Planning Dive trip to NC with large group, seeking advice

[sohnje]

I'm organizing a dive trip for about 30 divers to occur in august, Need reccomendations from experienced divers for dive operations that could handle larger groups of wide range of divers from minimal to tech diver experiences. Looking for lodging, campsite info as well as dive sites. If you been there, loved it, please let me know.

 

[SelkieDVM]

Where in North Carolina are you looking to dive, or have you not narrowed it down at this point? Personally I love Morehead but Wilmington's not bad either. There are others places as well...

 

[herman]

You have 2 basic areas to chose from, Morehead City and Wilmington. For a group that big, Morehead City is your best bet but I suspect you may not be able to find a dive op with that many spots open. Our boats fill up fast, most dive shops book in Jan or Feb and we do not have ops that handle large groups. Unless you are willing to split the group into several parts, no op is going to be able...or at least not likely willing..to do dives that can accomidate novice and tech on the same boat. If you have never dove NC, this is not the Keys. Our wrecks tend to be a long way off shore and deep. 2 to 3 hr boat rides in 4 to 6 ft seas are the norm and the wrecks are in the 100ft range give or take 20 ft. You should also have a backup plan (and your divers need to understand this) with things to do when you don't go diving. It is common for us to call off trips due to rough seas and that means in excess of 6 to 8 fts waves. You migh get lucky and get a week of flat seas but at times as many as 1/2 or more of our diving days are canceled....and trust me, you do not want to go out if they are. If you are planning a Caribbean style trip with a wide range of divers you should do a little research on NC diving and plan accordingly. NC diving can be fantastic but it is not the Keys or the Caribbean, those unprepaired for it's riggors get more than they bargin for. I would encourage you to call some of the ops and discuss your plans with them.

 

[SelkieDVM]

30 divers? Wow, didn't notice that... what herman said. I do hope things work out for you though.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

With a mix iof divers, not getting on the same boat or op is not bad. The techies could take a 6 pack to a deeper wreck and the newer divers could other larger baots to do something shallower. I'd check with Olympus, Discovery, the Diver Down, etc, and see what is available, put together several options and let people choose what works best for them. Then you can all get together and talk abot your different experiences in the evenings over some of the great food available in Moorehead City/Beufort/Atlantic Beach. That wouldbe a lot more fun that a one size fits all cattle boat dive anyway.

 

[JDMerk]

Also as to the lodging...many of the operators have bunk houses you can stay at for a reasonable fee. I think Olympus's bunk house is ~$25 per night for divers.

 

[Diveral]

OK, I've actually done this a couple of times. Just make sure all of your divers are capable of the trip.

The Charters in Cape Lookout that can handle a group that large are:

http://www.discoverydiving.com/

http://www.olympusdiving.com/Charters/tabid/68/Default.aspx

They both have diver's lodges or bunkhouses. As Herman said most large crewboats do not mix wreck and tech. So the bulk of the rec divers can go out with either of the previous two charters and the tech divers can charter a smaller boat. Such as:

http://tortugacharters.net/content/

http://www.atlanticbeachdiving.com/

http://diverdownscubadiving.com/

A Charter in the Wilmington area that can handle larger groups:

http://www.aquaticsafaris.com/index.html

Hope this helps,
AL

BTW this is a fantastic trip for a group of experienced divers. Search for my 2006 trip reports.

 

[diveonthefive]

Discovery has 2 crew boats and a six pack. They also have 2 dive lodges. If you are doing this as a group, you can check into the weekday special.

 

[sohnje]

Thnaks for the feedback. We can split up the divers, makes sense as we have a group of hardcore divers and some with much les experience. I didn't realize the wrecks were so far off the coast. cn also slipt up lodging. I know it's a big group.

Any particular wrecks "a must" or are they all rather unique?

 

[Lee Taylor]

I grew up diving offshore NC.

Diveal has got you covered.