Did anyone dive NC this weekend?

[fireflock]

I'm curious to hear what conditions (temp and viz) were like.

The marine forecast for this week is looking good.

Rich

 

[flounderer]

I made it out to the Hyde and Markham on Sunday out of Wrightsville Beach. The surface conditions were great 1-2 ft swell in the morning dropping to nothing in the afternoon. Bottom conditions were not quite as good. Temp was 62 degrees and vis was 10-15 on the bottom at 80ft. 20ft up off the bottom it got a little better. Based on the current forecast the bottom should settle down quick to bring some nice diving this week into the weekend. Or at least I hope it does because I'm going out 42 miles Tuesday and Saturday to dive some nice sites .

 

[jdh]

Or at least I hope it does because I'm going out 42 miles Tuesday and Saturday to dive some nice sites .

Current was kicking, 65F water, 20ft vis out there yesterday.

John

 

[flounderer]

Tuesday out at the twin wrecks it was 65 also and the vis has not gotten better, still about 15-20ft.

 

[fireflock]

Thanks for the updates guys. Keep 'em coming. I hope someone finds some blue water soon!

Rich

 

[flounderer]

I did a few dives this weekend and the conditions are excellent. The water is still a little cold, it sould reach 70 any day now. 14 miles out at the Stone tug visibility was 70 feet. You could see the wreck 60 ft below from the deck of the dive boat. The lib ship, know for it bad vis, has 50+ ft of vis now with 2-3 resident sand tigers. The ledges around the Frying Pan tower had about 60 ft of vis with no current. The Gill has 70+ feet vis with big grouper and a few sandbar sharks. And finally the Hyde had the same great vis but the sand tigers have not moved in yet, hopefully they will be there in the next few weeks. Let's hope these conditions stay around for a little while.

 

[suthnbelle]

I did a few dives this weekend and the conditions are excellent. The water is still a little cold, it sould reach 70 any day now. 14 miles out at the Stone tug visibility was 70 feet. You could see the wreck 60 ft below from the deck of the dive boat. The lib ship, know for it bad vis, has 50+ ft of vis now with 2-3 resident sand tigers. The ledges around the Frying Pan tower had about 60 ft of vis with no current. The Gill has 70+ feet vis with big grouper and a few sandbar sharks. And finally the Hyde had the same great vis but the sand tigers have not moved in yet, hopefully they will be there in the next few weeks. Let's hope these conditions stay around for a little while.

Thanks for the update flounderer. How about giving us a trip report throughout the weeks if it isn't too much trouble. For those of us that can't dive on a regular basis it is nice to read everyone else's reports.

Mel

 

[flounderer]

Thanks for the update flounderer. How about giving us a trip report throughout the weeks if it isn't too much trouble. For those of us that can't dive on a regular basis it is nice to read everyone else's reports.

Mel

Trip report:
Ledge near the Tower and the Stone Tug.
Sunday May 29

The sea's were flat, one of the days you dream of. I'm glad it was flat because the 2.5hr boat ride would have been tough other wise. I was crewing on the Aquatic Safaris boat and we went to a ledge a few miles off the Tower. There was no wind and no current which is unusual for that area. After a few failed attempts at anchoring on the ledge the captain told me to swim the anchor down and hook the ledge. As requested I chucked the anchor in and followed it off the bow of the boat. The water was crystal clear and 68F on the surface. One minute later I was at 105ft in 66F water and the vis was 50-60ft. Because of the Cape Fear shoals location the gulf stream washes in tropical fish, many of which are not supposed to be north of Florida. There were dozens of queen angels, hogfish, grouper, colorful wrasses, and the ledge was covered in gorgonians and small sea fans. I had my camera and started snapping pictures of the fish for a website I'm putting together (hopefully soon). There was no limit to the amount of subjects to snap pictures of. After 15 minutes of being alone on the bottom the customers made there way down the anchor. I led a few around for a few minutes until it was time to surface and made our way to the next site, the Stone tug.

The Stone tug is an artificial reef sunk in 1985 14 miles SE from Wrightsville Beach and about 10 miles E of Carolina beach in 65ft of water. When pulling up to anchor the seas were still flat and I could make out the wreck below. I've been diving the Stone for 5 years and have never seen that before. I jumped in the water and could clearly make out the bottom. As I descended down the anchor line I could clearly make out the entire ship, which is only 90ft long. Baitfish swarmed everywhere and a few king mackerel were cruising around. The wreck was amazing after 20 years on the bottom the seas have taken there toll. Last year was tough for the Stone, one storm has placed the entire bridge upside down in the sand on ships starboard side. The deck of the ship is now twisted metal were as it used to be an intact ship. Because of the inshore location there were no tropical fish but the wreck seemed alive with all the marine life. Spottail pinfish, tomtates, flounder, blennies and one huge grouper. The big gag grouper which I estimated to be 20 lbs swam up and stared at me only 5 ft away. I didn't have a gun but I had my camera and shot a few pics of him. After 25 minutes on the bottom I started up and turned around to view the whole wreck one last time.

All in all it was a great day to be on the water and the dives were great. I'll post the pics on my web page listed below in the next few days if I can find my camera, I misplaced it.

Pat

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I'm curious to hear what conditions (temp and viz) were like.

The marine forecast for this week is looking good.

We dove the Aeolus Saturday, the Papoose Sunday, and the Indra Monday. We had excellent conditions each day, on Sunday we could see the wreck from the surface, and on Monday we could see the entire wreck from the boat, plus it was dead calm with a very light rain. Saturday was ~72 degrees on the bottom, Sunday and Monday were slightly cooler at ~68, but we dove drysuits w/out hoods or gloves and were completely comfortable each day. Vis was real good, about 60'-70' on Saturday and Sunday, excellent on Monday but cloudier down around the wreck, with some slight surge. Some strong surface current was initially occurring on Saturday, but it dissipated somewhat during the dive. The weekend was a "scooter-fest", with a Gavin and a couple X-Scooters, we enjoyed some awesome dives featuring lots of rays, 7 or 8 fair sized sand tigers, numerous other large pelagics and so many baitfish that they obscured the wrecks in places. It was like scootering through curtains that opened in front of us and closed behind us. The Indra is a shallow wreck often used for wreck and AOW classes, but it was useful to practice scootering through as well - offering numerous vertical and horizontal paths requiring some deft maneuvering. All in all, the weather was excellent, the seas were a little choppy on Saturday but laid right down on Sunday and Monday, and a good time was had by all.

 

[suthnbelle]

Great reports guys (pictures would be a bonus )!

Mel