best charter in nc

[aujax]

Hi, just wondering if anyone can recommend a good charter - i hear olympus is good. Also, what's the best time of the year to dive nc as far as vis and temp (i'm diving wet). I'd like to hit some big wrecks and see some sharks.

 

[t0by]

I'd be interested to know as well. I, too, am in Brooklyn and thinking of making a road trip in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks

 

[fireflock]

The best charter on a summer weekend in the one that you can find a spot on. Seriously - they fill up.

You don't mention what part of NC you are coming to. There are charters in (from North to South) Nags Head, Hatteras, Morehead/Beaufort, Wilmington/Southport, and N. Myrtle Beach (SC, but still visit NC wrecks).

The most popular area is the Cape Lookout area with charters leaving from Morehead City and Beaufort (they are across the inlet from each other).

All of the dive ops in the area have good reps and devoted followings. If you have a small group then you might want a 6-pack instead of a crew boat. Unless you have some sort of special interest (Tech diving, spearfishing, etc..) then any of the ops will be Ok.

Olypmus is very good. I think they rent bunkhouse spaces to individual divers (vs groups) - so that sets them apart from the rest. They also run popular overnight trips.

 

[Quetzal]

Hi, just wondering if anyone can recommend a good charter - i hear olympus is good. Also, what's the best time of the year to dive nc as far as vis and temp (i'm diving wet). I'd like to hit some big wrecks and see some sharks.

Olympus is conservative. That's all I will say. I like http://www.aquaticsafaris.com/

 

[SDAnderson]

Olympus is the 800 lb. gorilla of the area and I've never had a bad experience with them. That said, I'd like to hear about some of the other operators, also. Just to keep George and Bobby honest.

 

[KidK9]

I like Olympus. Yes, they can be conservative. But they also have idiots dive with them. Last year on board, a guy blew his ceiling, crawled over 3 divers, and then yanked another one's reg out of their mouth b/c he had an OOA. He ignored is son on the U352 when his own kid told him they were out of time.

The week prior they had a guy that decided to grab a stingray by the tail and the boat had to go in early so he could go get stiched up at the hospital.

I believe this is why they tend to be conservative. The diving out there can definitely be classified as advanced to most, and there are people out there that have no business diving in NC off shore.

 

[fireflock]

There have been a couple of diving-related deaths each season for the past few years in NC. Some have been with inexperienced divers, some with experieced divers, some on private boats, and some on charter boats. This makes all of the operators jumpy if/when they don't know you. In my experience, if the captain and crew get to know you then they will let you do whatever you are trained and equiped for. The one exception to this is extended run times. You can be the first in and the last out, but if you leave everyone else waiting while you blow bubbles at 10ft, people will rightfully be a little ticked.

Olympus is popular with local and out of state divers. My impression is that they probably take more individuals and small groups than other ops. I've heard complaints about Olympus from tech divers and recreational divers who like 'extended safety stops'. They run 2 large crew boats. Olympus has a divers lodge and will rent bunks to individuals. The owner, George Purifoy, is 'the guy' for NC wreck diving in the Cape Lookout area. He rediscovered U-352 and has probably spent more hours on the wreck than anyone else. Olympus have a full shop and it's packed with interesting artifacts.

Discovery is similar operation to Olympus, but they seem to get more trips where the whole boat is chartered by one group (like dive shop trips). This can make some of the boats hard to find space on. They don't seem to be as popular as Olympus but people who dive with them like them very much. They have 2 divers lodges but as far as I know you have to rent them as a group. Discovery runs 2 large crew boats, and they also have a 6-pack. The 6-pack is very popular with spearfisherman and small groups. I've seen a few sets of doubles on that boat too. Discovery also has a full shop.

Both Olympus and Discovery run afternoon trips on summer weekends. As a result, they sometimes have a less flexible time schedule on those days.

DiverDown has a very loyal following. It seems to be prefered by experienced recreational divers who prefer freedom and like extended safety stops. They don't have as much of an office/shop as Olympus and Discovery, so they can be harder to reach. They are always packed on weekends but seem to run on fewer weekdays. DiverDown runs one large crew boat.

SeaTales and AtlantisV both run 6-packs. They are most often used by people who charter the whole boat. They have reputations for running to the farthest wrecks and are prefered by tech divers. If you have a small group and want maximum flexibility (you choose the sites) than these ops are a good choice. They are also booked very early and can be impossible to book on weekends.

I hope this summary gives everyone a fair shake. I'm sure there are some errors. Hopefully people will chime in if I got something wrong or if they had a different experience.

Rich

 

[jeadiver]

As always, Rich has given a great description of the operations. I would like to add that if you are going to go out of Hatteras, then Outer Banks Diving is one of the best outfits I've ever been with. John and Amy Pieno run good safe trips with lots of freedom for safe divers. They also have a good shop (the only one on Hatteras anymore). All of the others that use Hatteras as a base pretty much operate on weekends only or for one week a month. In Carolina Beach, I've only used Spearit Charters with Tom Collins as Captain. Again, an excellent boat and crew (although very small) that has some great numbers for stuff other than just the wrecks (reefs for spear, lobster, etc.). Tom usually books the entire boat for one group, but will put you on a wait list if he can.

I would also like to echo Rich's comments on the safety and conservatism issue. NC wreck diving is an advanced form of diving, requiring some special skills and equipment. People have died out there, although in every case I can think of it has been due to diver error or illness. Until the operator knows you, your diving style, your penchant for safety, etc., he's not going to give you free reign to "go your own way" with the dive.

IMHO NC provides the best diving in the world, but it ain't for everybody and most folks need to get acclimated to the requirements of the diving.

 

[flounderer]

I'll throw my hat in for Aquatic Safaris in Wilmington, of course I'm a little biased though. We currently have a 30ft Island Hopper that can carry 12 divers. As of right now, we have a 48ft Island Hopper being built with an expected delivery date in early June and hope to be running charters by July. Our operation is the longest running with the most experienced crew in the Wilmington area. Most of the stuff we do caters to the recreational crowd but on our deeper dives we allow some limited deco diving, nothing too lengthy. We have some large wrecks in the 50-120fsw range and plenty of sharks in the summer months on certain dives. The website has the temp and conditions on a lot of our dives last year if you'd like to check out the normal conditions, they're under the "dive report" link. http://www.aquaticsafaris.com . You can also checkout plenty of pictures of the dives on my picture page http://community.webshots.com/user/ilmdiver

Pat

 

[fireflock]

I probably wasn't clear enough, but the little summary I wrote was just for dive ops in the Morehead/Beaufort area. There are some great operators and some great diving in other areas on NC too.