lost in the carolinas

[cra2]

Hey,

I'm a native South Carolinian who's now a Florida diver thinking about coming back up for a weekend getaway on the coast. Since I haven't been east of Asheville in years, I need some Carolina diving vacation advice.

Where can I go for some of that awesome wreck/shark diving I keep hearing about up there? Of course, I want what everybody else wants - warm water, perfect viz, flat seas and a short boat-ride.

But seriously, are there any romantic bed & breakfasts on the coast where we could tour something historically significant one day, and some fine dining at night, all while taking a wreck-diving course from a reputable, safe shop and doing a couple of exciting shark/wreck dives (no deeper than 100')?

When's the best season to come up there?

Thanks for any help,
Cra2

 

[flyinghuntster]

a little off topic but stay clear of I 95 near Rocky Mount....I was headed to Jacksonville, Fl from Norfolk, Va and my Transmision ate itself. :-( And I had all my dive gear with me......:-( I hope that you have better luck than I did. I am sure you will as long as you don't drive me car. Ha Ha.

 

[suthnbelle]

Hey,

I'm a native South Carolinian who's now a Florida diver thinking about coming back up for a weekend getaway on the coast. Since I haven't been east of Asheville in years, I need some Carolina diving vacation advice.

Where can I go for some of that awesome wreck/shark diving I keep hearing about up there? Of course, I want what everybody else wants - warm water, perfect viz, flat seas and a short boat-ride.

But seriously, are there any romantic bed & breakfasts on the coast where we could tour something historically significant one day, and some fine dining at night, all while taking a wreck-diving course from a reputable, safe shop and doing a couple of exciting shark/wreck dives (no deeper than 100')?

When's the best season to come up there?

Thanks for any help,
Cra2

If you find the flat seas and short boat-ride, please let me know. I'm just a tad prone to sea sickness.

You're in luck regarding the diving. You need to head down to Morehead City and dive off the coast there. You've got Discovery Diving, Olympus and Diver Down to chose from. I know Beaufort has some B&Bs on the waterfront there. It is a quaint historic town. The NCWDs have a wreck trip planned the first weekend in April in case you're interested. We're diving the Indra on Saturday, Aeolus and Spar on Sunday, and we're using Discovery Diving.

[size=-1]www.discoverydiving.com[/size]
[size=-1]www.olympusdiving.com[/size]

Check out our Trips forum here, as well as the club's website www.wreckmaniac.com. We've got trips planned from now til June so far.

Mel

 

[herman]

There are basically 3 dive areas here in NC. The outter banks, Morehead City and the Wilmington area. For historic touring, I would think Wilmington area would be my choice. Lots of historic stuff-stern wheel river boat, cotton exchange, US North Carolina (WWII battleship) and the Fort Fisher aquarium. There are a couple of dive shops in the area and the wrecks are good, several in the 100 ft or less range. There are plenty of hotel/motel rooms but as far as a B&B I am not aware of one (never looked-got to be one there somewhere) A quick google search I found this http://www.bbonline.com/nc/wilmington.html . As for season, the best chance of flat seas is late July to Aug but for the absolute best weather all round, mid October. It's cooled off a lot but still warm enough to be shirt sleeve even at night and the water is still plenty warm. I have a house near Wilmington so I have my choice of anytime and I always take at least a week of vacation in Oct to spend there. There are several members in the Wilmington area and I am down quite a bit if you need a buddy.

 

[suthnbelle]

Herman, much better choice. I totally forget about Wilmington even though I lived on the downtown waterfront for two years, then Wrightsville for another two. Much more to do in Wilmington if you want to do something other than diving.

 

[cra2]

Sounds perfect. Sounds like you guys have heaven up there.
How long are the boat rides out of Wilmngton, and are wrecks there shark-infested, as advertised?

 

[flounderer]

The sharks should be here around June in significant numbers. Out of Wilmington, the best shark wrecks are the Hyde and Markham, but we see sharks on about 75% of our wreck dives. Both are 18 miles out, around an hour and 15 minutes. The last time I was there with sharks we saw at least a dozen sand tigers. Last year the Hyde had a resident nurse shark and the sandbar sharks are always there just a little more elusive. Both wrecks are in 85ft with a lot to see around 65 or so. I have to put a plug in for Aquatic Safaris (www.aquaticsafaris.com) because I work on their boat. Look me up if you decide to make it up this way.

Pat

 

[jdh]

The sharks should be here around June in significant numbers. Out of Wilmington, the best shark wrecks are the Hyde and Markham, but we see sharks on about 75% of our wreck dives. Both are 18 miles out, around an hour and 15 minutes. The last time I was there with sharks we saw at least a dozen sand tigers. Last year the Hyde had a resident nurse shark and the sandbar sharks are always there just a little more elusive. Both wrecks are in 85ft with a lot to see around 65 or so. I have to put a plug in for Aquatic Safaris (www.aquaticsafaris.com) because I work on their boat. Look me up if you decide to make it up this way.

Pat

I saw 20+ sand tigers on the 18 Fathom wreck a couple weeks ago. Also two or three turtles, a big stingray, angels, butterfly fish, lots of morays, grouper, and a few billion baitfish.

John

 

[cra2]

jdh, where is the 18 fathom?
and what was your experience like?
did the sand tigers scatter or did you remain at a distance?

flounderer, it's not a matter of "IF" we're coming - it's a matter of when & where.
It sounds like an awesome getaway for a long weekend.

Are these wrecks penetrable?

 

[flounderer]

You can do some penetration in the Hyde and Markham. A few long passageways and crew quarters on the Hyde. I have not penetrated the Markham yet but it can be done. I can get a hold of some simple schematics of the layout of the ships nothing to detailed though.

john,
when were you out at the 18 fathom wreck? I was going to go two weeks ago but had a cold. How many lionfish did you see? Sounds like I missed a damn good dive.

Pat