Are South Carolina and Georgia worth a dive or two?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Hello -

I was exploring and researching good dive places along the Eastern coast of USA and the coast line of South Carolina appears to be a huge question mark! Not much data is available on what kind of diving exists here. North Carolina up north has established itself as one of the best dive destinations in the world and down towards the south Florida has carved out similar reputation for itself. Sandwiched between the two hot spots are Georgia and South Carolina that are SILENT! Can any of the locals give some impression of what diving there is like?

Visibility wise I dont see how it would be different from NC. In fact if the vis keeps getting better towards the south then South Carolina should have better viz than NC. No?It may not have as much shipwrecks as NC does but I am assuming there should still be a lot of good wrecks. Am I wrong? In the end, if someone wanted to dive the Atlantic from SC and Georgia, what is the best way to go about it? Any dive operator and dive site recommendations? Since so much o Atlantic touches Georgia and South Carolina I do not understand why so less info is available for these places. Thoughts inputs would be greatly appreciated.

 

[algulfdiver]

check out these guys, Diver’s Den Georgia|Full-Service Dive Shop, PADI Certification, Local Charters

 

[paddler3d]

I've always wanted to dive the Cooper River in SC. Well know for meg teeth!

I believe the vis is wee bit better in NC than SC because the Gulf Stream comes closer to shore near Hatteras.

I now a bunch of folks that like going out of Wilmington, SC (?), Aquatic Safaris (?), to dive some of the Southern NC wrecks.

 

[diversteve]

A lot of SC just offshore is pretty flat, featureless and sandy. We used to spend summers on Hilton Head - just across the state line from Savannah, GA. You could walk out into the ocean for a long way. The only diveshop there closed up in the early 2000's.

We dove off Myrtle Beach (actually Murrells Inlet) a few years ago. Dove two wrecks on different days. Both had poor visibility and afaik were the only tall thing for miles. Had I realized how close we were to Wilmington and the Graveyard of the Atlantic I would have drove there instead.

We used Express Watersports in Murrells Inlet. There are dive site descriptions on their webpage: Express Water Sports - Dive Sites We dove the Perry and the Tugboat/Airplane. I couldn't see the Airplane from the Tugboat. Or the diveboat. It's 45' to the bottom there. The Perry was a long boat ride out. Good operation though. In May the water temp. is bathtub warm.

This is a shot I took there. I believe it's the front of the Perry. No flash, that's all particles in the water - on a beautiful, clear day at the surface.

 

[Lee Taylor]

I don't have a lot of time to post comments at the moment and will have to come back to this thread.

I live in Charleston SC. I use to live in the coastal area of NC. When I started diving, I began offshore NC. I have since moved to Charleston. I have done a considerable amount of diving off the NC and SC shorelines. I have lots of opinions to offer and enjoy helping others by providing what I know.

Will check back tonight and offer food for thought.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I don't have a lot of time to post comments at the moment and will have to come back to this thread.

I live in Charleston SC. I use to live in the coastal area of NC. When I started diving, I began offshore NC. I have since moved to Charleston. I have done a considerable amount of diving off the NC and SC shorelines. I have lots of opinions to offer and enjoy helping others by providing what I know.

Will check back tonight and offer food for thought.

Will be anxiously waiting for it.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

A lot of SC just offshore is pretty flat, featureless and sandy. We used to spend summers on Hilton Head - just across the state line from Savannah, GA. You could walk out into the ocean for a long way. The only diveshop there closed up in the early 2000's.

We dove off Myrtle Beach (actually Murrells Inlet) a few years ago. Dove two wrecks on different days. Both had poor visibility and afaik were the only tall thing for miles. Had I realized how close we were to Wilmington and the Graveyard of the Atlantic I would have drove there instead.

We used Express Watersports in Murrells Inlet. There are dive site descriptions on their webpage: Express Water Sports - Dive Sites We dove the Perry and the Tugboat/Airplane. I couldn't see the Airplane from the Tugboat. Or the diveboat. It's 45' to the bottom there. The Perry was a long boat ride out. Good operation though. In May the water temp. is bathtub warm.

This is a shot I took there. I believe it's the front of the Perry. No flash, that's all particles in the water - on a beautiful, clear day at the surface.

