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I see I have always thought that the more north you go the worse the viz is going to be. I was mistaken. Seems that way here in florida one day you can get great others theres like 2 foot. Best ive seen has been 50 or so feet.
Last year I went out with Cape Fear Divers. I gota say I love their boat. It's a 50 footer with an upper sun deck with plenty of room. They had a very friendly crew and supplied free beverages which other places dont do. I do know they took on new ownership in December. The new owners are both retired from law enforcement, one of which was crew on the boat last year and the other owns a shop somewhere inland. I found it a very laid back experience. I've never been out with the outfit in Writesville beach but I hear their boat is small, rough and crowded. My freind went with them and said you litterally have to sit on top of your gear on the way to she sites. I will deffinitely give Cape Fear another go this year.
Anybody ever had a bad experiece with Aquatic Safari before? I went there to buy a pole spear a couple months ago and I needed help because I honestly have know idea about the sport. I asked someone for help and they said they'd be with me in a minute. I waited for 10 minutes and looked over and saw the young man screwing around with another employee. So I walked out. My friends at UNCW say that their boat operators and Divemasters aren't really anything to get excited about either. And their stuff is kind of expensive.
What's that dive shop in Carolina Beach? Somebody said they do good work.
Aquatic Safaris has been running charters and their shop for years. They have a pretty solid reputation across the state. I'm not sure what happened on the day you visited, but they're worth another shot. They are my first choice op in Wilmington.
Cape Fear Divers was the shop in Carolina Beach, and they have changed hands a couple of times over the last 3 years. I think the current name is Cape Fear Dive Center. Last I heard they were keeping the boat in Carolina Beach and moving the shop to Wilmington. Looking at their webpage, maybe that's changed. I've been told that the newest owners are good, enthusiastic guys, who are trying to make a go of it. I know some folks who have been diving with them this year, and they were satisfied. It has to be a tough economic year to be taking over a shop and making changes though.
I see I have always thought that the more north you go the worse the viz is going to be. I was mistaken. Seems that way here in florida one day you can get great others theres like 2 foot. Best ive seen has been 50 or so feet.
Yeah, this is an old post in an old thread but I don't care.
South of Cape Hatteras, the majority of our offshore wrecks (20+ nm out) reside in the Gulf Stream. This gives us the same clear water (on average) and tropical critters as in Florida. When you move closer in to shore and out of the Gulf Stream, the average water clarity begins to drop. At Hatteras, the Gulf Stream turns out to sea and north of there, you are in the remnants of the Labrador Current. Here, you will generally find murkier and colder water.
That being said, it is the open ocean so the weather and water conditions are highly variable. In the summer of 2008, we had an upwelling of cold water that moved in and stayed with us all summer. This gave us a hard thermocline at about 70 ft everywhere. Above the thermocline, the water was blue, the vis would be 50 ft or better, and the temps were in the mid 70s to low 80s. Below the thermocline, the water turned green, the vis dropped to 10-30 feet, and the temps dropped 10 degrees. I hope we don't see those conditions again any time soon.
There are few places on the east coast that I haven't dived, the conditions at each can and has changed from day to day. Storms, current, and down current will effect day to day diving conditions. Just like everyone else good vis. is very pleasurable, but I take what I'm given. Low vis. makes me slow down and focus on objects and life that I would normally miss if I could see a 100ft. So for me no dive is wasted.
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Originally Posted by LastMate
