NJ or NC in May?

[scuba41girl]

hmmmm eenie meenie miney mo.....NC without a doubt!

I'm not going to say that we dont have good diving here, but I dove all last summer and never saw a shark other than the ones that ride on The Stingray

 

[RAD Diver]

I posted this in the other forum so in case you didnt see it.
Nothing against NJ as I want to get up that way & try some dives myself, but I dont think that you will see the Sandtigers in as big a way as you will in NC. I assume you are talking about the wreck that used to be known as the Papoose. I did that dive along with the U-352 last November & loved them both. I have dove with Discovery Diving, Aquatic Safaries, Cape Fear Diving & Atlantis Charters all of which I wouldnt hesitate to use again. There are plenty of other dive sites that also give you the chance of seeing Sandtigers. The Hyde or Markham usually have quite a few. We were on the City of Houston in January & also had a few with us then. These are down further south as in Wilmington NC. Of course the wreck formally known as the Papoose had quite a few & even had a large one swim with me on the Sub. Try this to narrow your search. http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/shipwrecks.html

 

[motorcitydiver]

Thanks for all the info guys. "F106A" what's your screen name in reference to? Aircraft?

 

[Manta]

I posted this in another forum with not much response. Hopefully this is the right place now.

I have a four day weekend in May and I'm looking to drive from Michigan to either NJ or NC for some wreck diving. I haven't been diving in either state and could use some advice. What's the diving like this early in the season? Are the wrecks worth a 11-15 hour drive? Which dive ops don't have cattle cars and treat their customers well?

My biggest debate between the two states is that I want to do the Papoose in NC to dive with the Sand Tiger sharks. Are there any shark dives like that in NJ?

I am partial to NJ, but it can be hit or miss. You will not see sharks in NJ. My recommendation is to dive "dry" if you have a dry suit...especially in NJ and even in NC. I dive in both, full service in we get you there and back

Have you thought about the st. Laurence seaway?? Great diving...you won't ever get blown out.

Regards - Greg

 

[ScubaLuuke]

I would definately go for NC. I went out march 31st and dove the Papoose wreck with Olympus dive center. www.olympusdivecenter.com, they are real good. We were scheduled to go to the U-352 but the viz was about 10ft on the U boat so we decided to do the Papoose instead. Viz was about 50 feet on the Papoose along with plenty of sandtigers, 10-11 ft. Saw tons of fish, bluefish, tunas, huge stingrays, and even a few lionfish, and also an octopus. It was definately a great dive. The surface temp was 68 degrees and on the bottom at about 115ft we hit 62 degrees. You are going to want to wear a 7Mil this time of yr and a hood. I dove it with my 4/3 mil and 1.5 mil hood, I was fine on the 1st dive, but pretty damn cold on the 2nd. Olympus is a real good boat accompanied by great staff, they know what they are doing. You can rent tanks, most likely want to do Nitrox, think it be around 34 bux altogether for 2 tanks, probably around a 30% mix as well. I have always dove with them, and am going out again this sunday. However they do not start posting charter dates until sometime in May, not sure exactly when but you can check the website. We go out with East Carolina Univeristy, so we are able to get on at random times throughout the yr. Goodluck in your travel here if you decide to come! PM me if you want any more info.

 

[Spratman]

I did the stolt once last year and hung on the entire time. what a ripping current!!!

Yep, it was the same way when I went out. Ernie went over the side to set the hook, and was instantly swept behind the boat. During our dive brief, we were told to stay of the shore side of the wreck because of the current. Still a great dive though.

 

[Spratman]

hmmmm eenie meenie miney mo.....NC without a doubt!

I'm not going to say that we dont have good diving here, but I dove all last summer and never saw a shark other than the ones that ride on The Stingray

I was hoping for NC this year, but I don't think I can swing it.

Well, after meeting you, I can certainly understand why...