SCDiver:
Can you give me some specifics because I got all this in an access database from the SC Dept of Natural Resources. Its a work in progress (arent all websites, lol) so any input from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
Yeah, man... Mike's right...
When he's talking "AWOIS," he's talking about NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - the recognized leader in maritime info) "Automated Wreck and Obstruction Information." The AWOIS is a database that's constantly updated to reflect what NOAA knows about such things. Since NOAA is federally funded, the AWOIS is supposed to be public information.
By the way, AWOIS can be directly accessed by going here: http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/hsd/awois/contus/downloads/area7(pdf).zip
I have a link to AWOIS on Deep South Divers. Go to
http://www.DeepSouthDivers.org and click on "Dive" then "Places to Dive" then "NOAA's..."
The problem with the database is that it's not very specific information. Sometimes something is really there, sometimes the numbers are off. Many of the numbers have been translated from old LORAN numbers, and are off a few tens of feet or even hundreds of feet. Sometimes the "obstruction" is simply a big ol' rock. The bottom line is that AWOIS is a bit misleading because as many times as there is something where they say there's something, there isn't. And of those times when there's really something there, it's rarely anything of interest.
I have some more SC information, though, that can help... Using my "Places to Dive" link above, you'll notice that I also have a link to "South Carolina Shipwrecks" and "Georgia Reefs and Wrecks." There's also some information under "Our Local Dive Sites" such as "SCDNR's Reef Sites," "Coastal Outdoors' Reefs," and "Beaufort Online Reefs." When you take the time and put all of these databases together, taking special note of those sites that are referenced by more than one of those sources, then you've got some confirmation that the site really exists and that there's something interesting going on there.
That is exactly what I've done in the link "Our Own Maps." I've used the program "Topo USA" to map some of the dive sites that appear on a multitude of these sources. Thus, our confidence level is high that these places really exist and that they might be of significant interest.
This summer I will probably take the time to go fully through the information that I have and map more sites than ever. I'd be willing to share those maps if you'd be willing to put some man-hours in to help create them. PM me if you're interested.
Additionally, I'll have my boat in the water, so I can go dive some of the more immediate locations this summer and give a "heads up" on what's really there.
There's more, too... I come from a family of shrimpers... And some of them have been shrimping and fishing for many decades. They've developed charts that they call "hang charts," which are places that they can't trawl for fear of getting their nets hung up. Shrimp nets are pricey... In some cases, a few thousand dollars... So shrimpers here in the Lowcountry have freely shared with their friends places NOT to trawl. Rarely do they know what the "hang" is... They just know not to trawl a certain area. I'll get my hands on some of these "hangs" and match them with my maps... That should give us a more realistic idea than ever of what's out there.
Last thing: I'm doing some work this summer with a well-known treasure hunter from the Keys who's recently moved here locally. He's got some historical data and resources that I've never seen before. When we match "unknowns" with his data, we may be able to make some positive identifications. Things could get really interesting from there.
Now I have to figure out how I'm going to get some of my finds back without getting raped by the State.
