Looking to Dive North carolina

[Avonthediver]

Hi all

I'm looking to Dive North carloina and have found a number of LDS and charter shop's but I just dont know what is the best for my buck!
I'm looking at Olympus charters for shark incounters.
if anyone can help please drop me a line!

 

[Buoyant1]

There's a North Carolina group of threads down the page a bit (under regional travel..United states..Southeastern US) ...you'd probably do better down there..but I've heard nothing but good things about Olympus! (a few guys from my local shop go down every year)

 

[divenutny]

There are many dive ops in NC. In my opinion, Olympus is the best op in Morehead City. You may find cheaper boats, for my money, I would pick Olympus. The good wrecks are 25-30 miles off shore so the boat rides tend to be 1.5 to 2 hours from the dock. The Olympus boats will get you there quicker, in better shape.

Hope you have a great time - Tom

 

[rawls]

The good wrecks are 25-30 miles off shore so the boat rides tend to be 1.5 to 2 hours from the dock. The Olympus boats will get you there quicker, in better shape.

Whoever one chooses as their favorite dive shop in Carteret County is up to the diver/s. Both Olympus and Discovery are great operations and all things considered, there is not alot of difference between the 2 operations at all, and both have been in operation since the 70's.

Having said that...You could not be further from the truth when you make the statement that Olympus boats will get you to sites faster. That is so inaccurate that it is almost funny if not downright sad that you make such an incorrect statement.
There is not one bit of difference as to how fast one of the dive boats gets you to a site offshore. They will both get you to sites in the same time frame. So please refrain from making such inaccurate comments in the future.

 

[Hank658]

A second on Discovery. As rawls said, boats at about the same speed and time.

 

[Eastbayfe]

Both ops are very good. I got certified with Discovery so I chose to do most of my diving with them. Capt. Terry is at the top of my list for diveboat captains (Outrageous V).

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have dove with Olympus and they are ok, but the Olympus itself holds a lot of divers and it can be way too many divers for many of the wrecks.

Personally I prefer to dive with Bobby Cox on the Diver down. It is also a gulf crew boat that will get you there at about the same 15 to 17 knots, but they normally limit it to 12 divers plus 2 DM's, leaving lots of room on deck to gear up, move, etc. I have to say I prefer it to what is more of a cattle boat affair on Olympus. On the last several trips Bobby and crew have always been very professional, have good numbers and have always hooked the wreck on the first pass with minimal delay hooking in. They have also done well in terms of finding wrecks with good viz. I like them so I tend to try to book with them first. Bobby is also wiling to take divers to smaller lesser traveled wrecks when the boat is less than full.

I have noted that he will also go out in rougher seas than most but plans things well in terms of wind, seas and destination so that the beating from the ride is minimized by keeping bow on into the swells. I have been on other boats where they would choose a destination closer in in rough seas leaving you with a rough ride wallowing in the troughs on the way out and planting you on an inshore wreck with poor viz.

Most of the boats operating out of Morehead City are crew boats that can get you 20-30 miles offshore in 1.5-2.0 hours and do it in fairly rough seas. All of the crew boats in use are equally fast even though some are slightly larger than others. I have left on some mornings with 5 crew boats from various operations in trail through the inlet and still had them most of them in sight for almost an hour as they slowly fan out to various wrecks.

There are some six packs operating out of Morehead City as well. They might be something to consider if you want to get to one of the smaller or lesser dove wrecks.

 

[rawls]

I'm glad you mentioned Bobby Cox. Bobby has been taking divers out for quite awhile also and runs a good charter. Can't think of anyone having a bad experience with him. Capt Leroy runs a 6 pack out of Discovery and there are those who book him WAY in advance just to be able to have no more than 6 divers. Leroy is also a great captain, just overlook his lack of house cleaning skills

Eastbayfe....Terry Leonard is a good friend and damned good boat captain. If you know Terry well enough you will find that he will bend over backwards to help anyone. He is very laid back and easy going. If you do get to know him well enough you will see what a great sense of humor he has, but it may be at your expense But that means he likes you

All in all, however, Discovery, Olympus and those independents such as Bobby have great operations going and have been at it for many years. And all of them will do their absolute best to get you out on the sites if possible. You really are not going to go wrong either way....

 

[SparticleBrane]

There are many dive ops in NC. In my opinion, Olympus is the best op in Morehead City. You may find cheaper boats, for my money, I would pick Olympus. The good wrecks are 25-30 miles off shore so the boat rides tend to be 1.5 to 2 hours from the dock. The Olympus boats will get you there quicker, in better shape.

Hope you have a great time - Tom

This might be one of those times when it's best to let locals answer.

 

[Colliam7]

I'm looking to Dive North carloina and have found a number of LDS and charter shop's ... I'm looking at Olympus charters for shark incounters.

You've gotten strong recommendations for both 'mid-state' operators - Discovery and Olympus. I've had very good experiences with both, and the various boats that they use. There are also good 'northern' operators out of Nags Head (Outer Banks Dive Center) / Hatteras (Outer Banks Diving) area (and Ghost Fleet Charters in Wanchese) and 'southern' operators (e.g. Aquatic Safaris, out of Wilmington).
You'll see sharks on many coastal wrecks, hard to say that one operator is better for sharks. The VERY BEST shark experience I've had was the Naeco in December, with Leroy on the Captain's Lady. But, I routinely see them on the Hyde out of Wilmington, on the U-701 diving out of Hatteras, etc.
Selection may depend on: 1) Where you are coming from. From DC, NJ, NY, I might just stick with the Nags Head area. Coming from the south (GA, SC) I might stick with Wilmington and Aquatic Safaris. From the west on I-40 (from Arkansas), Wilmington might be a bit closer, but the driving time differences compared to Beaufort / Morehead City are minimal. 2) For boat speed, the only operator I know with a truly fast / faster boat, is Aquatic Safaris (their newer boat moves). But, it is still a minimum 90 minutes to the better off-shore sites, and the difference between 90 and 120 minutes is trivial - it is a whole day activity (unless you dive the lower viz in-shore wrecks). 3) As for crowding, most operators fill as many spots as possible, to make each trip as profitable, or as modestly priced, as possible, depending on how you choose to look at it. A smaller boat has advantages - Leroy only takes 6 on the Lady, but that's about all there is room for - and disadvantages - fewer amenities. 4) As for GOOD or BAD experiences, you can probably find someone locally for each operator who has had a GOOD experience, and someone for each operator who had a BAD experience. It often depends on the mate more than the captain, and I have my perferences for mates with each operator. But, if you schedule a particular day or weekend, you may not have that choice. Also, bear in mind that the dive site you end up going to may change from what it was when you signed up, because of vis, sea conditions, or the captain's mood that day. A lot of times, the BAD experiences result when someone who signed up to see the U-352 ends up on a barge. It happens. Chances are, if you come east to NC, and spend multiple days diving on different wrecks, you will have mostly good experiences, you will see some sharks, and feel it is worth it.