Cooper River

[MB104]

I am considering a trip from NJ to SC for a Cooper River dive to get some Megladon teeth. I was wondering if there was a Cooper River expert who can answer some questions.

1) When is the best time to dive and why. Is there a bad time?
2) What kind of conditions should I expect. How deep is it? Is there ANY visibility?
3) What type of exposure protection should I bring?
4) I heard there are some spots in the ocean which also has Megladon teeth. Are these sites easily accessible?
5) Who do you recommend for weekday diving when there is only two divers who don't want to pay for a whole charter?

Any other help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[diveprof]

Check with Bill at Off the Wall Dive Charters:
http://www.offthewalldiving.com/

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I will second Bill Routh at OTW.

As I understand it the tides play a big role on when you can be in the river and do well finding stuff. Also the amount of current you will face depends on at what point in the tidal flow you enter the water.

Bill does not go out on the river every weekend. He picks his dive times and weekends by the tide charts and the phase of the moon. I have talked to several folks who have been out with him and it seems he is able to read the river well to find good spots as it is constantly changing with stuff being covered and uncovered all the time.

Hopefully, I will be able to go out with him on a charter this summer. Super nice guy. I just dropped off my reg Friday night to have him do some stuff for me. A lot of regional shops have him captain the boat for their trips to the Cooper River.

 

[ssflounder]

MB104,
I've never dove the cooper but dive a lot around Beaufort. 60 miles south of Chs. Same tide, vis, we just have more water than Chas.
1) When is the best time to dive and why. Is there a bad time? No, but depending on the tidal stage your reg. can get a little bumpy. I usually try to plan my dives on the change. Say 2 hrs before and after ebb.
2) What kind of conditions should I expect. How deep is it? Is there ANY visibility? Varies to how close you are to the bank. Max depth is 30' normally 13-25'. Yes, right now you'd have about 10' when you get to the bottom. Sunlight is the key here if you can get in on a clear day the ambient light will rock. Last weekend I didn't even use my light. It'll be greenish brown going down the rope till about 3' off the bottom.
3) What type of exposure protection should I bring? Depends on when your are coming. The water temp now is about 49-53. I'm comfortable in a 2 pc 6.5, hood, gloves for about 55 minutes. We take a cooler full of hot water to dump down our suits during our si's.
4) I heard there are some spots in the ocean which also has Megladon teeth. Are these sites easily accessible? I've never seen any around always too busy shooting fish. I'm sure there are some good fossil beds off shore. to give you some idea of where we are on the cont. shelf. We have to run about 90 miles to get 200'. 45 mi. to get about 100'. Charleston has some spots about 60-75 30 miles off.
5) Who do you recommend for weekday diving when there is only two divers who don't want to pay for a whole charter? Check out Charleston Scuba. They have a bunch of guides who work out of there. I run up there quite often so if I can help send me a pm.

Graham

 

[marusso]

This past Saturday the water temp in Broad Creek in Hilton Head Island was 51 degrees. Vis was actually pretty good, somewhere between 3-5 feet on the bottom with tons of light at 15-20' of water.

For me, once it gets below 75, I go dry, but I guess my blood has thinned out a bit living down here all these years.

I can't wait for the weather to warm up to start heading offshore again!

-Michael

 

[disjected]

Here's my experience from diving the river.

1. Time - It's all about timing your diving with the tides. If you miss judge you can encounter a healthy current. Combine that current with missing the gravel bed and hitting the hard clay and you are definately in for a coster ride.

2. Conditions - Temp ranges through out the year. Depth ranges from barely deep enough to completely submerge in to the deepest I've done at 60 ft. Vis has rnged from 0 to maybe 10 feet.

3. Exposure - Depends on time of year. Right now 7m or drysuit. I would expect 7m folks to be chilly when they came up. In the summer, you dont need anything.

4. The ocean spots are best reached from up around Willmington NC. I would recommend Spearit Charters. You should expect a decent boat ride out to the site.

5. Who do I recommend for when you dont want to pay for the whole charter? Well that's tough. The thing is to call everyone that runs them and see who is going out and has a spot open. Other than that it's find a buddy with a boat. However, unless you know the river and the spots and have a few river dives under your belt, I would highly recommend going out with one of the Capt's that have a lot of experience on the river. You'll be allot happier.

Also, don't worry about the Gators, if they come check you out they are only curious about you and no one down here has ever heard of one harrassing a diver. Do worry about idiots in thier bass boats. We have lost more than one diver to them.

 

[dschulte]

I am considering a trip from NJ to SC for a Cooper River dive to get some Megladon teeth. I was wondering if there was a Cooper River expert who can answer some questions.

1) When is the best time to dive and why. Is there a bad time?
2) What kind of conditions should I expect. How deep is it? Is there ANY visibility?
3) What type of exposure protection should I bring?
4) I heard there are some spots in the ocean which also has Megladon teeth. Are these sites easily accessible?
5) Who do you recommend for weekday diving when there is only two divers who don't want to pay for a whole charter?

Any other help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I have been a few times, here is what I have.

1. Time the first dive about 2 hours before high tide, this gives you an hour dive with a reasonable surface interval and then a second hour+ dive.

2. This is black water diving, zero vis at the bottom. A dive light goes about a 1.5 feet.

3. For exposure, I usually wear a 7mm with a 3mm hooded vest. I have also dove dry depending on the surface conditions.

4. Not sure about the ocean sites.

5. Definitely go with Bill for your first trip.

Have fun!
:monkeydan