NC dive reports

[AfterDark]

After driving all night (we) my lovely wife and I arrived at the Olympus Dive Shop at 0500 early Friday morning. The crew was prepping the boat. I was invited by a friendly 1st mate to stow my gear on board, grab a coffee, get my boarding pass and relax. Departure time was 0700.

Friday June 3 2011 Wreck of the Aeolus / Dive boat Olympus.

ALL DIVES DONE ON AIR.

The weather was fair the seas were active 2’-4’ swells 5 sec duration 12 sec intervals.Visibility was about 30’ just enough current to move you around but weak enough to stop yourself with your fins, perfect! Many pictures were taken few were any good. The new strobe wasn’t firing in the water yet it had been working on the boat. I got a couple of passable jellyfish pics and a Toadfish(?) that is a good example of what a picture taken at 100fsw in 30’ vis looks like without a flash / strobe. I spent time trying to get the strobe to work, messing with the cable and the holder but no go.
A nice dive, in good conditions. Max 109fsw most of the dive was 60-70fsw 42 min total dive time. Surface temp 74F Bottom temp 65F

I called the second dive I was tired and the battery on my PDC was showing weak.



Saturday June 4 2011 Wreck of the ATLAS / Dive Boat Olympus

A sunny day calm seas no swells light chop. At 1100am I’m standing on the gunwale looking down at tropical blue clear water waiting for the all clear signal, I knew I was in for another good dive. The Atlas was full of life! Bait balls were everywhere from the shallows to the bottom. Corals, sponges and my new friends the Atlantic Sand Tiger Sharks are everywhere. My strobe and camera were working for this dive. All these pictures were taken without the zoom Bottom temp 67F, surface temp 72F, max depth 114fsw total dive time 32 min. vis60’. A fresh battery in my PDC got it acting normal again.

Saturday June 4 2011 Wreck of the Ashkhabad / Dive Boat Olympus

Dive two, last of the day. Clouds and sun, seas choppy the water looks beautiful! The bottom is a short 60fsw. Ambient light is good for pictures. It didn’t take long for the strobe to stop working again. I removed the optics cable ring enabling the use of the cameras flash, not much but better than nothing.
Visibility is 60+’ I can see forever! There are a lot of amberjack and other fish that I’m not familiar with. Again bait balls are thick and plentiful. This for some reason turns out being the best dive IMO of the 9. The water was so clear and warm 68F @ 61fsw. I swam this wreck over and over it was hypnotic. Before I knew it 50 minutes had gone by and my bottom time was down to a few minutes. I hung on the line @ 15fsw and watched some other divers @ 45fsw below.





Bait ball at 100fsw





This one swam by so close I almost bumped it when I turned to locate my buddy.

There are more pictures in the photo gallery. I'm still working on the rest of the dive reports.

 

[AfterDark]

[/B]Sunday June 5, 2011 The Artificial Reef Indra[/B]​

An overcast and windy morning greeted me in the parking lot of the motel. I wondered if this would be a washout day. We arrived at the boat to find the crew getting ready. After a rough ride out and an “active” kitting up session I’m bobbing and weaving with my double 94’s to the edge of the deck. The 4’-5’ seas are pitching the cattle boat around like a bathtub toy. I’m just staring to get a little sick, get me in the water! At 1050 I’m falling feet first towards some angry looking water. I slip down to the hang line into 50’ visibility blue water. The line is moving 5’ up and down. My hang line comes in handy now. I clip it to the boat’s pitching hang line, trim out and wait for my buddy. Others are holding on to line getting “jerked” up and down I’m tethered a few feet away hovering at 15fsw
We start down to our max depth for this dive at 67fsw. We have an escort, a 2’-3’ barracuda has taken an interest in us / me /my buddy? This fish stayed with us / me for the dive. I was wondering if somebody stuck a fish in one of my pockets!? It waited outside the hull for my exit when I went in and followed me after I came out. I guess it wasn’t penetration certified .
It couldn’t resist because in a flash that I caught from the corner of my eye it hit a fish and eat it. The others disappeared like David Copperfield was there! An approaching school of amberjacks had the same effect. One second a large bait ball surrounds you so thick it cuts the vis to a few feet then……..gone! Nothing but clear open water that, in the next second is filled with large amberjacks! I was cursing my strobe which stopped working again. All the colorful corals and marine life would have made some nice pictures. I need to start learning the names of these animals so I can ID them correctly. This isn’t my last trip! All too soon my SPG and PDC are telling me it’s time to head up. A total dive time of 63 min in 67F water.

Our escort to the Indra. Are those fish suicidal?

Sunday June 5, 2011 The Artificial Reef Indra​

DIVE TWO​

After a good lunch a few laughs and a change over to the 72’s, I was ready for the second dive of the day. The decision had been made to stay with the Indra site. The seas were still rough though not the 4’-5’ footers from the morning. So off the boat and into the 50’ vis blue water. I could really get to love NC! I stopped my descent at 72fsw leveled off and started another hour of great diving. Corals and sponges have really dressed this ship up! Also the number of big fish amberjacks and such is amazing…to me anyway. I was angry with my cameraless self! So many good shots I’ll never get! So with a max depth of 72fsw, total dive time of 60 min in 69F water it was time to hang! I enjoy safety stops in NC! It’s not the boring green murk I’m used too.

