North Carolina Diving

[herman]

You really never know, some years it's slick most weekends and others it blows every weekend. If we don't get some early tropical weather you should be OK.

 

[ZippyBoy]

Herman,

I'm thinking of taking my newly trained nephew down to NC for some diving. I checked out the wilmingtondiving website. Looks like there is alot to choose from. Are any of the wrecks suitable for a newly certified diver. He will be with his dad and myself (both experienced divers). How technical is the Hyde?

Also, what is the best time of year to go? Looks like the sharks and pelagics show up during the summer. How do water cond change from May through Aug?

 

[flounderer]

Herman,

I'm thinking of taking my newly trained nephew down to NC for some diving. I checked out the wilmingtondiving website. Looks like there is alot to choose from. Are any of the wrecks suitable for a newly certified diver. He will be with his dad and myself (both experienced divers). How technical is the Hyde?

Also, what is the best time of year to go? Looks like the sharks and pelagics show up during the summer. How do water cond change from May through Aug?

There are plenty of wrecks for the newly certified diver. Out of Wilmington, the near shore wrecks (lib ship, 5-mile barges) are good. The only problem is they are generally fairly large and can be difficult to navigate in the reduced near shore vis. Three great wrecks for the beginner diver are the Stone, Pocahontas and the Dredge. They are pretty small so they are easy to navigate and shallow ~65ft. They are far enough off shore to get some fairly good vis. The boat ride is about 45 minutes out of Wrightsville Beach so that isn't too bad.

The Hyde is an excellent dive. It is a good dive for the beginner diver. Generally you'd probably like to have a little bit of experience in the ocean before visiting it, but plenty of people do it as there first ocean dive with no problem. If you feel your nephew is comfortable underwater and he is with experienced divers it should be no problem. The deck is about 60-65ft deep and sand is 85ft, not too deep. The sharks showed up a little late last year at the end of June but they were everywhere and they became scarce after Ophelia blew through. Temps on the Hyde last year were in the 60's in May, lower to mid 70's in June, mid-upper 70's in July and near or at 80 in August. Let me know if you've got any more questions.

Pat

 

[herman]

What Pat said.
To add a few thoughts, sea sickness is a big problem and I can think of no better way to make a new diver hate diving than to have them sick as a dog on a 6 to 8 hr boat ride. Choosing closer in sites and sea sick meds may be a good idea. The other big problem we have is getting blown out. It's not uncommon for us to get blown out for days at a time. If he is fairly young and not getting to dive the entire weekend would be a big disappointment, the Keys may be a better first trip. We have some great diving but often it's somewhat more demanding than some realize.

Welcome to the board and come join us on the NC board. There may be a good chance some of us would be diving with you. www.ncdivers.com

 

[ZippyBoy]

Thanks for the advice. My nephew did his "open" water dives in a rock quarry in Virginia. His parents took him to Key West last fall for some real open water adventures. He had a great time so I think he's hooked (too bad for his parents checkbook .)

They live in Chesapeake VA (Dad's in the Navy) and the in-laws usually get a summer place in Duck in August. I just thought it would be a cool birthday present for him. I got his Mom (my sister) to give me the ok for the adventure. I now need to figure out whether that or a cold water dive off Newport RI works best. (I'd rather see the sand tigers but that's me).

I'll check out the suggested dive sites as well as the NC board as we get closer to a date.

Appreciate the help,
Keith

 

[DelightedDiver]

I have another question to add. My husband is going with a group from our LDS in Virginia to do some werck diving in Morehead. I can't do deep dives right now, but am planning to drive to NC with him. Is there any good shallow dives (less than 50 fee) in the Morehead area.

 

[bankey]

Indra,Hutton,Suloide,and the Ttitan are all around 35-65

 

[ChrisSoutherly]

There are quite a few wrecks closer in that are not too deep. Check out http://www.discoverydiving.com/wrecks.htm for some basic info and depth ranges. Another common local dive is doing a drift dive with the incoming current at Radio Island.

 

[DelightedDiver]

Chris and Bankey,

Thanks. Is there a dive operator that you would recommend for these dives?

 

[BabyDuck]

discovery in beaufort, olympus in morehead, cape fear and aqua safari in wilmington! hope you have fun.