What does it take to blow out a NC U-352 dive?

[Bigeclipse]

Wind speed is only part of the equation. The direction matters a lot and the duration (how long it has been that direction). The forecast for this weekend looks like SW winds. Which are not the best direction. Forecast looks like the more inshore stuff might be divable.

any recommendations for the inshore stuff?

 

[boulderjohn]

I really feel for the OP's plight, and it leads me to a question.

I was in North Carolina a couple seeks ago for a HUGE family reunion. We all stayed in nearly adjacent houses on Emerald Isle and had a marvelous time. Diving was not on the schedule for me, since we were focusing on family activities. We had perfect weather for it, though. My wife absolutely loved the place, and when I told her there is excellent diving nearby, she immediately said she would be happy to join me on a dive trip there. I told her the problem with planning dive trips in the area there is exactly what you see in this thread--the weather is too iffy to count on it. She understands. I had the same thing happen in South Florida this year--two students were booked to fly in and join me to get their trimix certification, but a week of gale force winds canceled 100% of the dives.

I have faced the same problem trying to dive the Oriskany in Pensacola--11 days of planned dives have been canceled because of weather over the years, and I have not been able to dive it once.

So here is the question--is there a time of year when it is more likely that the weather will cooperate, hopefully a time of year suitable for my wife to enjoy the beach?

 

[DiverDownD3]

any recommendations for the inshore stuff?

Well you have limited option here. The Indra, which a big wreck they sunk in the early 90s. It's a fun wreck as there is a lot to see and only being in 60' you will have a ton of bottom time. Only issue is the wreck is starting to fall apart as it is probably the most visited dive site on our immediate coast. Just about everyone certified with Olympus or Discovery diving has done their OW checkout dives on this site. You'll get a shark on this dive occassionally. Viz can vary down to 15' all the way up to 50'+. If you are forced to do these dives due to weather I would probably count on the viz being toward the lower to middle of that range.

Also, they just recently sunk 2 new tugs back in May (Tramp and the JJ). I dove them the day they sunk them but haven't been back since. They are starting to get some growth on them and bait fish are starting to hang out there. The tugs are sunk bow to stern with about 50 yards in between them. You can easily circle the entire dive site on one dive. They are close to the Indra (300-400 yards away) so expect the same conditions you would on the Indra.

There are a few other wrecks, but these are the main ones.

I really feel for the OP's plight, and it leads me to a question.

So here is the question--is there a time of year when it is more likely that the weather will cooperate, hopefully a time of year suitable for my wife to enjoy the beach?

Glad you had a great time on our coast and hope you come back.

This has been a bad season. Our weather can be very unpredictable, especially if it's a vacation booked well in advance you have to always worry about hurricanes. You may want to consider late September-early October. The rental rates go way down considerably. If you have a smaller party, you'll have a good choice of places to choose from. I may recommend holding off until last minute (within a week or 2) of booking your place. You can talk with the vacation rental company (I'd recommend Bluewater) to see if there are any home owners willing to negotiate their rates. The water is still warm and there's not a lot of tourist (EI population more than doubles in the summer months), so if you get blown out for diving you can have a good stretch of beach to yourself. We have pretty good surf fishing that time of year too. While we have a hurricane in October every so often, the chances go way down.

You can also consider early-mid May (before Memorial Day) to keep things on the lower end, but the water is a little cooler. This year I was perfectly comfortable in a 5mm with a 2.5mm hooded vest around that time frame.

Hope this helps, let me know if you end up back here and I'll buy you a beer.

 

[bpevans]

Good luck. As others have said, we've had a relentless SW wind for some time now. Makes for a very rough ride offshore.

 

[drrich2]

So here is the question--is there a time of year when it is more likely that the weather will cooperate, hopefully a time of year suitable for my wife to enjoy the beach?

I had the same basic question when I was planning what became an August 2015 trip (trip report). Sounds like this year just lately has been atypical? When I was researching, I relied on a seasonal info. post by Tortuga James of Tortuga Charters. From his old post (#12 in thread):

"Too many variables to predict on any given future day (and that goes for next week as well as next year).

But here are some common patterns.

March.... forget about it. Windiest month of the year.

April... Starting to get nice but water is still in the high 60's. Cold fronts still dominate the weather patterns. Usually one every 7-10 days. As the front approaches the wind howls SW for 24-36 hours the as it crosses the wind goes NW then NE for another 24-36 hours. Following the NE blow the wind shifts south and we have some nice days before the next one.

