Good Time to Dive North Carolina

[Kensei]

When is a good time of the year to be diving in North Carolina?

 

[tridacna]

When the wind ain’t blowing. I’m 0/3. Not sure if I’m going to try and drive down again. Totally unpredictable. Do I sound frustrated?

 

[GreggS]

As for water temps, from July 1 thru mid October is usually very good with mid to upper 70s. Visibility can be spotty but if you can time your dives at a time when the tides are flowing, vis should be good.

However, as @tridacna pointed out, dive charters are prone to be blown out on the regular. We've gone down for a long weekend of diving and considered ourselves lucky when we got 1 day out of 3 that we got to dive. The worst part is it's so unpredictable. It can be absolutely calm one day, blowing 10-15 mph the next, and then calm again the next.

But when you do get out, there are so many great wrecks to dive.

 

[Rob9876]

We went for Labor Day weekend a few years back and the water was nice and warm. Got 2 decent dives in one day, and got blown out the next.

 

[broncobowsher]

Late summer.

 

[MidOH]

So August?

Olympus is on my bucket list. Even with rough weather, it's better than hearing "port closed," in Cozumel.

Any tips for other activities, site seeing, snorkeling, in the Morehead area?

 

[GreggS]

So August?

Olympus is on my bucket list. Even with rough weather, it's better than hearing "port closed," in Cozumel.

Any tips for other activities, site seeing, snorkeling, in the Morehead area?

Fort Macon in Atlantic Beach is a nice visit if you're a history buff. Just cross the causeway from Morehead to Atlantic Beach and turn left at the traffic light. You'll go straight to it. The Aquarium is really nice. It is bout 6-8 miles south of Atlantic Beach. Instead of turning left to go to Fort Macon, turn right. Follow the signs to the Aquarium. The waterfronts of Morehead City, Beaufort, and Atlantic Beach are nice visits as well. There is a nautical museum on the waterfront street in Beaufort that is (or was when I visited a few years ago) free admission. They do have a place for donations if you are so inclined.

There are loads of good places to eat. One of our favorite places is on the waterfront loop in Atlantic Beach. Go straight at the afore mentioned light. The Idle Hour Biergarten is really good and have really good onion straws as a side. They have a wide variety of beers and ales. We eat lunch there on our first day every time we go down. The Ruddy Duck on the waterfront in Morehead has really good seafood at reasonable prices. Another of our favorite places is No Name Pizza in Beaufort. Excellent food also at reasonable prices.

I'm sure I've forgotten a few things, but there is plenty to do in the area.

 

[Beth3141]

When is a good time of the year to be diving in North Carolina?

I really enjoy diving with Olympus in Morehead City. I got in 5 straight days of diving during the first week in July 2020. The water temps were high 70s to low 80s. In late August last year, got blown out 1 day, but had 2 good days and the water temps were in the low 70s because of strong currents. It's a crap shoot for sure!

 

[Kensei]

When the wind ain’t blowing. I’m 0/3. Not sure if I’m going to try and drive down again. Totally unpredictable. Do I sound frustrated?

What time of year were these 3 trips? Dive shops are saying late June to August. My experience having grown up on the east coast (south eastern Penna.) is that very early Oct. has the most stable weather.

 

[Wants2divemore]

I had 4 great days of diving on a trip with Olympus July 17-20, 2023, and they said the weather had been great for the week before. Unfortunately, that group the same time the year before had horrible weather and no one got to dive. As everyone has said, it's a crap shoot.