North & South Carolina, Florida diving?

[Bowtie22]

My wife and I are traveling to Miami Florida in September. We are going on a Carribean cruise and we will be diving in Grand Caymen for a day. We will be driving down from MD and on the way back we want to do some more diving from a charter in either the Carolina's or Florida.

Does anyone have any information on a good 1 day charters in these states. We are currently only OW certified but we would like to go visit some wrecks. Any companies or information is welcome.

Also does anyone have any suggestions for a Charter in Grand Caymen? I would like to get a good dive down there without having to pay the high price of our cruise line.

Thanks,

 

[Natasha]

Hi:
Welcome to scuba board. I'm sure others can help you with North America.
As far as Grand Cayman, try www.neptunesdivers.com
Tell Casey we sent you.
Have fun!

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.

Here is a link to a site where you can find some NC dive operators. http://ncscuba.com/Charters/

Diving here in NC is somewhat different and you need to be prepaired for it. Many of our operators will not take you out without AOW on a lot of the wrecks. This is for good reason. Our wrecks tend to be deep, 100-120 is the norm and a long way off shore. 2 to 3 hr rides out in 4 to 6 ft seas is not uncommon. If you are prone to seasickness this can be a real problem. With the long ranges, deep wrecks and rough seas, it's not the place for new divers, esp if you have not spent any time boat diving in these conditions. We can have super condition, flat seas and 100+ vis but you can't count on it. Our rate for getting blown out is somewhere around 50% so going out is not a sure thing. An additional problem is that the operators are usually sold out way in advance on most weekends, mid week you can usually a spot. We do have some great wrecks and the fish life, including sharks is something to see but you do need to be prepaired for the dive.

If you are still interested, the best ports are Morehead City and Wilmington (Carolina Beach and Wrightsville ).


Hope this helps.

 

[pdoege]

http://www.divemiami.com/

Tons of wrecks

Have fun,
Peter

 

[diverjed]

NC:

http://www.olympusdiving.com/shopfrm.htm

SC:

http://www.charlestonscuba.com/

 

[DiverDave76]

www.divingsolutions.com

Try these guys in West Palm. They dive out of Riviera Beach Marina and dive the spot where the Gulf Stream comes closest to the N American shore. 10 minutes to dive sites. Beautiful reefs loaded with fish. Lots of turtles and warm clear water. About 1 hour nrth of Miami.

Dave

 

[Diver Lori]

A couple ideas for you.....

While in FL....you could drive down to Key Largo and take in a day with Quiessence....great op, 6-packs. www.keylargodiving.com

While cruising in to Cayman. Eden Rock is within walking distance of the cruiseship pier. Put your gear in a packpack tote, get off the taxiboat and turn right....keep walking till you see the bright blue building with dive flag. (you can see from taxi too) Rent tanks and weights and you're diving right on the spot!

 

[jhspb]

Check out http://www.redbarondivers.com/ . Best small boat I've ever been on, but I plan to try neptune's at some time too