Planning a trip to NC in 2009

[clayracr44]

Hi all, i was just read all the replys and with the exception on maybe 1 no one mentioned the wilmington/Southport area. I dive here almost weekly and find it very interesting. there are many wrecks and ledges not to mention the Tower. I just returned from the bahamas 2 days a go. I did a 2 tank dive with stuarts cove (shark dive). it was awesome but i actually think i like diving here better. the Bahamas are so over dived. i have heard the the Moorehead area is starting to get that way. i havent dove Moorehead yet but i have plans on finding the U701( i have the 6 didget)
so i am planning on taking my boat up there and spending a few days looking for it. Anyways we have some great wrecks down here near southport (Raritan, HYDE, MARKEM..ect) If anyone wants to split some gas money let me know when the spring comes around. i can fit 4 divers including myself) its tight but 4 is the max with 1 bubble watcher.
Maarc L.

 

[RAD Diver]

Well I saw 2 for Aquatic Safaries in Wilmington & would bet everyone was trying not to repeat the same ole thing. We dive there as much as possible & will be there Jan. 03.
But I will agree that NC is better than the Bahamas though. Don't need to feed the Sharks up here.
Good luck on the 701, I have tried several times & it was just not meant to be, but I will keep trying.

 

[clayracr44]

my only thing is if i find the 701, millions of people are going to want the numbers. maybe we can hook up and i can bring you out there if your interested. ive seen some pictures of it on the net and its AWESOME. some dude on you tube showed him diving it and actually penatrated it and showed remains, what a shame. i kind of doubt it was the 701 but thats what it said. i cant find the video anymore so maybe it was, who knows?

 

[RAD Diver]

The 701 can be a very challenging dive, very swift currents, typically cooler water temps than expected for the area do to the shoals ushering in a Labrador current.
The dive op we tried to get out with pretty much hand picked divers that they thought could do the dive safely & not over book the trip.
NOAA was also doing a site evaluation last year, but don't know if they ever got it done. We were set to dive it with them when they were to go out with Bill at. Outer Banks Dive Center, Nags Head, North Carolina
Some years the 701 is completely sanded in & all you can see is the top of the conning tower.
I would be interested in diving it with you & can bring a very competent buddy also.
Can your boat handle doubles?

 

[scubapolly]

Many of us locals like the Wilmington area. One big reason is Aquatic Safaris payment policies. While you have to secure your space with a credit card number, you are not billed until AFTER the charter goes. In Morehead you will be paying for the dives up front (read now) then if your dives get blown out you get a refund then. The ops have had your money for 6 months or more. Aquatics big boat has a nice table area for cameras.

Another op that hasn't been mentioned yet is Underpressure up in Hatteras. JT the owner/captain is great. The boat is a BIG six pack so you are on the boat with only a few other people which is great for photographers. The boat has a cabin with sleeping berths, JT allows people to stay on the boat the night before their dives, which saves you the $$ for a hotel room you are never in. There also is a table inside the boat that is great for setting up cameras, changing batteries, etc while sitting down. The sleeping berths are a great place to set your camera without worries about anything getting set on top of it. Also doing your diving up in hatteras gives you the opportunity to hit the lighthouses as part of your trip.... great for someone who has not been to NC.

Good luck!

 

[RAD Diver]

I don't believe I hadn't mentioned JT, definitely a top of the order operation. He is almost filled next year during the weekends in Hatteras. We have 3 trips down there.
Plus an exploration trip in Va. Beach in May before he moves the boat south.
After all the weekends fill, he expects the week days to fill in.
His site is.Capt JT's Wreck Diving Site

 

[diveonthefive]

If you know the dates that you want to dive and there isn't a charter already started, most operations will let you choose the destination for the charter.

 

[yankeenica]

outer banks diving took us to the 701 in June. We were lucky. Took 3 attempts to hook up to the wreck but were able to dive 2 days in a row. I hope this link to the video works:

YouTube - U-701 swim by

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

so far everyone right on track as someone who dives most all these boat about 20 times a year , my faverite operator is these fellows .
Scuba Diving charters, and everything underwater from Cape Fear Dive Center
don't get me wrong all the opps are great and do what they can to cater to you , but I have found this opp to give a little more personal attention and I love there boat , easy to get on most all the boat use the Carolina rig, . the one area that concerns me is you don't like sharks well the good majority of the dive sites have sand tigers on them , now let me give you my two cents worth about our NC sharks , very gentile creatures , sometimes seams docile. don't concentrate on the sharks there is lots of other life , I love picture taking, I saving for video which I am hoping over the winter to few few dives with video my Christmas present, another thought is contact some local diver and see if we can meet you and maybe visit multiple dive opps they you can get best all three major area's, may June might want to consider 5mm in some ares, visibility about 40-60 ft average that time year, July through Oct even Nov your viability improves depending storms , hurricanes ect.
I think if you plan right hit few of the dive opps you can maximize your diving experience and to the different type wrecks . you could fly or drive to willington and have some night life but be in distance of all the dive opps.

back to planning.........

1. late May or early June might work the best for us with schedules. Most of the recommended dive ops don't have their schedules up for that timeperiod yet. So, during that time, are the boats usually running EVERY day, or only on weekends?

2. we are looking at 4 days of diving, should we look at doing all with one dive op in one area, or should we think about a couple of days at one area, a couple at another? I know my husband and I really really want to do a couple of WWII wrecks (and Chuuk is out of our budget right now!), and the U-352 is rated high on the must do list by almost everyone we talk to about NC diving....

3. is there a dive op best for underwater photographers or videographers? Rinse tanks? We both have rigs that would need to be on a table between dives, not sitting on floor for everyone to step over.

Any other information anyone would like to share? We are looking at flying into Raleigh and driving down to coast, staying a day or two up in Greensboro area to visit my family. I haven't visited NC in 25+ years so part of the trip will be seeing a little of the state again and taking my hubby, who has never been there, to see it. Looking at 7-8 days total. I can smell the hushpuppies already!

robin

 

[robint]

actually, we ended up not going to NC.... work situation and economy gave us a bit of a setback so no dive trips at all this summer. BUT we will definitely be going next year, between May and August, most likely.
This coming holiday weekend though we will be heading out to Calif for a couple of days. Our annual 3-day kelp migration.

I will keep checking back her on the NC divers Forum though, so everyone keep posting your cool photos and videos and trip reports.


robin