diving in N.C.

[BFM]

hello, i was wanting to inquire about diving in your area. i was told there are alot of wrecks. i had some questions 1 ) what are the best times of year for diving? 2) is the majority of the wrecks in deep water, over 130'? 3) i am not wreck certified, so would i be a ball and chain since i am not allowed to penetrate the wreck? 4)what is the average water temp for summer? winter?
thank you ahead of time.

 

[dwright]

There are a lot of wrecks here alrighty The "season" basically runs from May through October (give or take a few weeks either way) Most of the wrecks are in 100' - 125' with a few a bit deeper and a few a bit shallower. Not being wreck certified isn't that big of a deal, you can really enjoy these dives without penetrating the wrecks. Some of them have big enough holes and such that they are basically "swim throughs". The average temp runs in the mid to upper 70's on the bottom and sometimes gets as warm as the low 80's. The Winter waters run in the low 60's but it's a bit more difficult to get a trip to run during the Winter months and the trips that do run tend to be a bit more "hard core" so you may want to stick to the Summer months for your first dives here. Hope this helps.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
We do have a lot of good wreck dives off our coast. Most of them are 90ft or over so deep diving experience is necessary. Our wrecks tend to be long distances off shore, 2 to 3 hr boat rides are common and 4 to 6 ft seas are the norm. While our wreck are good dives, they are not the best for new divers with little boat experience. If you plan a trip here, be aware that due to our constantly changing sea conditions, we have a blowout rate some where in the 40 to 50% range so alternate plans are advised. It can be glass slick on one day and 6 ft seas the next.
I agree with dwright, not being wreck cert is not a big deal as long as you stay OUTSIDE of the wrecks, wide open swim throughs being the exception. Having deep and boat diving experience is a lot more important.

 

[Upwelling]

BFM,

I did it this summer for the first time and had a blast--I had about 35 logged dives before I went to NC. I had two "deep" dives in the 80-90 foot range before going. Like the others said, wreck experience is not an issue, just paying close attention to your gauges because you may come close to the NDLs. I think the deepest bottom of any of the wrecks we went to was about 120 FSW, but since I was using air I tended to stay a little bit higher, around 95-105.

 

[dwright]

BFM,
We are having an NC Wreck Divers online meeting this Wednesday Oct 20 at 8:00. Feel free to join in and ask questions. The link is http://www.wreckmaniac.com/chat

 

[Diver294]

BFM,
We are having an NC Wreck Divers online meeting this Wednesday Oct 20 at 8:00. Feel free to join in and ask questions. The link is http://www.wreckmaniac.com/chat

Anything near Swansboro?