Kids going to Duke, where can I dive while visiting?

[C Dub]

Been lurking here a bit since my kids (boy and girl twins) are incoming freshmen at Duke.

I'm wondering what are the good dive shops and dive boats in North Carolina? Would love to combine a visit to see the kids with some east coast dives. Thanks!

 

[hroark2112]

I'm a big fan of NC coast diving. You can go to Wilmington & dive with Aquatic Safaris, Beaufort and dive with Discovery Diving, or just go jump in Fantasy Lake.

As far as shops go, talk to the guys from Air Hogs Scuba in Garner. None better in the Triangle, although that's just my opinion.

 

[Steve_C]

Fantasy Lake is a quarry, scuba park just north of Raleigh. No rental stuff there but popular for practicing or wasting a day under water.

The closest coastal spot is Aquatic Safaris. For Duke a 2.5 hour drive will put you at the boat dock. Their shop is about a block away. Couple of decent sea food spots next door so you can have a meal afterwards. AS has two boats. This time of year the smaller one is making two trips a day. Longer trips are on the larger boat AS I once a day. Way it works is if a boat is open on a given day anybody can start a charter to a spot they want.

There are a number of other good ops that are a bit further. I like AS also because of their generous cancelation policy and they are a bit conservative about going out in rough water.

Some NC divers are on scuba board but a lot of them hang out on NCDivers.com or on facebook at RAD (Raleigh Area Divers). Always folks looking to dive.

NC Boats are unguided. If you want a DM it is just 40 or 50 dollars extra.

NC Diving is wrecks and ledges. We have a number of offshore underwater ledges which are covered with coral and marine life.
If you are not on a ledge or a wreck you are looking at sand, lots and lots of sand.

 

[DukeAMO]

I'm a big fan of Down Under Surf and Scuba in Cary. They have plenty of tec divers and very experienced people on staff. They teach lots of classes and have an active club. It's a smaller shop, though, if you're shopping for gear. If you want to go to a big shop with its own pool for diving in, Gypsy Divers in Raleigh is another well-run operation. I think most people pick up tanks and any rental gear at one of those places if they're headed to Fantasy Lake for quarry diving.

For coastal diving, you can usually rent whatever gear you need at the dive shop doing the charter, but do ask about gear when you book a trip. Also, for coastal diving on weekends you usually need to book a couple of weeks in advance. Just be aware that they won't go out if the conditions are too rough, and you may not know until that morning. You also have to be a little flexible with the dive sites; if the conditions are bad at your preferred site, or if you get outvoted, you'll go somewhere else.

Looks like you're a new diver according to your profile, so you should probably start with the beginner wrecks and work your way up to the deeper offshore wrecks. We did the Indra with 20ish dives and AOW, PPB, and Nitrox, and just did our first offshore deep wreck with 40ish dives (several around 90-100 feet) and Rescue under our belts. Both were a little challenging at that point in our dive experience, but not beyond our capabilities. The coastal dive shops can get you onto beginner boats. I think getting back on board with real (not Caribbean) waves is the hardest part. A refresher in Fantasy Lake is a good idea if you're rusty at all. So is a private Divemaster.

We've gone out with Discovery Diving Co. in Beaufort and liked them. Olympus Dive Center and Tortuga (Captain JT) are on our TODO list based on others' reviews.

We usually find our dive buddies and get local advice using the Raleigh Area Divers Facebook group.

By the way, Go Duke! DH and I are Dukies who have lived in the Triangle area on and off since 1995.

 

[dreamdive]

Been lurking here a bit since my kids (boy and girl twins) are incoming freshmen at Duke.

Where can you dive while visiting? In their chamber, it's big......It's a dry dive but hey.......(hope you don't mind my humor!) Have fun! Maybe you can make it to South Florida on a weekend.:blinking:

 

[C Dub]

Hey hroak, Steve, AMO, and Dream, thanks for the tips! Sounds like there is a lot of great diving around here, especially the wrecks. We got into town yesterday, and are doing the typical Costco/Target/Bed and Bath runs with the kids. I will have some time to check out the local shops after they move in Tuesday. Heading over to FB to look up the Raleigh area divers now!

