Diving questions for NC and SC

[The_Ghost]

I think this is the right spot for my question if not if some admin needs to move it go ahead.



Aug 4/5(not sure on what day I'm landing just yet in DC) to Aug 20th I plan on making a little vacation to the easy coast and see the sites.

The farthest I plan on going south is to Charleston since the wife wants to visit there and I want to see some civil war sites.

Can you guys recommend some good dive areas and some good dive charter to use? Hoping for some good wreck diving, but I'll take what I can get.

Would you guys say the diving would be better on the NC coast say near moorehead or somewhere off the SC coast? I have been diving in moorehead like 10 years ago, and it was a bad experience so I'm all for diving there again to hopefully change that.

Anyone give any details on river diving? A friend of mine was reading it and said it sounded different just didn't find anything on it.

The only problem is that I can't spend to much time diving as I would like so I'm hopeing you guys can mention some sites that are a must see or something intresting.

thanks

 

[herbdb]

I did some fossil diving on the Cooper River just outside of Charleston last summer. It is blackwater diving, but fun and different. If you search for Cooper River and fossil you will find a lot of info.

I think you should give the NC wreck diving another chance. This is some of the best diving I have experienced.

 

[mheaster]

Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City - Fantastic Wreck Diving and Cooper River for Fossils and Shark's Teeth!

I've done both and you can't go wrong!

 

[The_Ghost]

Nothing of note off of SC?

 

[Teller]

There are some wrecks just off the beach in NC.

 

[gconner]

For SC diving I recommend Express Watersports in Murrells Inlet just south of Myrtle Beach. Lots of good wrecks and a good charter operator. Plus if your significant other doesn't dive there is lots to do while you play with the fish ;-).

 

[Scubapro67]

I second Olympus in Morehead City - very professional. NC for great wreck diving!! That time of year should have 80ft+ vis, 80F water temp, lots of sharks (mainly sand tigers). Also try Aquatic Safaris out of Wilmington. Most wrecks are well offshore (30+ miles, about 2hr boat ride) and fairly deep (110-130ft). Recommend nitrox and a pony. Weather and visibility could be an issue if there's a significant storm/hurricane in/out bound.

 

[Upstate Scuba OWI]

- Charleston Scuba - Full Service PADI 5-Star IDC great for cooper river and they have a few off shore sites

 

[Lee Taylor]

Hello "Ghost"... i can share my personal perspectives for what it is worth

I grew up diving NC and SC (16 yrs now). Currently i am also targeting the Charleston SC rivers for more fossiling. One of the things i like about fossilers is there is MUCH more bonding among them. I suspect spear fishermen are the same way(more bonding). A boat load of divers for the day usually turn out to be a bunch of gypsies (friends for the day). I dive the Cooper, Edisto, and Wando for fossils. I can help with info on boats and sites. I also target Charleston, Myrtle, and Wilmington for offshore diving (mostly for repeat dive trips). At the moment the only site offshore Charleston that really has my interest is a limestone ledge where i found some fossilized material.

The shipwreck Hyde and the Markham, offshore Wilmington have my interest. Looks like blue water with lots of sea life (on a good day).

Spent many years diving the grave-yard offshore NC. (yes, i dove the u-352, and many, many more) Don't get up that way much these days.

Post some more questions if you like. I am sure someone can provide helpful information

 

[Tortuga James]

If you are going to "see the sites" I would suggest a trip down (or up) the outerbanks. You could visit Nags Head, Hatteras and Ocracoke, then catch the ferry to Cedar Island and drive into Beaufort/Morehead, which also has a lot of history and cool non-diving attractions. You will find some good 6 pack operators in Hatteras (Under Pressure with Capt JT Barker and Lions Paw with Capt Dave Sommers) but single spots may be hard to come by, as one crew boat shut down over the winter. Morehead City/Beaufort will give you the best options, with 2 large operations - Olympus and Discovery Diving (each has 2 crew boats and a 6 pack) and another crew boat Diver Down with Captain Bobby Cox. There are several other good 6 packs in Tortuga, Atlantis IV, and Mutiny, but getting a single seat on an independent 6 pack is difficult.

Further down the coast in the Wilmington area you have Aquatic Safaris and Cape Fear Divers. Both have one crew boat and one smaller inspected vessel.

All 3 areas have their own distinct wrecks, with the occasional crossover. You will find fantastic diving at all 3 when the conditions are good, and in August it usually is unless a freak early storm shows up like Irene in 2011. The weekend before she stopped by was the best diving of the year, but it was mucked up for 2 months after that.

Each operator has their pluses and minuses, there are subtle differences and personalities. Every one I have mentioned here is top notch and you cannot go wrong with any of them.

Please feel free to contact personally if I can be of further assistance. I am probably the least likely to have a single spot, but I will help you find the NC experience that is best for your plans. I just want everybody possible to see how great our NC diving really is.