North Carolina Vacation

[Razmo]

I need advice on the best places to go in North Carolina for diving and general fun. Ashamedly, I'm from KY, and have never been to NC. My "buddy" and I are experienced divers and, due to the economy (ERRGH!), we thought we'd try something a little closer to home. This is a spur of the moment and we'd be going in mid July. Any advice anyone can give me will be appreciated. Thanks!
Razmo

 

[potablewater]

I need advice on the best places to go in North Carolina for diving and general fun. Ashamedly, I'm from KY, and have never been to NC. My "buddy" and I are experienced divers and, due to the economy (ERRGH!), we thought we'd try something a little closer to home. This is a spur of the moment and we'd be going in mid July. Any advice anyone can give me will be appreciated. Thanks!
Razmo

First of all, Welcome to the ScubaBoard.

There are many great dive charter operations in NC.
The one I know well and will serve all your needs with two boats running almost daily charters to the Graveyard, is Aquatic Safaris in Wrightsville Beach. Very nice people.

All the best,
Geoff

 

[fireflock]

The best thing to do is tell us a little more about what you're looking for. NC has a long coast, and the various sections offer different types of diving along with different flavors of topside accommodations. You can find yourself on a small spit of sand close to the end of the earth, in a coastal tourist town big enough to have some other attractions, or close to a real city with everything that brings along with it. You can find cold(er) water, warm water, sharks, shipwrecks, subs, ledges, fossils, and so on.....as long as you know where to look.

Give us some idea of what you are looking for and maybe we can help.

Rich

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
We have 2 major dive areas, the Morehead/Beaufort (pronounced BOfort....BUfort is in SC ) area and the Wilmington area (Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach). There are a lot of operators in both areas. The major operations are Discovery and Olympus in M/B area. Aquatic Safaris (Wrightsville) and Cape Fear (Carolina Beach) in the Wilmington area. All of which have web sites. Our weekend trips tend to fill up early so planning weekday trips and hanging out on the weekends is a good plan, otherwise reserve your spots as early as possible.
Our dives are somewhat different than Fla or the Caribbean. They tend to be a lot farther off shore and deeper. Boat rides of 2 to 3 hrs out and back are common with 1+ hr surface intervals. We also go in rougher seas than are common in Fla- 6+ft seas are not uncommon. Depths run in 80 -120+ so larger tanks and nitrox are advisable. Seasickness is def something to consider, being on a boat for 5 to 8 hrs seasick is not fun. DM’s or guides are not provided, you are on your own.
We do get glass slick days but you have to plan for the rougher seas. I don't mean to paint a bad picture but you should know what to expect. If you are use to 20 minutes boat rides in flat seas, NC at times can be quite a challenge.

 

[Gamehunter]

Just got done with 4 days with Olympus Divers this past weekend, a great operation. It does take 2 hours out 2 hours in and a 2 hour surface interval.The wrecks we dived were between 85 to 120ft. Our days consisted of seas that ranged from flat to 6ft. Visibility was from 15-60ft. Currents ranged from slim to just about to pull your mask off(not quite). With all this being said it was some of the best diving I have ever had a chance to do. I had my 15 year old daughter on the charters with me and she handled it fine, she enjoyed looking for sharks teeth left behind. The sharks are what we came for and were not disappointed, we usually seen between 6-12 per dive on the shark dives. Some came about a foot away as they swam by. The water temps were 82 on the surface and 73 on the bottom. I wore a 3 mill shorty and my daughter a full 3 mil. If you enjoy shipwrecks, sea life and a friendly atmosphere then goto NC. I will return for sure!!!

 

[nereas]

Someday, for me, I would like to see the shipwrecked German submarines there!

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

If you head to the northern Outer Banks, I highly recommend Outer Banks Dive Center in Nags Head. Great wwII wrecks,arteficial reefs, and there is even some beach diving.

 

[Razmo]

Thank you all for your advice. I think we've decided on the M/B area. Can anyone recommend places to stay. Prefer mid-range type. Don't need my shoes polished et al. We probably won't be diving everyday. Herman and Gamehunter; thanks for the diving differences. That's very good to know. Planning is everything!

 

[Gamehunter]

As far as places to stay I would not stay int he bunk house unless I was by myself. We had 4 divers and it cost me $100 to stay there and it was not very clean. I would recommend going on trip adviser to look at the ratings that people give to the local motels, it has always helped me making that decision. We stayed at the bunkhouse because "When in Rome" , never again. If you get the chance visit the Aquarium, very hands on!!

 

[Razmo]

thanks Gamehunter. I think I'll pass on the Bunk House. I'll defiantly get to the Aquarium as well as the maritime museum. Anything else I need to catch while there?
Thanks again to all for all the advice. It certainly helps when going somewhere you've never been.

Razmo