Wreck diving off North Carolina

[del_mo]

Maybe as a newbie I still get thrilled by things that others might feel ho-hummed over. But I just did a couple of dives with Olympus Dive in Morehead City. We did two wrecks, the Indra and the Caribsea. Anyone looking for something different and exciting who hasn't dove off NC needs to give it a try.

Yes, the boat rides are long and the dives are relatively expensive. But off the Indra, among toadfish and the largest barracuda I've ever seen, were huge bait balls dancing in the light. Amazing. You've seen them on TV, but in real life where you don't have editing every 5 seconds, it was a whole different experience. I was content just watching them swirl and dart. It was a trip!

The Caribsea took my breath away. Not just because the water at depth was cold (68). Not because the wreck was cool (pretty deteriorated). But because of all the sand tiger sharks. 30? 40? Who knows how many there were. Little guys would swim within a foot of your mask if you didn't move and huge ones you hoped wouldn't. At one point we were literally surrounded by sharks 3 deep on all planes....above, below and eye level...slowly circling. Seeing their shadows against the light from above puts you right in the middle of the best National Geographic images you've ever seen.

 

[Juls64]

I just returned after 5 days of diving with Olympus. It was great! Yes the boat rides are long but the wrecks and the marine life are fantastic.

We dove the U-352, Caribsea, Proteus, Shurz, Aeolus, Sparr and Papoose.


Juls

 

[louisianadiver]

I agree 100%. I finally made a few dives there this spring, and I'll certainly return. I have a few photos on my web site:
http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id41.htm
http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id33.htm
http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id194.htm
http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id50.htm

Clay

 

[fairybasslet]

The Caribesea still stands out in my mind as one the of the best dives I've ever done, and I did it almost a year ago. Having sand tigers for your buddies is very cool indeed.

I didn't get to see a bait ball but did you see the yellow frogfish on the Indra?

 

[WaterKtn]

Just finished a weekend in Hatteras - dove with Outerbanks Diving. The crew was wonderful - they went far beyond the call of duty for me, for sure. The sea was really really rough on Sunday (we couldn't go out on Saturday due to small craft advisories) and it was difficult to manage, but once I got down, the seasickness went away and the sand tigers came out. It was worth all the fish feeding I did before and after the dive just to be able to swim within a couple feet of one of those magnificent beasts! We dove the Dixie Arrow. Tons of life on that wreck. I would highly recommend the shop/boat - spectacular customer service. Any crew that will basically gear you up while you are retching is tops in my motion sickness-prone opinion!