 

[herman]

I'm a big fan of Down Under Surf and Scuba in Cary. They have plenty of tec divers and very experienced people on staff. They teach lots of classes and have an active club. It's a smaller shop, though, if you're shopping for gear. If you want to go to a big shop with its own pool for diving in, Gypsy Divers in Raleigh is another well-run operation. I think most people pick up tanks and any rental gear at one of those places if they're headed to Fantasy Lake for quarry diving.

For coastal diving, you can usually rent whatever gear you need at the dive shop doing the charter, but do ask about gear when you book a trip. Also, for coastal diving on weekends you usually need to book a couple of weeks in advance. Just be aware that they won't go out if the conditions are too rough, and you may not know until that morning. You also have to be a little flexible with the dive sites; if the conditions are bad at your preferred site, or if you get outvoted, you'll go somewhere else.

Looks like you're a new diver according to your profile, so you should probably start with the beginner wrecks and work your way up to the deeper offshore wrecks. We did the Indra with 20ish dives and AOW, PPB, and Nitrox, and just did our first offshore deep wreck with 40ish dives (several around 90-100 feet) and Rescue under our belts. Both were a little challenging at that point in our dive experience, but not beyond our capabilities. The coastal dive shops can get you onto beginner boats. I think getting back on board with real (not Caribbean) waves is the hardest part. A refresher in Fantasy Lake is a good idea if you're rusty at all. So is a private Divemaster.

We've gone out with Discovery Diving Co. in Beaufort and liked them. Olympus Dive Center and Tortuga (Captain JT) are on our TODO list based on others' reviews.

We usually find our dive buddies and get local advice using the Raleigh Area Divers Facebook group.

By the way, Go Duke! DH and I are Dukies who have lived in the Triangle area on and off since 1995.

I agree with the rest, just be prepaired for the possibility of rougher water and take seasick meds, it's not uncommon for half of the boat to be green. If you intend to dive our coast, you need to book weekend charters very early, it is not uncommon for our shop trips to fill up soon after they are announced (Feb time frame). You will have more luck with mid week charters.

One minor correction, JT is not the captain of Torutga, JT captains "Under Pressure" out of Hatteras. Capt James (Ken) is the owner/Capt of Tortuga...and a great operation I might add.

---------- Post added August 18th, 2014 at 06:57 AM ----------

Hey hroak, Steve, AMO, and Dream, thanks for the tips! Sounds like there is a lot of great diving around here, especially the wrecks. We got into town yesterday, and are doing the typical Costco/Target/Bed and Bath runs with the kids. I will have some time to check out the local shops after they move in Tuesday. Heading over to FB to look up the Raleigh area divers now!

Down Under is closed on Tues, if you want to check out all the shops in Raleigh, wait until Wed. Also, we (DU) have club outing at the local quarry each month and the next one is next Sat, Aug 23. All are welcome so if you would like to check out the quarry and have some folks to dive with, please join us.

 

[DukeAMO]

One minor correction, JT is not the captain of Torutga, JT captains "Under Pressure" out of Hatteras. Capt James (Ken) is the owner/Capt of Tortuga...and a great operation I might add.

Oops, that's what I get for posting in the middle of the night! Tortuga, Under Pressure, and Aquatic Safaris are all on our short list too.

When we booked our recent dive, I think about half of the charters had a couple of spots left, 1 month out. Check the websites.

 

[yardpro]

you should really take advantage of being here and dive some of the world famous nc wrecks.

as said, all the boats are basically taxi's that take you out to the spot and bring you back.

It is worth it to hire a guide. they can sho you all the really cool stuff on the sites.

 

[Tortuga James]

Tortuga (Captain JT) are on our TODO list based on others' reviews.

Tortuga is owned and operated by Captain James Rosemond (yours truly), and not to be confused with Captain JT Barker of the dive vessel "Under Pressure" out of Hatteras.

Edit: Sorry I see you corrected yourself.