Hello Self: Congratulations on getting certified and getting in some great dives already. I've read a few posts here and thought I would add a comment or two about having experience for wreck diving. Obviously continued training will never hurt anyone and if you access to wreck diving courses, I highly recommend it because you will pick up things in these courses that you normally will not get in basic and even advanced dive courses... and hopefully get some supervised training while on an offshore vessel.
What concerns me most are otherwise great, healthy, stong divers going 15, 20, even more than 30 miles offshore with limited boating experience. Let's face it, most (but certainly not all) of the really great wreck dives are at least a 1-3 hour boat ride and the seas aren't always smooth. These conditions can impair even the best divers among us.
If you are new to boating start off with a few short trips and build up... obviously if you've been boating all your life and don't get bothered by seasickness then this should not be a concern for you. It's been my experience that most who get in trouble have more difficulty in dealing with seasickness, panic, and other anxiety from having too little experience on the ocean. Yes, it can flat calm some days but this usually is not the case off of NC.
In fact, I was divemaster last weekend on one of the larger commercial boats and we picked up the MAY DAY of the vessel that had the fatality. Since their radio had a limited range, our captain relayed their messages to Coast Gaurd Fort Macon. They were on a 23 footer at the U-352, seas were 3-5 feet, not overly rough for our 50 footer; however, a little much for the 23 footer being more than 25 miles offshore in my opinion. Essentially, the smaller vessel relayed that they were unable to properly render CPR due to lack of room on the vessel and the rough sea state. I cannot say for sure what cuased the diving accident; however, it was quite obvious that the sea conditions and being on a small vessel hindered the ability to properly treat the accident victim.
Bottom line is to use good judgment if operating your own vessel and making sure your expirence level matches the charters you sign onto and never be afraid to ask questions or get a dive leader's assistance if required.
Safe travels,
captain mike