Looking for Newbie Dives on the East Coast

[Mrs.Prages]

Hi, My hubbie and I are pretty new to Scuba, but now I have gone and bought us the equipment which means we must use it. (I know horror of all horrors, we must get wet. :11ztongue )

So I am looking for some trips that we can take that won't be too expensive and won't be too far from where we live in WV. We aren't very monetarily endowed and we work a freaking lot.

I have been looking at North and South Carolina, but the websites for the dive charters all say to be pretty experienced. Does anyone have any good ideas for some the places and companies to book with for some easier dives in this area to get us going.

We are going to Key Largo in January, but that's pretty expensive and we want to find things we can budget pretty easily.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Don Burke]

Hi, My hubbie and I are pretty new to Scuba, but now I have gone and bought us the equipment which means we must use it. (I know horror of all horrors, we must get wet. :11ztongue )

So I am looking for some trips that we can take that won't be too expensive and won't be too far from where we live in WV. We aren't very monetarily endowed and we work a freaking lot.

I have been looking at North and South Carolina, but the websites for the dive charters all say to be pretty experienced. Does anyone have any good ideas for some the places and companies to book with for some easier dives in this area to get us going.

We are going to Key Largo in January, but that's pretty expensive and we want to find things we can budget pretty easily.

Thanks a lot.

Mt Storm comes to mind right off. Are you anywhere near Tucker County?

For the ocean, it would be pretty hard to beat the Chesapeake Light Tower reef for a newbie dive. It would be pretty cold this time of year. There are several dive shops in the Norfolk/ Virginia Beach area that can get you there.

Here is some weather information for near there:
http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/cbports/3WLWind_lt.html
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=chlv2

 

[mack50md]

Hi, My hubbie and I are pretty new to Scuba, but now I have gone and bought us the equipment which means we must use it. (I know horror of all horrors, we must get wet. :11ztongue )

So I am looking for some trips that we can take that won't be too expensive and won't be too far from where we live in WV. We aren't very monetarily endowed and we work a freaking lot.

I have been looking at North and South Carolina, but the websites for the dive charters all say to be pretty experienced. Does anyone have any good ideas for some the places and companies to book with for some easier dives in this area to get us going.

We are going to Key Largo in January, but that's pretty expensive and we want to find things we can budget pretty easily.

Thanks a lot.

Suggest you look into Lake Rawlings, VA (just south of Petersburg, VA and just north of the NC line) in the spring. Good spot for new divers. Camping facilities on the site and easy on the wallet.

 

[Jason B]

Mrs.Prages,
We (North Carolina wreck divers) have a trip planned for April 2&3. The whole point of our dive on April 2 is to give experience to some of our gang (which includes divers from Va and WV). We will be diving the Indra on the April 2 which is a wreck about 15 miles off the coast so the boat ride is pretty short as far as NC wrecks go. The depths are also very suited to our less experienced divers. 70 ft to the sand, and the deck of the ship is around 45 ft.
On the April 3rd we are going offshore for some deeper wrecks. Here goes a link to the thread with most of the info in it. Let us know if you and your husband care to join.
Beautiful dog by the way.

http://www.scubaboard.com/t78881-ncwd_wreck_diving_april_2-3_2005.html

Jason

 

[pairizarry]

Depending if you are deep into WV or right on the Virginia border, I would suggest the Millbrook Quarry near Haymarket, VA (I-66/Hwy 15 area). Pretty much all the dive shops in Northern VA go there for OW training. It's a great place to get your skills developed and possibly learn from other divers. It won't open back up until the end of March and the water will be pretty chilly. There are some quarries in Pennsylvania as well. So if the Haymarket, VA area is not too far from you that's a great place to develop your skills.

Pedro

 

[Mrs.Prages]

Thanks for all of the great info. We Live in Ripley, which is not too far from Charleston, WV. I have heard of Mt. Storm and we are planning to make a few trips out there for quick weekend jaunts.

Our big quick is the wildlife though, and the freshwater just doesn't have the color that you see in the big water. It is great for getting in and getting practice though.

Jason - I am really interested in the 2nd of April trip that you mentioned. I will ask Mr.P, but if you have the room for two more on the Saturday trip, I think you might just have them. What can we expect water temp and ability wise. We are very new and the only real diving we have done is in the Carribean, so it really be a new experience for us. But, Larry just got us all suited up, so I sure do hate to have that all go to waste.

By the way, he's a husky and he's my baby. We have 3 kids, two huskies and a lab mix.

 

[DaveO]

Whoo hoo!

Key Largo will be a blast! Where are you planning to dive? If you do a search in the Florida Conch Divers forum you can find recommendations for dive operators.

Since you'll be in the area, you might consider spending your "24 hours between diving and flying" interval at Everglades National Park (check out the Anhinga Trail). Jealousy abounds!

 

[Mrs.Prages]

Whoo hoo!

Key Largo will be a blast! Where are you planning to dive? If you do a search in the Florida Conch Divers forum you can find recommendations for dive operators.

Since you'll be in the area, you might consider spending your "24 hours between diving and flying" interval at Everglades National Park (check out the Anhinga Trail). Jealousy abounds!

Yeah, we are awful excited, but we have been hearing some bad things about the diving in Key Largo this last week. A lot of wind and some pretty high waves, leaving many a diver quite green around the gills. You bet we're headed to the everglades. I am originally from Tallahassee, so this is a kind of homecoming trip for me. My Grandpa used to own Tomahawk Landings, an old adventure canoe company up in Northern Florida and I haven't really been back to explore the homeland since I was young. I can't wait. Next Week!

 

[DaveO]

Here's a link to a NOAA buoy on Key Largo:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=MLRF1

We had dove Key Largo in rough conditions, and found that while the boat ride made some people sick, getting into the water cured it. Longer story: almost the entire boatful of divers waved off the dive because they felt sick. My wife and I dove and felt better right away. It was a shallow dive so we had plenty of bottom time, meaning the other divers were wallowing in their misery on the boat when they could have dived and had a great time!

If you'd like you can contact KeyLargoBrent here on ScubaBoard. He is a DM and instructor with Blue Water Divers in Key Largo (an excellent operation, btw) and can comment on conditions.

 

[Mrs.Prages]

Thanks for all the useful info.

When the sun warms up the lake You'll have to come dive Summersville lake with us this summer