Blowin' a gale

[kentmorrdave]

Just back from a two day jaunt to Morehead City with what was to be my first NC dive trip. On the way down we made contact with a CZM buddy diving with Discovery who was leaving after a week. He got no trips in due to windy conditions. Another CZM buddy diving with Olympus left Tuesday after 4 days of no diving due to windy conditions. Is this unusual? My wife liked the breeze from her beach chair

 

[lulubelle]

Just back from a two day jaunt to Morehead City with what was to be my first NC dive trip. On the way down we made contact with a CZM buddy diving with Discovery who was leaving after a week. He got no trips in due to windy conditions. Another CZM buddy diving with Olympus left Tuesday after 4 days of no diving due to windy conditions. Is this unusual? My wife liked the breeze from her beach chair

It isn't unusual to have these sort of days, but it doesn't generally hang on for weeks on end like it has lately. Seems that things were pretty good until the last two or three weeks. I generally advise that people should plan about twice as many days as they plan to dive. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not. My last dive was called on July 18th. Do come back, it is great when it works.

Maybe some of the SB captains will weigh in (Oh Capt James...). They might be able to give you some guidance on which times of year might be best to try again.

 

[mddyver]

It's tough.

I live 3 hours from MHC/Beaufort NC and have a place to stay year round. If I go down for a week, I assume I'll get out 3 days out of 7, sometimes more, sometimes not at all.

When it's good, NC wreck diving is the second best salt water wreck diving worldwide after Truk Lagoon. Red Sea is a close third. IMHO.

400 years of bad weather, tricky navigation and two world wars makes the NC coast a helluva wreck diving location.

2 hour rides in 3-5 ft seas are common. My observations are about 20% of passengers get seasick. Sometimes the mates are a little green as well.

Some Captains claim that the boat and crew will handle 7 ft seas. I did this once and thankfully we turned around when reported visibility at the U352 was 1 ft.

Sometimes the seas are slick as a lake, visibility is gin clear and there's no current. Those are the days I live for.

Mike

 

[Akyla]

We have been sitting at the dock up in Hatteras as well. Most of the fishing fleet has not sailed either. The only ones that like this are the parasail guy and the kiteboarders. We have not dived since early last week and it may continue through this coming weekend.

This period of sustained strong SW wind is not the normal for this time of year. SW from the Bermuda high is normal, but it is usually in the 10-15 range or lower. This weather pattern is stuck here due to an inshore trough and the strong offshore high with no good cold front to push it out. We are getting more of it in Hatteras than MHC due to being a bit further out and more exposed.

Supposed to be a brief lull tomorrow, but maybe not. Last prediction is better by Monday.

As far as the best time of year for consistent conditions it is usually July and August with great water conditons until November. Once we get you out on a day when the ocean is a big lake, the water so blue and the wreck covered with sea life, you will know why it is worth the agony of dealing with the blowouts...

 

[Drewski]

Unfortunately, this season has been somewhat "sporty" more often than not. More interestingly, green and cooler water is on the bottom all over.

Maybe BAD winter = ROUGH summers?

 

[kentmorrdave]

for the anwsers. I think I will try again the 3rd week of August. I will take a Bonine just in case. No green gills for me.

 

[robint]

yeah, we are heading out there this weekend, hope the seas settle down for us!!!

robin

 

[Tortuga James]

We were able to run an afternoon trip thursday to the Indra and did the Ario (wreck formerly known as the Hutton) and the Titan yesterday. It wasn't too bad, maybe 4'. From the reports coming over the radio this morning, crew boats turning around before the end of the buoy chain, we opted to stay at the dock. We will try again tomorrow.

This is an unusually long stretch of Sou'wester.

 

[jamiep3]

I'm headed down for a couple of days in week after next. Hope the seas lay down for a while. Haven't made it off shore since May.