mow2000
Registered
It's been a few years (10 to 16) since I did any diving in the outer banks. A great beginner dive is the liberty ship off Wilmington, NC. It's called the Alexander Ramsey I believe and is in 50' water and a few miles offshore. Visibility can be pretty good. For that matter, the Wilmington area is a neat and relatively inexpensive place to stay.
My first open water dive was on the Alexander Ramsey and was cut short because my buddy got sea-sick (only 10 minutes in my log book). My second was on the U-85 (20 miles offshore in 100' of water). This was the first dumb thing I did in NC. I also had a hairy shore dive in which my buddy and I were washed up on a stone breakwater and nearly drowned. Then there was the trip out of Morehead City (I think it was Morehead, it's been a while). We had originallly tried to get a boat out of Wilmington but the dives were called off because it was too rough. So we found a shop farther north that would take us out. Bad, bad idea. Crazy, HUGE seas, long ride. Everyone got seasick.
So my two cents: if the weather is iffy then don't dive (even if a dive boat is "willing" to take your money). Half or more of all my NC dives were cancelled due to weather. Don't do shore dives without someone who's skilled at it showing you the ropes and watching your back. You most likely will encounter shallow depths, surge, zero vis and all kinds of other problems. Be prepared with alternate plans when the ocean is rough (and it could be for the whole week).
If you're thinking NC and diving then I'd highly recommend Wilmington. The water is much warmer than northern parts of the outer banks and the short boatride makes it less likely divers will get seasick. It's also inshore so might be diveable when wrecks further out aren't. And it's cheaper than the wrecks which are further out.
My first open water dive was on the Alexander Ramsey and was cut short because my buddy got sea-sick (only 10 minutes in my log book). My second was on the U-85 (20 miles offshore in 100' of water). This was the first dumb thing I did in NC. I also had a hairy shore dive in which my buddy and I were washed up on a stone breakwater and nearly drowned. Then there was the trip out of Morehead City (I think it was Morehead, it's been a while). We had originallly tried to get a boat out of Wilmington but the dives were called off because it was too rough. So we found a shop farther north that would take us out. Bad, bad idea. Crazy, HUGE seas, long ride. Everyone got seasick.
So my two cents: if the weather is iffy then don't dive (even if a dive boat is "willing" to take your money). Half or more of all my NC dives were cancelled due to weather. Don't do shore dives without someone who's skilled at it showing you the ropes and watching your back. You most likely will encounter shallow depths, surge, zero vis and all kinds of other problems. Be prepared with alternate plans when the ocean is rough (and it could be for the whole week).
If you're thinking NC and diving then I'd highly recommend Wilmington. The water is much warmer than northern parts of the outer banks and the short boatride makes it less likely divers will get seasick. It's also inshore so might be diveable when wrecks further out aren't. And it's cheaper than the wrecks which are further out.
