and Dive Charters to the NC Shipwrecks

AL

 

[rlskill1]

Discovery Diving in Beaufort. They have 3 dive boats and a great staff. Lodging is available and the waterfront town is a very short walking distance. The local library offers free internet access.
Discovery's phone number is 252-728-2265.

 

[herman]

Another charter in the area, Tortuga Charters. Ken runs a nice 6pk boat close to Beaufort and is an active member of the board. tortugacharters.net Dive Tortuga