Diving in North Carolina?

[sunshinecat]

I will be going to the Outer Banks in a few weeks and am hoping to do some diving. From my research, it looks like the only diving available is wreck diving. Is that the only good diving in the Outer Banks? Also, I only have my open water certification, so am I allowed to do wreck diving since wreck diving is a specialty course?

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
There are basically 2 kinds of wreck diving, crusing around the outside looking in and penatration diving. They have totally different training requirements. Going inside takes a lot of training but just crusing around the outside is fine for most anyone.
The bigger issue is the very nature of NC diving. Our wrecks tend to be deep, a long way off shore often with strong currrents and rough sea conditions. We do get glass slick days but more often than not our seas run in the 4 to 6 ft range and most dive ops will go out in up to 8ft seas. You must be prepaired to deal with the conditions. This is not the place for a novice. Based on the little information I have on your certs I am guessing you have no experience in open ocean, Coz, Bonaire, Fla or the like do not count. I would suggest you contact a LDS in the area and have an honest discussion with them about your expereince and see if they offer any close in, shallower wrecks- the ones they use for OW certs are perfect. Give these a try before heading farther off shore. Our wrecks are world class and full of life but the depth and common sea conditions make them a lot more advanced dives than many would have you believe.
I would also advise against picking up an unknown buddy, hire a DM or go with someone who you know and that has had a fair amount of NC experience.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

A great day in NC can offer dives that are not challenging. The water can be warm in the low 70's with 100' viz and seas that are only 1' or 2' even on some of the shallower 60-80' wrecks.

However as Herman says the seas can also be rough with 6' seas, the water can be much closer to 60 degrees and the viz can be 10' or less, making for very demanding dives and you never really know what you are going to get until you get to the site.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I will be going to the Outer Banks in a few weeks and am hoping to do some diving. From my research, it looks like the only diving available is wreck diving. Is that the only good diving in the Outer Banks? Also, I only have my open water certification, so am I allowed to do wreck diving since wreck diving is a specialty course?

If the wrecks you dive are intact, as Herman notes, don't go inside them. But many of the wrecks are either collapsing or collapsed - e.g. they are more like rubble fields, where penetration is either difficult, extremely limited, or impossible.

I also echo Herman's advice on hiring a DM if you don't have a buddy. The offshore wrecks are not the place to obtain 'on-the-job training'.

Bonine is your friend.

(or Triptone - either will be effective.)

Take bottled water with you, the boat will have some - but still...

Have a good time...wreck diving off Morehead City in good conditions is world-class diving.

Doc

 

[BabyDuck]

when you say 'outer banks', where do you mean? above hatteras tends to be noticeably colder since it gets more influence from the labrador current than the gulf stream. call some shops in the area you're vacationing in and see what they'd recommend.

diving here can be great, but folks (new to diving in general *or* new to diving here) almost always need a bit of hand-holding, and that's ok & to be expected - just don't think you'll be able to walk up to a boat and get that extra level. boats usually want divers to have aow, they don't set up your gear for you or serve snacks, and dm's usually set and retrieve the hook instead of accompanying the divers. so please let them know you're new so they can help you pick the right charter to go on and maybe help you hire a dm to buddy with. and remember to pack your lunch! (hopefully something that will taste as good if it comes back up as it did going down..)

 

[herman]

...............................(hopefully something that will taste as good if it comes back up as it did going down..)

Sage advise, now if we could just figure out what that something is.

 

[diveonthefive]

Honey buns. They taste just as good coming up as they did going down.

 

[BabyDuck]

mmmm...honey buns......

and, actually, coffee's pretty good the second time. ham biscuits, though, not so much. sorta scratchy.

 

[rlskill1]

Hey Sunshine,
Depending on which end of the outer banks you're going to, Radio Island inbetween Morehead City and Beaufort is a decent walk-in dive during slack high tide. Depending on the past wind and rain, vis can be 0' to 15'. But Radio Island is a relative easy dive.