Recommendations to Dive in NC?

[gyselle]

Hi,

I'm heading over to NC sometime in may. And i would defn like to get some diving in. Can anyone give some recommendations for good dive shops in that area? And what are the dive sites i should not miss!

Thanks

[RICHinNC]

There are literally hundreds of shops....

The one I have dived with the most and like their attitude, helpfulness and professionalism...is... aquatic safaris in wilmington. you can go on line and do a search for the same name and their web site will show up.

they will have listed the dives planned...locations planned for those dives and associated costs.

good divin' y'all

[Lead_carrier]

What part of NC?

Theres a lot of diving here. Rich mentioned Aquatic Safaris out of Wilmingtong. Fantastic group. Morehead City has some excellent diving if you are ready for it.

Outer banks.. OUter Banks diving in Hatteras Village. You should be experienced for their dives. They are excellent dives but can be on the rough side is things pick up.

[Beachman]

Moorehead City !!

Without exageration, the best wreck diving overall in the U.S.

Look it up on the internet. Everything they say and advertise is accurate. Gulf stream comes in close enough to the coast to give a "semi-tropical" environment. A lot of original WW II wrecks, including submarines.

You'll get many responses from folks to this thread, so I'll let them pump you up. I'm a bit short on time right now.

Enjoy a very unique experience.

[BradfordNC]

what part of NC will you be in?

if your going to be near Wilmington, Aquatic Safaris is the place to call. they should be getting ready for the season now.
water temps will prolly be in the 70's until late May, then creep up to the mid 80s.

[breathe_nitrox]

Olympus Dive center in Morehead city is a fantastic operation. They do get booked out so you may want to give them a call or visit their web site to see what is still open. I dove with them last May and had a great time. I'll be back down there with them in June.

[CaptAl]

Check out this site:
DISCOVERY DIVING (http://www.discoverydiving.com)

[medic13]

let us know what part of NC I have about 12 different dive boats i dive off of, and to be honest unless your a regular you might find sometimes hard to get on one due to the clubs book allot of the weekends way ahead of time let me know as soon as possible and dates we see what we can find for ya !!!!!!

[gyselle]

I'll be in the Raleigh-Durham area, but i'm perfectly mobile to travel anywhere in NC, just for a good dive!

Actually, am not a regular in that area, am travelling from Asia actually, so i'm just looking for some good wreck dives! Most websites and dive operations i've been to dont really seem to advertise their NC trips. so, im having a little difficulty in looking for them.

Plus.there are so many wrecks and so little time!

[medic13]

gyselle
tell us what kind wreck depth ect and possible dates we see what we can find for you also have you gone to any of the charter sites

[TheRookMan]

Like Gyselle, I'm looking for suggestions for diving SC/NC. I'll be there Easter week. I'm coming down from the cold and frozen north (Jersey coast) and looking forward to water above 40 degrees. :eek:

On Bradford's recommendation I just sent an e-mail to Aquatic Safaris for their boat dive on the 19th to Hyde/Markham. Can someone fill me in on the history of these wrecks in particular or Aquatic Safaris in general.

I am also looking for ideas for the 17th and 18th. Calabash is located half way between Wilmington, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC. Any good beach dives, night dives or boat dives I could do on Thursday or Friday in that area? Anybody free to show me the local dive spots?

I've heard a lot about your wrecks down there so I'm looking forward to seeing them myself.

Thanks in advance,

[Lead_carrier]

Trying to find a dive boat this late may be a bit of a problem. Here are some links to try that might be of help.. Good luck.

http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/

http://www.bottomtime.com/

http://www.diveindex.com/link/list.php?CID=77

[trheeltek]

Gyselle:
In RDU area, there are 4 shops I can think of off the top of my head. I usually go to Down Under in Raleigh, www.downunderscuba.com, because they're nice folks and closest to my house. Gypsy Divers in Raleigh and Water World in Durham are also great shops; haven't done much business with Bill's Scuba in N. Raleigh but I hear they're good people too. I know Down Under is running a coast trip in May, check their website for info. Easier than calling operators yourself.

Rookman:
whew, left it a little late, didn't ya : ). Um...(OPINION ALERT) I'd have to say skip the Hyde/Markham unless you can't get to another wreck, they're ok, but not special - artificial reefs in about 60-80 fsw. Some great wrecks off Carolina Beach if you can find someone to take you. If it's not too far for you, head north to Morehead; I know it's farther but it's worth the drive. Get out with Olympus, or Discovery Diving, or Diver Down, or one of the other great operators up that way, don't get paired up with a fellow Jersey diver unless you LIKE all that hammering : )(just kidding, sorry) and see some of the wrecks that make the NC coast justly famous.

Here's another link with good charter info, though sometimes out of date. For those closer to Calabash, look at Wilmington and Southport:
http://home.nc.rr.com/zimmy/scuba/ncwrecks.html

[TheRookMan]

Thanks for the info tg and Lead. Yes I did leave it to the last minute but that's when I found out I was going.

I'll do some more homework quick and finalize my plans. Aquatic Safaris did get back to me today and let me know that they have room on the 19th for the Hyde/Markham trip. They also have Nitrox AL 100s available for the day, so if I can't find anything better I can do that.

How long does it take to get to Morehead? What are the absolutely MUST see dives. This is only my first trip to the area, there will be others so I will try to plan ahead for those trips.

Is it true that I can REALLY leave my drysuit home? :D

[trheeltek]

Ernie, check out the NDI Club Locations->NC Wreck Diving section of this board; somebody posted openings on a charter out of Southport next weekend.

[herman]

If you are refering to the one I posted, it's May 17-18, not April.

On the other hand, Scuba South, the dive op may have some open spots open in April, worth calling and asking.

[Lead_carrier]

TheRookMan once bubbled...

How long does it take to get to Morehead? What are the absolutely MUST see dives. This is only my first trip to the area, there will be others so I will try to plan ahead for those trips.

Is it true that I can REALLY leave my drysuit home? :D
If there is a charter going out of Morehead a must see is the U352, what's left of it, if you have the experience. It is about 120 and you never know about the current and vis.

As far as the dry suit. That's a matter of personal preference. I've never done anything except a 3mm but I don't mind water a little cooler that some. Water temp probably won't be up past low 70's in the gulf stream.

[Soggy]

Any suggestions for Myrtle Beach, SC?

[medic13]

check this link they go out all the time good group
http://www.coastalscuba.com/