Diving in Myrtle Beach?

[pilot fish]

Can anyone tell me about diving Myrtle Beach? Never heard of diving there? Also, does anyone have any info on the dive shop, Paradise Divers out of Charlotte? You can PM me if you like
Thanks

 

[diversteve]

We dove a couple of shallow wrecks a few years ago with Express Watersports out of Murrell's Inlet - a few miles south of Myrtle Beach. Average vis in the summer but the wrecks were pretty small. And nothing nearby except sand. We dove the 11 Mile Tugboat/Plane wreck and the Bill Perry Wreck. The Perry is about 70', I think the Tugboat was closer to 40'. We might've done two dives per wreck due to the distances to anything else diveable nearby.

Express just bought a 46' Newton diveboat in 2007. They also do longer day trips out to the bigger, deeper wrecks out in the Gulfstream. Bathtub warm water near offshore, but you might want a skin as there were a lot of small jellies at one site.

Another option is Coastal Scuba in North Myrtle Beach. Never dove with them but they seemed reasonable on the phone. We stayed in Litchfield Beach so Express was closer.

 

[scott&sara]

We dove Myrtle Beach in March of 2005... here is the trip report Myrtle Beach, SC

I would dive that area again. Coastal was a good operation too. I don't know of others in that area but I'm sure there are some. When you book a hotel make sure you check the location compared to the marina and shop... they are in N. Myrtle Beach and it is a pretty big place if you stay somewhere in Myrtle Beach.

Scott

 

[pilot fish]

Thanks,sjs. What's the current like, water temp and depth of these wrecks? there was nothing there that wowed you?

We dove a couple of shallow wrecks a few years ago with Express Watersports out of Murrell's Inlet - a few miles south of Myrtle Beach. Average vis in the summer but the wrecks were pretty small. And nothing nearby except sand. We dove the 11 Mile Tugboat/Plane wreck and the Bill Perry Wreck. The Perry is about 70', I think the Tugboat was closer to 40'. We might've done two dives per wreck due to the distances to anything else diveable nearby.

Express just bought a 46' Newton diveboat in 2007. They also do longer day trips out to the bigger, deeper wrecks out in the Gulfstream. Bathtub warm water near offshore, but you might want a skin as there were a lot of small jellies at one site.

Another option is Coastal Scuba in North Myrtle Beach. Never dove with them but they seemed reasonable on the phone. We stayed in Litchfield Beach so Express was closer.

 

[pilot fish]

Very nice report Scott. reports like that are very helpful. Am I correct in thinking that going out of Morehead city has the better diving than M Beach?

We dove Myrtle Beach in March of 2005... here is the trip report Myrtle Beach, SC

I would dive that area again. Coastal was a good operation too. I don't know of others in that area but I'm sure there are some. When you book a hotel make sure you check the location compared to the marina and shop... they are in N. Myrtle Beach and it is a pretty big place if you stay somewhere in Myrtle Beach.

Scott

 

[battles2a5]

Murrell's Inlet (just south of Myrtle) has some spectacular wrecks. Express is the best operation out of there, in my opinion. Off-shore is where it's at. Pilot fish, you need to check out ncdivers.com. That is our local site and we are always posting trips and open charters. Very active group of wreck divers there. There is always a trip going out somewhere.

 

[fireflock]

If I have the choice, I prefer to dive out of Wilmington or Morehead over Myrtle Beach. The preference has to do with the variety of sites, the nature of the dive ops, and the type of divers they seem to attract.

At the same time, there is some fine diving out of Myrtle if you can get offshore. Sites like the Hebe and St Cathan will rival what you find in other areas. It's also easy to get stuck with a choice between inshore site 1 and inshore site 2, both of which can be spotty on vis and less than the best that the region has to offer. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for.

Morehead/Beaufort is the part of NC that you read about in the national diving mags. There is some great diving there, and any NC diver should spend a good amount of time exploring the wrecks. Wilmington isn't as popular across the country, but a lot of NC folks end up diving Wilmington over and over again because they visit the wrecks, the ledges, the area by Frying Pan Tower, and the fossil sites. There aren't quite as many WWII era wrecks as the Cape Lookout area, but Wilmington has enough to keep you busy for a while.

Rich

 

[diversteve]

Thanks,sjs. What's the current like, water temp and depth of these wrecks? there was nothing there that wowed you?

We dove the 11 Mile Tugboat/Plane wreck and the Bill Perry Wreck. The Perry is about 70' deep, I think the Tugboat was closer to 40' deep.

I should've been more specific, I meant they're deep not long...I wasn't overly impressed. One was a pretty basic wreck with not much superstructure left. I don't even recall the other one. The good wrecks are farther out but we couldn't get out due to conditions offshore that week. We were there late May/early June and the water was bathtub warm. Viz wasn't great maybe 40-50'. No current, they moored over the wrecks and we dropped straight down onto them.

 

[pilot fish]

That's kind of what I've heard. When I get a bit more settled I'll have to check that out. I imagine I should check in with a dive shop in this area and plan a trip with them? While Myrtle Beach is not as good as Morehead & Wilmington, I should not overlook Myrtle?

If I have the choice, I prefer to dive out of Wilmington or Morehead over Myrtle Beach. The preference has to do with the variety of sites, the nature of the dive ops, and the type of divers they seem to attract.

At the same time, there is some fine diving out of Myrtle if you can get offshore. Sites like the Hebe and St Cathan will rival what you find in other areas. It's also easy to get stuck with a choice between inshore site 1 and inshore site 2, both of which can be spotty on vis and less than the best that the region has to offer. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for.

Morehead/Beaufort is the part of NC that you read about in the national diving mags. There is some great diving there, and any NC diver should spend a good amount of time exploring the wrecks. Wilmington isn't as popular across the country, but a lot of NC folks end up diving Wilmington over and over again because they visit the wrecks, the ledges, the area by Frying Pan Tower, and the fossil sites. There aren't quite as many WWII era wrecks as the Cape Lookout area, but Wilmington has enough to keep you busy for a while.

Rich

 

[pilot fish]

I should've been more specific, I meant they're deep not long...I wasn't overly impressed. One was a pretty basic wreck with not much superstructure left. I don't even recall the other one. The good wrecks are farther out but we couldn't get out due to conditions offshore that week. We were there late May/early June and the water was bathtub warm. Viz wasn't great maybe 40-50'. No current, they moored over the wrecks and we dropped straight down onto them.

That's good to know. Thanks alot