 

[waterpirate]

Nice report and photos, thanx. I met a barracuda several years ago that was penetration certified and it conviced me to exit the wreck! lol
Eric

 

[AfterDark]

MONDAY JUNE 6, 2011 D-DAY-- NEVER FORGET

THE WRECK of the PAPOOSE / DIVE BOAT MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

A 2.5 hour boat ride in rough water brought us to the wreck of the Papoose. I’m thinking the water appears to be a different color blue today. A giant stride off the boat and it was soon apparent why the color of the water is different. Waiting for my buddy I’m watching other divers descend and I realize I can see the Papoose 75fsw below me! There must be close to 100’ vis! At a max depth of 118fsw the bottom temp is 61F. Finally my 7mm farmer john suit is useful! The Papoose is upside down so any penetration needs to be done from the bottom. Since my bottom time was limited I decide to play the PDC and spend some time at the bottom, then swim to the keel for a while, then back to the bottom…. I managed to get 27 minutes out of the dive with a little time and a lot of air to spare. Hanging on the line off gassing I was still amazed by the vis. I’m sure going to hate leaving!






Thesa are the only good pictures from the Papoose that I got before my camera quit.

MONDAY JUNE 6 2011 THE ARTIFICAL REEF THE SPAR
DIVE TWO

The sea is calmer now and after an hour ride, lunch, and a change of tanks, we’re on our way down to the Spar. I was hoping to get a picture of the screw and rudder but after getting to the stern and finding the screw my camera doesn’t work…all. The shutter will not move so pictures are out. The Spar is a Hollywood wreck all intact so it looks like a ship.
We swam in and out of the Spar from down to the lower deck then up to bridge. The vis outside the wreck was 60’, max depth for this dive was 112fsw, a bottom temp of 65F and total dive time of 27 minutes.'



TUESDAY JUNE 7, 2011 THE WRECK OF THE CARIBSEA / DIVE BOAT THOMAS S.

The ocean is flat calm, the sun is shining the wind is light. A pilot whale is following us. Also flying fish! That’s a first for me! Those babies can fly! Saw one must have went 200 yds through the air and kept up with the boat! I’ve rented a camera for my last day with the hope that I’ll have some good pictures of my last 2 dives. You’ll find no pictures at the end of this report and the next. Although the camera seemed to work, I got a card error after taking a few pictures! So I just decided to enjoy the fact that I was here at 85fsw with 30’ vis and a balmy 68F for the next 40 minutes. The bottom surge stirred things up some but it was still a nice dive. Saw some Sand Tigers and more barracuda. The bait balls weren’t around today but lots of trigger fish and others their names unknown to me. One more dive then that long 16 hour drive home.

TUESDAY JUNE 7, 2011 THE WRECK of the ASHKHABAD
DIVE TWO and the last NC DIVE .....for awhile

Well I’m back at the best dive of the trip for me anyway, and looking forward to a good dive. I’m thinking there aren’t any bad dives here, just some better than others. This dive will be mostly solo because I got in late so I’ll be the last one out. There’s as much bottom surge here as there was at the Caribsea and its cutting the viz down to 25’. I’m starting to think like a NC diver already, cutting viz to 25’ would be a miracle in RI! The temp at 63fsw is 69F the bait fish are back but the larger fish aren’t around except for barracuda. I took several pictures of a fish on the last dive here in the same spot, I recognize the wreckage this is the same area and probably the same fish this time there a ring of eggs in the depression she(?) made in the sand. She now stands guard and nothing is backing her down. Other fish try to approach the nest and are chased away. I put my face right up to her and she will not move! I’ve decided to return to the surface with the barest min of air there are 2 regulators hanging over the side after all and I’m the only one in the water! So I swim around the wreck crisscrossing the area several times. Finally my bottom time is up before my air and I’m at the anchor line. Good timing! So after 51 minutes later I ascend from my last NC dive for now. I will be back!

 

[tddfleming]

Wonderful Photos!! It amazed me at how many jellies were there when we went. Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great time!

 

[AfterDark]

Wonderful Photos!! It amazed me at how many jellies were there when we went. Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great time!

Thanks, I can't wait to get back, maybe even again this year. I also learned a lot about my new BP/W using the double setup. I've already made some improvements to the bands, and I'll be changing the way the regs are setup. The hose mangement is a nightmare. All in all a very fun and educational 5 days! I even felt better getting out on the water every day. My wife said I stopped snoring the 1st night! I'm back to it now. We saw a lot of jellies also but the bait fish is what I noted, they were thick so you couldn't see through the baitball sometimes.

 

[rlskill1]

Hey AfterDark, Glad you had a great set of dives. Water and weather is usually nice thru October, so come on back!

 

[AfterDark]

Hey AfterDark, Glad you had a great set of dives. Water and weather is usually nice thru October, so come on back!

Will certainly try! It is a short term goal!

 

[GeronimoDF]

Amazing pictures...... I am planning on going in Mid July....What wet suit thickness did you dive in?

 

[AfterDark]

Amazing pictures...... I am planning on going in Mid July....What wet suit thickness did you dive in?

Thank you very much. I used my 7MM farmer suit, too much suit really. I went hoodless to try and give my body heat a way out. I guess it worked because I was comfortable and I could feel the 61F temp at 120FSW on the Papoose. The water will be warmer when you go and the vis will be better too! If its your 1st time there you'll enjoy it but there's a lot to take in. Bring a jon line you'll be glad you did on the rough days when everyone holding on to the hang line is getting jerked up and down, you'll be hovering in place! Good luck, relax and enjoy!!