Diving in MD? Wrecks, Lobster? When and where?

[Skinsfan1311]

I live in Glen Burnie, MD, and am looking to dive more. With the exception of my cert dives at Rawlings, I dive exclusively in the Caribbean.

If we're lucky, we get a couple of Caribbean trips a year. That's just not enough time underwater for me.

I've heard that you can dive off of Ocean City for lobsters and there are some interesting wrecks.

Any suggestions and info that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[JayJudge]

Well,
I would start in NC. The dives off MD are much different. Vis is usually bad, its cold, currents can be ripping, and its dark. To most people, going from the carribean and FL to even NC, is a jump. Rawlings has better vis than MD. Redundant air is a must- and not a spare air. But, the Fenwick Shoals are not deep- 35-45 ft, don't need redundant air, and have a lot to offer. OC Diver and To Dive For are the only 2 boats I know of- anyone else have any? NC is great for wrecks and vis, especially Morehead south. Other than that, play in a quarry- Willow Springs, Dutch Springs, Bainbridge, etc. They will help aclimate you to colder diving, and lower vis. Its a lot cheaper to get comfortable in a quarry than in the ocean. Just my take on it, 'sides, figuring out your weights is easier in a quarry.
-Jay

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Thanks!

 

[bikediver]

There are not as many dive boats running out of DE and MD as there once were, but its still possible to get up early and drive to the shore for a day of wreck diving. If your staying at the shore, you can add some diving to your trip. Cost of accommodations makes it expensive to do multiday trips in the summer.

Check www.atlantisrangers.org The dive clubs runs several trips per year out of MD and DE and the links section of the website will help you finds the boats that are still running.

Also check out diving in NJ. Its a little farther from Glen Burnie, but there are a lot more boats and the water, surprizsngly, seem to be a little warmed and clearer.

Steve Smith
Crofton MD

 

[Hoyden]

Well,
I would start in NC. The dives off MD are much different. Vis is usually bad, its cold, currents can be ripping, and its dark. To most people, going from the carribean and FL to even NC, is a jump. Rawlings has better vis than MD. Redundant air is a must- and not a spare air. But, the Fenwick Shoals are not deep- 35-45 ft, don't need redundant air, and have a lot to offer. OC Diver and To Dive For are the only 2 boats I know of- anyone else have any? NC is great for wrecks and vis, especially Morehead south. Other than that, play in a quarry- Willow Springs, Dutch Springs, Bainbridge, etc. They will help aclimate you to colder diving, and lower vis. Its a lot cheaper to get comfortable in a quarry than in the ocean. Just my take on it, 'sides, figuring out your weights is easier in a quarry.
-Jay

While it is fair to say that the dives in NC will have warmer water and better vis, I think that your general characterization of MD diving is a little harsh. I have been diving out of DE and MD for the last three seasons and have had some truly memorable dives out there - there are many interesting wrecks to dive and while its not my thing, I haven't been on a trip where someone was bug hunting and came back empty handed. A really good day of vis offshore here will be 30-40 feet of vis - average maybe 15-20. I have been down in worse, but have also had worse vis off both NC and SC. There absolutely can be current, but if you haven't seen current in NC, you've just been lucky - it's the Atlantic Ocean - there are currents And, yes it is cold - not nearly as cold as Milbrook or Dutch Springs which are in the low 40s right now at depth. The wrecks off of MD/DE generally run in the low to mid-50s at any real depth (anything but Fenwick Shoals which is really shallow) all year long. The highest local bottom temp below 60' that I can find in my log is 59 F at 73' on the screw wreck last August - so a drysuit is a plus. I did do a season of local diving in a wetsuit and it wasn't that bad. IMHO, it beat the heck out of quarry diving even in a wetsuit. There is also ocean diving out of VA Beach - it tends to be similar to MD diving in terms of vis and water temp.

As far as boat operators, Ted Green's OC Diver out of Ocean City is my recommendation for MD diving and we've had pretty good luck with the boats out of Lynnhaven Dive Center in VA beach for VA diving.

 

[GONEHAWKN]

HELLO FROM GLEN BURNIE.....i am local as well....my buddies and myself do mostly local quarry diving, but we will be hitting some local wreck stuff this year as well. we have a trip plan'd through Sea Colony in June, will be hitting Maui in July and who knows what else we will be doing the rest of the season, as all three of us just bought new dry suits. and i(being the last of the 3 of us) just got my EANx cert out of the way. so, at this point ANYTHING is possible. i second Ted Green. although we have not been diving with his operatio YET, he has been very good with prompt e-mails, and has taken the time to talk to us on the phone about all of out questions. let me know how you make out.

Bill

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Thanks, again, everyone for all of the geat advice!

 

[pairizarry]

Skinsfan1311,

Ever considered volunteer diving.

I am a volunteer diver for the Magothy River Association (MRA), which is near Severna Park, MD. MRA divers primarily work on maintaining and collecting scientific data on the oyster reef on the river. If you are interested let me know and I can tell you more.

Pedro

 

[RSL]

If you are interested in Quarrey Diving lots of spots around within a couple hour drive to you?

 

[JayJudge]

Hoyden,
I agree with the description on the area, just the original stated his only experience was Rawlings and the Caribbean. To jump right into 20 ft vis +currents and cold would not be the most pleasant to most people-I remember my first dives with a 7mm, hood&gloves- I felt like the kid in a Christmas Story-where he can't put his arms down. That with poor vis in a quarry is usually enough at 1 time, let alone figuring out weights on a rocking boat. And yeah, NC can go south easily- my favorite wreck (City of Houston) is known for good vis, and no currents- the time before last we had 15 ft of vis, 51 degree water (October), the next time- (Jan)69 degrees, 50ft vis and a lovely current turning us into flags on the hang. As for myself, there are a couple of spots I want to hit off the MD/DE- City of Athens and the Manhatten- so if anyone else is interested in those, maybe we should get together on it....And if you haven't noticed, I like the pre WW1 digging wrecks, so, if anyone has a trip to one, give me a hollar, I'd like to hop on.
-Jay