+1 on Express Watersports (AKA Scuba Express)

There are a number of artificial reefs off SC. I've done the BP-25 (an old ship) and there were also some old NYC subway cars in the same area. Viz was OK and the surface was calmer than what I have read about in the NC area, so it made for an easy dive.

Hopefully Lee will post more later tonight - he is a wealth of info for the Charleston area, including the Cooper.

 

[anytime]

The best 4 sites off the Myrtle Beach area are the City of Richmond, Hebe, St Cathan, and Vermillion. The Richmond is a shallow wreck that can have outstanding vis and when it is good, it outstanding. Usually 4 or 5 sandtigers and long bottom times. But on the down side it is a long boat ride and the vis is hit or miss. The other 3 are offshore wrecks that are the best bet for vis and big fish life. The vermillion is listed at 140' but that is to the sand. One can see the whole wreck and never dip below 110'. The hebe is my favorite as it has it all, artifacts, sharks, and big fish.

The other sites are just OK, most are artifical and the vis is usually not that good. Scuba Express is the best shop.

I do not know the Charleston area other than to say the Anchor Wreck is a great wreck and the Charleston 60 stinks.

 

[Lee Taylor]

As I said earlier in this thread, I currently live in Charleston SC. Although, I grew up diving offshore Morehead City NC.

The shipwrecks offshore NC are our shinning star, no doubt about that. BUT, after moving to Charleston I started to suspect that there is a lot of good diving south of Morehead and I am finding that to be true.

Offshore SC there are three "ledges" running parallel to the shore line. I do not know how long they are and I do not know the distance in between the ledges. I have been told they are the edging of ancient rivers. One of our local dive shops Charleston Scuba has eight "ledges" and "reefs" as they call them, on their dive site page. Last season I dove one of the ledges and noticed a fossilized scallop sticking partially out of the sand. I brushed the sand away and found a bed of limestone. Fossil hunters (of which I am one) know that limestone is where fossils hide. The name of this site is the "Little Gardens Reef" (bottom right column) and it got my attention because I love finding stuff. I was on this dive for 42 minutes at 79 feet.

Another dive I enjoyed offshore Charleston was a shipwreck called the Researcher.
That is me in the left rear of the photo. It was a small structure but it was a fun dive. The water was beautiful that day. The bottom was 90 feet and we mostly stayed within the structure. It was primarily a photo tour.

When not diving offshore Charleston I dive the Cooper River. An area I plan to return to next season is called the French Quarter. The French Quarter is part of the Cooper River. Diving the Cooper is so detailed that I will return to this thread to share some of the information.

Next I look northwards to Express Water Sports in Murrels Inlet and their fabulous dive boat. More later

After Murrels I look to North Myrtle Beach for diving Civil War shipwrecks. (I have seen boxes of civil war rifles come up from the Governor Shipwreck) I have found some rifle parts and civil war medicine bottles myself. More later

Then on into NC to Wilmington and Carolina Beach. I will return to the thread for these. There is just tooooo much info for one posting.

I will talk more about the dive sites in the next posting.

 

[Lee Taylor]

I have a few minutes and I feel like typing so here we go.

I have used Charleston Scuba to visit many of the sites listed on their dive site webpage. I have visited the Frederick W. Day, The Y-73 Wreck, The Junk Pile, The Charleston 60 Wreck, The Anchor Wreck, The Comanche Wreck, Lead Weight Ledges, and Sugarbowl Reef. These are the ones I remember.

In my opinion all of these dives were worth doing. A lot of the dive has to do with what you are personally looking for. I like beautiful days with flat seas (who doesn't). I like a boat full of interesting people that I enjoy socializing with. I like larger boats with the more experienced captains. I like a helpful crew. I like clear, warm water, 50-110 feet deep. I like diving with experienced divers that don't appear to be a danger to themselves and others.

I visited the offshore training platforms (something I had been wanting to do) called the Freddy Day and the Charleston 60. The surface was a little bit bouncy that day as Greg sat on the bow of the Trinity dive boat. The water looked good on the surface but the viz was horrible on the bottom. I actually found the Fred Day to be interesting because of all the cracks and crevices for things to hide in. (I like finding things). LOTS of stone fish. Don't lose a finger! Tom Robinson keeps the Trinity in top form from a maintenance perspective. Just listen to the engine on the ride back to Charleston and you will hear what I mean.

Will return to share more posts of my personal perspectives of diving the coastal Carolina's