Ocean Isle, NC - Early June 2009

[mkangas]

My wife and I will be staying in Ocean Isle for 7days in early June. We are experienced divers and would like to do 2 1/2 day dive trips (preferably on WWII wrecks for some photography). I have read through a lot of the helpful posts, and it seems like the good WWII wrecks are much further north. I want to limit the drive to 30-45 minutes.

The best recommendation I could find was coastalscuba.com (30 minutes south to North Myrtle Beach, SC) but the wrecks seem to be reef projects, not natural or WWII.

We are excited to get back in the water. We had a son last year so we have not been able to dive since our honeymoon dives in Hawaii.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
Your best bet is to head north to Wilmington, about 1 1/2 hr north.
Looking at your profile I do not see any info on your diving. Our wrecks and diving conditions are more advanced than a lot of other places, dozens of dives in the Caribbean or Fla really do not prepair you for our dives. Forgive me if I am misreading you but I get the feeling that you are looking to leave the dock at 8am do a dive or 2 and be back on the dock at noon. A more typical NC dive of the type you are looking for is to meet at 6am, head out at 7am for a 2 hr or more boat ride in 4 to 6 ft seas, do a 80 to 120 ft dive, a SI of 1 1/2 hrs, another 80-120ft dive then 2 hrs back, returning to the dock in the late afternoon. We do not provide DM's or guides, you are diving on your own and must be selfsufficient. We have world class wrecks here but the diving is a lot more robust than many are accustomed to and rarely do the dive mags prepair you for the conditions.

 

[fireflock]

I spend a lot of time at Ocean Isle, and usually head north to Aquatic Safaris in Wilmington. I can make it from the island to the boat dock is just about an hour (early in the am, no traffic...you also need time to get signed in and put your gear on the boat). The extra time you spend in the car is nothing compared to the time you spend on the boat. NC diving on the premier wrecks tends to be a most of the day affair.

A lot of the N Myrtle boats go to some inshore artificial reefs (or an inshore civil war era wreck) over and over again. The trips are shorter, and the diving can be fun, but it's really not the best of what the region has to offer.

Herman gives some good advice about what you could run into. Hiring a guide from Aquatic Safaris (or wherever you decide to go) would let you see more on the wrecks and have someone around to help you get the hang of things.

Good luck with your dives.

Rich

 

[Diveral]

Herman and Rich are both straight shooters who give great advice. I would follow their suggestions and dive with Aqua Safaris. A 1/2 day morning trip such as those found in the tropicas is not realistic for North Carolina. Espceially if you want the best dives and good visibility. If you want the good WWII wrecks and good visibility for photography then you need to do the offshore dives. Richs suggestion to hire teh dive guide is a good one.

The Gill would be a good dive for some pictures.

AL

 

[mkangas]

Thanks for the quick and warm welcome! I really appreciate the insight. I always have a tough balance between diving on vacation and not having it be an all day/week adventure. 6am plus a hour plus drive will be too much for my wife. She enjoys diving, but not as much as her sleep.

I originally planned to do some NC diving with some friends a couple years back, that might be the best route to go. Inshore is ok, but not as exciting or historic. We might just end up there out of convenience this trip.

If we are doing any inshore do we need to head south or are there any in that area?

 

[fireflock]

If you end up in N Myrtle, and are looking for something historic on one of the shorter trips, I would choose the Governor or the General Sherman. Both are real wrecks from the late 1800's. Conditions, especially on the Sherman, can vary a lot from day to day. You might be able to see a bit of the wreck, or you might be looking for your hand in front of your face. You just never know until you hit the water. The Sherman is the shorter trip (closer to the inlet, shorter boat ride, shallower dive) of the two.