Moving to Chapel Hill area, recommendations

[vinifera]

Hi all - first post on Scubaboard, been lurking for a bit...

Will be moving to Chapel Hill this December, and have been actively working through a number of certs in anticipation of the move and to broaden my underwater experience. Ultimate goal - down the road a bit - Instructor. Headed towards DM in the early going. My diving to date has been all lake diving, which I enjoy, even if the vis is occasionally to my wrist. Looking forward to being closer to the ocean and getting salt in my hair.

So the questions -

1. good/recommended shops for advanced instruction, good instructors, scheduling flexibility (that work thing gets in the way of my scuba) in the Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham area?
2. any of the shops do meet/greet socials?
3. any lake diving close to town? Google shows a number of lakes around, didn't know if anyone had any recommendations or has/does dive those? I know about Fantasy Lake, but it will be a bit of a drive, and I like the ability to just go and practice for a few hours, whether I have a dive partner or not, which I can do in my current situation.

Thanks in advance - looking forward to getting plugged into the community there!

 

[3D diver]

When I lived in Durham I used Water World...'course that was 30 years ago.

There might be someone closer to Chapel Hill by now.

 

[randman_82]

You can try Fantasy Lake Scuba Park. It is a granite Quarry on the East side of Raleigh. Here is the website: Fantasy Lake Scuba Park
It's pretty cool place. I've dived there a couple of times.

 

[dvankirk]

I don't know of any shops in CH, but Water World is close by in Durham. There are 4 shops in the Raleigh area - Gypsy Divers (SSI) who by far do the best fills in town, Down Under in Cary (PADI) has some good tech divers and classes, Carolina Dive Center in North Raleigh (NAUI) also has some tech divers, and Reef & Ridge who looks like are barely in business. I use Gypsy mostly (Scubapro) because they are good people and will go out of there way to help you. They also have a good service department. Down Under is good too - they offer a lot of classes and trips and have a club that you can check out.

Fantasy Lake is really the only dive spot close. I prefer Lake Rawlings in VA for quarry diving. There are a lot of lakes around, but not worth diving. Some of best wreck diving in the country is only a couple of hours away, though! PM me when you get settled and I can include you on my trips list.