Chances of finding Meg teeth

[Katch]

I was just wondering...with all the Meg teeth dives around Charleston and off the NC coast, is it easy to find teeth? I would like to go out on one of the Meg teeth dive trips, but it would be disappointing to spend $400-$500 (gas/hotel/dive op) to come back with nothing. Even if it is small teeth, do most people find them on these trips? If the chances of finding teeth are only around 10%, I would probably rather spend that kind of money of the wreck diving. What do you all think?

 

[herbdb]

I don't know about the NC sites, but the six people on a trip we made to the Cooper River all found teeth. My son and I are going again in July.

Here is a link to pics of our finds. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.184872738239977.45270.167359216657996

 

[Steve_C]

I have gone out with Aquatic Safaris once. I have three more dives planned this year. I know a number of people who have gone out with them several times. It will vary. My impression is that most people get something. Here is a link to what I got

Diving in North Carolina - NCDivers.com ? Charters and shops ? View topic - Fossil Ledge - June 9

Some divers got less. A number of divers got more. Some a lot more. In the picture there are a number of 1-2 inch teeth. Couple that hit 3-4 inches. The long pieces are whale bone fossils. There were some other whale bone fossils found.

If you would be ok with some in the 1-2 inch variety then I will make up a success number of 70% or greater. If you want a perfect 7 incher it could be hard.

Depth was 100-105 ft so you need to watch your air consumption and not get too excited.

You can leverage your money but booking a second day of diving.

---------- Post added May 8th, 2013 at 09:09 PM ----------

The cooper river is very different. That is dark river diving. On the other hand you are less likely to get blown out.

 

[Tortuga James]

Chances are pretty good you will find teeth. They are surely there, it just takes an eye to see them. Pick up everything that looks like one and cull out the rocks and bones on the boat.

I got these in 2 days of diving, and they were short dives since it was my job to get the hook out of the ledge. My customers did much better(above is the group leaders booty, but he has been doing it for a while). I am partial, but I think it is a little better on a 6 pack boat instead of competing with 20 other divers for a place in the sand to look.

 

[bubble-head]

Capt. James, I'm looking very forward to diving on your boat this summer. I hope to have some luck searching for teeth.

 

[Randy g]

Yeah what BH said!

 

[Katch]

That's definitely on my summer bucket list

Would the end of a rake work as a good tool to get to anything hidden by a thin layer of sand?



Steve

 

[bankyf]

Maybe, but best bet is usually to just fan the sand away gently with your hand. We even took scooters once to try to move a bunch of sand, way more trouble than it was worth. First few times I went out, the biggest tooth that came up on the boat was always"laying right on top of the sand". I wasted quite a bit of time looking for the elusive 6" tooth on top and rarely found anything. Finally picked up good technique and rarely come home disappointed. Let me know if you need a dive buddy, I try to run down to Wilmington for teeth 2 or 3 times a year. I usually stick to spring or fall for cheap hotels.

That's definitely on my summer bucket list

Would the end of a rake work as a good tool to get to anything hidden by a thin layer of sand?



Steve

 

[AESdives]

We go to the cooper multiple times a year. I would say we average 20 teeth per dive and do 3-4 dives per day. They range from big to small. One of our divers found a Clovis point Indian spearhead that's around 10-15 thousand years old. Very cool find

 

[Lee Taylor]

I have been a shark tooth hunter for almost 20yrs and I would say the chances are good that you will find a piece or a part of a tooth. Finding a whole tooth, in good condition, with very little damage, is not as common as some would like you to believe. I recently spent 1000 on a trip and I picked up one tooth, on land. On the same trip, I spent 4 hrs underwater that produced one teeny tiny tooth. No regrets. I had a fabulous time. Usually people find fragments (frags). When they do find a tooth, a corner (one of the lobes) or the point will be broken or worn off. Its a fun hobby and I enjoy the diving and the people as much as the sharks teeth.

For comparison purposes, lets say that I have spent 20k on scuba fossiling over the years. If I were to spend that same 20k on purchasing sharks teeth from dealers today, my personal collection of sharks teeth would be easily 100 times better than it is.