No many "Public Marinas". Mostly the Rich folks have bought up all the land. There is a public boat ramp right under the Wrightsville Beach Draw Bridge. In the summers you have to get there real early to launch, otherwise all parking spaces get taken. Lots of hotels up and down Eastwood Rd. Within close proximity to the boat ramp. Some of the wrecks are bouyed, however, the bouys generally mark the proximity of wrecks, and not necessarily their exact location. There are several charts available that have GPS coordinates for our wrecks. There are multiple wrecks that are inshore, well within range of private boats....within 18 miles.
See my page at:
http://members.aol.com/fpsndiver/fpsn4.html for more diving information in the area.
Closest dive shop to Wrightsville Beach is
www.aquaticsafaris.com (910)392-4386. They can do air/nitrox fills, and they also usually have those charts with GPS numbers on them. If they don't, there is a West Marine Store relatively close to Wrightsville Beach (on Eastwood Rd) that does have the charts.
more resources for you:
www.wilmingtondiving.com
www.ncdivers.com
Good luck, and hope you have some great dives! Vis inshore can be touch and go. There are some world class wrecks, probably further offshore than you should go in a private boat with your family.........80-120fsw. Aquatics has charters to those wrecks every day in the summer. Some of the inshore sites can be nice as well, but not as consistently as the offshore sites. One site, the Hyde, is in the medium range.......well within the range of most private boats, and is loaded with Sandtiger sharks.....which has made it a massive tourist attraction. There is info on my page about the sharks.
Tom Tilmon
