Diving Morehead City in October

[rob.mwpropane]

Looking to dive Oct. 19th and 20th, a Mon. and Tues. I know there's a possibility of getting blown out, but outside of that what am I not seeing? I believe temps are 75f ish that time of year? Are weekday dives a hit or miss depending if full or not, or do they go as long as seas are good? About how much notice is usually given if canceled?

I've looked up both Olympus ($135 / diver / day) and Discovery Diving ($115 / diver / day). I keep reading suggestions for Olympus on here, but are they really worth the extra $20 / diver?

There will be 4 people going (2 couples), but my wife might not actually dive. She's kind of the deciding factor as she's only OW with about 20 dives under her belt, so if she goes it would be shallow stuff 50'-70', but if not then we'll probably go for deeper stuff.

I'm planning on diving dry with 100cf doubles no matter what...so, what am I missing or maybe I'm looking for some pointers what to expect (especially with our current situation). Found a cheap place to stay, we'll just all sleep in one room / 2 beds.

Thanks in advance. I've looked through a lot of NC threads. I just like touching base on SB before I go somewhere new. Thanks all.

Edit: we plan on taking all our own gear, I know tanks aren't included in anything.

 

[Scuba-74]

Not sure about Olympus, but dove with Discovery this summer, so here are a few things:

• It's a good boat and crew, no complaints
• They don't really tell you where you are going until the boat is underway
• Both dives of the day will be in the same general area, so both around 120ish, or 70ish - those were the two types we had
• I don't believe they actually require AOW for their deeper dives, but it's worth checking
• Our conditions were pretty much perfect, warm, little to no current, great viz - in those conditions an experienced OW could do the deeper dives; anything worse - and an OW with 20 dives may need to sit it out

The tricky part is really not knowing where you were going until after the departure - I don't know if Olympus gives you more certainty with that. Can't comment on diving in the fall, or how much cancellation notice is given.

There is actually a third option: there is a 6-pack charter called "Atlantis IV", I believe this is their website: Atlantis Charters Home

They could be more flexible and work around your agenda. I've heard good things about it from local divers, and saw this boat on some of the same wrecks we went to with Discovery.

 

[AustinV]

Both are good operations. I prefer Olympus, mainly because of their boat size, but would dive with either any day. The tricky thing with NC is the weather, we were supposed to be in Morehead City today and all weekend diving and it was blown out. So you never know. There are 6 pack boats too, higher likelihood of going out (on a Monday/Tuesday) - the big boats aren't going to run without a set minimum number of divers usually. I know Instigator requires 3 divers to go out. I think Atlantis IV only books for the whole boat - so one or six divers is same price, not sure though as I have never gone out with them.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Thanks guys.

Any idea of lead time on cancellations? I think I have 48 hours to cancel the no tell motel.

 

[AustinV]

Weather this coming weekend ended up being exceptionally bad, so they cancelled us this past Tuesday for this Fri/Sat/Sun - thats the furthest out notice I have ever received in NC. Usually they call it the night before, I have received a phone call when diving out of Wilmington area while on the way to the boat in the AM that it was too squirrelly to go out and the dives were flagged. Makes it tough for us out of towners for lodging. If you end up booking with Olympus look into their lodge, they rent it out to divers for either 20 or 25 dollars a night per head, don't charge if you end up not coming. It's about a block and a half away from the dock maybe?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I read it's $35 / night but maybe cheaper if diving with them?

 

[AustinV]

I read it's $35 / night but maybe cheaper if diving with them?

Might have gone up this year, I haven't stayed there this year, or I could just be misremembering. Could have sworn I last paid $25. Just checked their website and it does in fact say $35.

 

[O-ring]

Weather this coming weekend ended up being exceptionally bad, so they cancelled us this past Tuesday for this Fri/Sat/Sun - thats the furthest out notice I have ever received in NC. Usually they call it the night before, I have received a phone call when diving out of Wilmington area while on the way to the boat in the AM that it was too squirrelly to go out and the dives were flagged. Makes it tough for us out of towners for lodging. If you end up booking with Olympus look into their lodge, they rent it out to divers for either 20 or 25 dollars a night per head, don't charge if you end up not coming. It's about a block and a half away from the dock maybe?

This has been my experience too. Usually they won't call it until the morning of, but sometimes you get lucky and are only halfway there when you get the call. I've also studied weather reports intently and then rolled the dice based on my own conclusions. Sometimes that works out and sometimes not. I've been pretty darn sure we were going to get blown out so cancelled my hotel, but drove down anyway and ended up sleeping in my truck at the dock. We actually got out that time so aside from an uncomfortable night the diving was great.

 

[AustinV]

This has been my experience too. Usually they won't call it until the morning of, but sometimes you get lucky and are only halfway there when you get the call. I've also studied weather reports intently and then rolled the dice based on my own conclusions. Sometimes that works out and sometimes not. I've been pretty darn sure we were going to get blown out so cancelled my hotel, but drove down anyway and ended up sleeping in my truck at the dock. We actually got out that time so aside from an uncomfortable night the diving was great.

Yeah - if I am by myself and not travelling with buddies I will sometimes drive down on a Friday night, arrive around midnight and sleep in the truck as well, works for me!

I have tried every weather app, tracked every marine buoy, etc. and I haven't yet been able to lock down a prediction 100%, just depends on how the actual weather turns out and how that charter feels about it that morning.

 

[O-ring]

Yeah - if I am by myself and not travelling with buddies I will sometimes drive down on a Friday night, arrive around midnight and sleep in the truck as well, works for me!

I have tried every weather app, tracked every marine buoy, etc. and I haven't yet been able to lock down a prediction 100%, just depends on how the actual weather turns out and how that charter feels about it that morning.

Yup..no way you can predict what the captain is going to do the morning of. Sure wish there was an app for that..