Hello from the Hampton Roads, VA area

[foxtrot5]

Greetings everyone. Glad to have found this place. I'm the male half of a husband/wife buddy team. I've had my OW C-Card for about 6-7 years (I should really check the date) but due to life circumstances was forced to abandon diving for a while. As of January this year, my wife got her OW C-Card and we have gotten back in the water together. We're both PADI OW and are now working with our LDS for SSI AOW including Deep, Wreck, Night/Limited Viz, and Navigation diving. We're always up to meet other divers. Personally, I'll dive just about anywhere/anything but I prefer more unconventional dives. Reefs and fish are pretty but I've found much more enjoyment from wrecks and even several 10' dives below the dock to find a lost watch or similar item!

 

[tomfcrist]

Welcome back to the sport. There are more than enough great wreck dives near us to keep you occupied, and the bonus is that our wrecks in NC hold all the familiar reef species that you could ask for.

 

[foxtrot5]

Great to know. I've heard good things about the wrecks in NC but I feel like some of them may be a bit too challenging for me and my wife at this point. We'd both like to get a few more dives in the books before taking on something at that level.

 

[tomfcrist]

Most NC dives are challenging at times, however there are dives that can be done by relatively inexperienced divers. Most boats run inshore wreck trips in the afternoons, 65-70' max depth. Its all about being on the right wreck on the right day. We do have some nasty currents that like to come and go around here, and visibility is variable(sometimes 10' sometimes 100') but during the summer, assuming there is no full moon and the wind hasn't been kicking too hard for a few days, NC can be a very relaxing and almost tropical dive destination.

There are also shore wreck dives that can be done in the outer banks, I would hire a guide for your first couple shore dives there...not only to learn where the wrecks actually are, but so you can get a detailed brief on conditions and what to expect.