May- Cold fronts are coming with less frequency, but the same pattern exists but with longer stretches of warm nice days. Water temps are in the low 70's

June- Great month. Water has now reached mid 70's, days are long and the sun is bright. The cold fronts stop coming by the end of the month. Many long stretches of nice weather.

July- The hot air is here. Water temps climb to near 80. The Bermuda High dominates the weather pattern. A steady SW flow blows all month. Some days it is too windy to go out, but most days are just normal rough conditions. Visibility is usually excellent. Diving is great but the boating not so much.

August- The summer doldrums set in. Diving is great and we have many calm, hot days. The biggest weather threats are now tropical storms. By the end of the month we are watching the tropics for approaching hurricanes.

September- Hurricane season is in full force. They say that during the season the weather is great unless there is a hurricane. Very true. Great diving, warm (almost hot) water and generally some of the best visibility of the year unless a storm has just passed. Risky but you could have some of the best dives of your life if you get lucky.

October- Storm season is winding down and the cold fronts are starting. SW winds before the fronts are a little stronger than in the spring, but it is the same process. Nice weather follows after the front is well on its way. Tropical lows and hurricanes can still impact the weather. Still some of the best diving of the year if you catch it right. Water temps are still in the high 70's.

November- Cold fronts control the weather. Locals love this time of year. The water is still warm and the air can be too on a lot of days. Some of my best trips have been Thanksgiving weekend.

December- February- the diving can be good but the water is in the 60's and the air chilly, even on the best of days. Too risky to plan more than a day or 2 out. I don't even accept charters from December through March 31st.

There you have it. If I had to sum it up for those of you trying to plan well in advance, I would say late May through late June and August are your best chances of nice weather. July is good but bumpy. I think September through late October are the best conditions underwater, but a little risky to plan way ahead.

Having said all that, you could get the most perfect 4 day stretch or totally blown out in any month of the year. These are just general weather patterns for reference only. I make no warranties that what I have described is what you will experience when you get here. But get here, it is INCREDIBLE diving."

 

[DiverDownD3]

Just looking at the NOAA forecast and Sunday is showing 10-15 winds and 2-3'. Hoping it gets better

 

[Steve_C]

2-3 is very divable. Note that our coastline varies. Morehead faces south but as soon as you get out a little ways you are wide open to everything from NE to SSW/. Further south at Wilmington, you have a bit more protection from the N depending on how far out you go. I usually dive out of Wilmington. Big difference between being 20 miles out and 40 miles out.

 

[stuartv]

any recommendations for the inshore stuff?

Like DDD3 said, the Indra is a good option. A lot of times when the boat captain announces that the boat is going to the Indra, you'll hear some people on the boat groaning "not the Indra!" But, that's not because the Indra is bad. It's good. It's just because many people have been to the Indra SO many times. It seems to be the default go-to when offshore conditions are bad. Especially as the 2nd dive of the day. I like the Indra.

I also really like the Spar and the Aeolus, which are very close together. The Aeolus almost always has a bunch of sand tiger sharks hanging around outside and inside. Especially in the cable hold, which is a big room just under the main deck, and which is completely open on the forward end and has big port holes down the starboard side. That cable hold is sometimes called Club Aeolus, because it's where all the sharks like to go hang out. And the Spar generally has lots of sharks hanging around also, but more likely to be on the bottom next to it, rather than so much inside.

I shot this video diving on the Spar just over a month ago.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

I really got tired of the money and time lost trying to dive the wrecks. i.e. packing up everything, doing the drive, paying for lodging and showing up to only find out the dive has been called off. You lose the gas, food and lodging cost. I have been sticking to the caves for the reason listed.

 

[Steve_C]

Part of why I mostly dive out of Wrightsville Beach with Aquatic Safaris. They usually try to cancel before 6 pm the night before if they are going to cancel. I also have found a couple motels with 6pm cancel so I can cancel them when the boat calls and I just stay in Raleigh with no loss of money or time. I have done over 120 dives with AS. I have had a fair number canceled the afternoon before but only been canceled at the dock 4 or 5 times. I also think AS is a bit more conservative about going out which is fine with me. They have nice wrecks and ledges. No sub though.