jryana6e
Registered
My group had a great couple of days with Dave of Dive Hatteras earlier this month. We dove Dixie Arrow (both days), British Splendor, and Keshena. Weather was cooperative, which was helpful since we had some teenagers with us, with recent, but not extensive experience (and a couple adults with extensive, but only a bit of recent experience). Visibility was especially good on British Splendor (could see the boat from the wreck). A couple of large Sand Tiger sharks gave the teens plenty to brag about to their friends. The small schooling fish we more plentiful than I've ever seen anywhere. We found toadfish hidden under parts of the wreck, a couple of rays, and a handful of curious barracuda under the boat to keep us company on the safety stop. Dave did a great job of site selection, dive briefing, and gearing everyone up for safety. It is definitely more challenging than diving in the Keys or Coz, and the boat ride is a lot longer (1.5 hrs), but it is definitely worth it and not to be missed if you are in the Outer Banks. Only 2 of us were Nitrox trained, so we all dove Air. These dives (90-100') would definitely be longer on Nitrox -- using 100's, we were lower on minutes than air, especially on the second dives. We were staying up in Nags Head, so it was an hour+ drive, but worth it to get the warmer, clear water. All our divers told me it was a real highlight of our beach week, and we'll be back next time we're in OBX.
