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My family wants to go on a vacation to Myrtle Beach this July. What type of diving is available there? Mostly wrecks? Any reefs? What's visibility and water temp like? I've heard about wreck diving in Moorehead, NC but never seem to hear anything about SC? Any info would be appreciated.
Check out Coastal Scuba in North Myrtle Beach, on Rt 17. during the summer months they run a boat almost every day. Mostly wreck diving with sites from Civil War wrecks to new artificial reefs. Some live bottom ledges, but not the pretty coral reefs of the tropics. Depths from 53' to 140'. Good marine life and the water temps can get up into the mid 80's during July and August. I've been diving with them for almost ten years and I will be again this July!
I wrote the following a while back to help those planning to dive the waters offshore North and South Carolina. I dove the NC waters for many years. The underwater conditions, offshore NC, vary greatly with the weather and the surface is significantly affected by the weather. Generally the worse case a dive boat will find itself in is 6 ft rollers, choppy seas, and rain. The dive trip is usually called off if seas this high are expected. I will not sugar coat it here. You will get an occasional bouncy ride offshore the Carolinas. On the other hand, some days the surface will be flat, the water aqua blue, and you will be able to see the shipwreck from the surface.
But in general, to give you a reference, the waters in southern Florida and the Carribean are MUCH flatter.
You will find that naturally, the further offshore the boat goes, the better the viz. Soil suspended in the water of the local rivers flowing into the sea causes the water close to the shore to be turbid and brownish with very little viz.
A little further out the water turns green. Green water is about a 1 hour boat ride off the Carolinas.
Even further out the water turns to blue. Blue water is about a 2 hour - 3 hour boat ride off the Carolina coast.
When they speak of an inshore dive in the Carolinas, they are usually speaking of green water (50-70 feet deep). When they speak of an offshore dive, they are usually speaking of blue water (80-130 feet deep).
The depth, and details, of each dive site, is listed on the dive store websites. The water depth will give you a clue as to how far offshore the site is. It is helpful to ask the shop: How long is the boat ride?
Some of the sea life you will see diving offshore North Carolina.
The offshore wrecks are fished a LOT. It is a good idea to carry a poly line slitter and metal line shears. A safety sausage and whistle are good ideas also because of the sometimes rolling surface with chop. If you do not come up the anchor line, the sausage will make you easier to spot..
The following is a slide show of diving offshore North Myrtle Beach.
The video below I took while offshore on the "Scuba Express" dive boat. The dive boat is approximately 45 feet long. Duel diesel engines. Second story bridge. Lot of railing. Duel ladders (fins off). Rear dive platform. Cooler. Water. Head. Pilot house. Unique tank holders (no bungies). Spear fishing allowed. Bow flat deck for lounging. Helpful dive masters. Excellent operation overall.
Here is some water I found offshore Wilmington NC last season that was AWESOME!
Just got back from Venice Florida. Went shark tooth hunting. Not a lot to report shark tooth wise, but my friend Debra did find a small Meg.
I am diving the Civil War Shipwreck offshore Murrells Inlet July 2nd. There are seats available but they will not last long. I have seen CSA belt buckles, bullets, civil war rifles, period bottles, etc, come off this site. I am hoping for STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL water like in the video I took offshore Wilmington NC last season. Having water like this and finding a $3k CSA belt buckle would be Nirvana!
Hank, throw up a flag when you come and I will dive with you.
I went diving with Express Watersports last year in Murrels Inlet. They have a top notch operation. There boat is excellent and their crew was very helpful and friendly. If you go to their website they have their dive schedule on it and theres also a description page too of the dive sites I plan on doing multiples dives with them this year. The viz can be somewhat tricky. Last year there was a decent storm the night before and it had things stirred up a bit. But hey, I see you are from Cincy and theres not much saltwater around here, so any ocean dive is better than any quarry here in Ohio.
By the way when are you going to Myrtle in July? I happen to be going down there too in July, actually the week of the 25th-29th. I have heard from a few regulars last year when I dove that the Bill Perry wreck and City of Richmond are very nice places that Express goes to alot. I plan on diving the B. Perry this year!
Lee,
Looking at the July 4th week. Sadly, might be on the road on the second. The wreck sounds interesting. Is it listed on Express' website, or is it more "secret"?
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