Is there such a thing as a liveaboard in South Carolina?

[ScubaDoo83]

Are you comfortable with deep diving, wreck diving (though I hear they also dive deep ledges out of Wilmington) and diving around sand tiger sharks?

I still have to get my Nitrox (which I should just go do now) but I am open to anything really. NC is certainly a possibility and as of now is looking like the best option.

 

[100days-a-year]

Er,uh...had 10p vis in 100 to 130 last week. NOT uncommon there,actually better diving in SC than NC.I have a couple thousand dives experience in each to draw from.

I do liveaboards of sorts-I own a commercial spearfishing vessel and do 3 to 5 day dive trips albeit all spearfishing.Horrible life,lol.

 

[drrich2]

You'll want the nitrox cert. if you do off-shore wreck diving out of NC. Even with nitrox (such as EAN 30%) and big steel tanks (e.g.: 120 cf), you'll be looking at fairly short dive times. Inshore wrecks may be shallower with longer dive times, but the offshore seemed preferred on my trip.

Unlike a sloping reef wall, a deep wreck on flat bottom doesn't lend itself to multi-level diving, but something closer to 'square profile.' IIRC, dive briefings went something like something like '110 feet to the sand,' dive times maybe 35 minutes or so, and NDL rather than gas supply remaining looked to be the time limiter.

But it was good diving, and I'm glad I went. Olympus Dive Center has a 'dive lodge,' so if you wanted to overnight you could stay cheap.

Richard.

 

[FishgutsB]

There are two shops in the northern part of South Carolina (Grand Strand / Myrtle Beach area) that run trips . Costal Scuba in North Myrtle and Express Water Sports in Murrlles Inlet . Both offer near shore and some offshore trips . Some of the near shore trips are still 20 plus miles from the beach and 1.5 hours each way. Offshore can be in the 40 mile range . Depths range from 40 to 130. Viz is all wind and current dependent . Usually the farther off the beach the better . Last week on the Hebe was 80 plus. If you are a very experienced diver the nearshore stuff may not offer a lot . Still tons of fish schools , large amberjacks ,plenty of 4 foot barracuda and maybe a few sharks but mostly on sites that get dove a lot. If you have never dove the area and have decent viz it makes for some good diving . When it comes to the offshore stuff ,I never met a person that dove the Vermillion or Hebe that did not think it's a world class dive .Large numbers of big predators , very large schools of fish and just plain cool. If your into spearfishing most trips are very accommodating . There are really no shop trips running out of Charleston to the south. There plenty that run out of Wilmington NC to North.good luck on your search and happy diving.

 

[ScubaDoo83]

Excellent info, thanks everyone. drrich2, thank you for reminding me of Olympus. I had a trip planned there early last year which was canceled due to weather and I had totally forgotten about that.

Edit: Gonna try to sneak that Nitrox cert in, my computer is Nitrox ready so why not?

 

[Clark Fletcher]

The only basic training that I'm aware of in SC is the Marine Boot Camp at Parris Island. If that's the case, then diving in NC is not an option IMHO. I think the closest dive operation in NC from there is in Wilmington (which is 5 hours away). If it is Parris Island and you're flying into Charlotte and then planning to dive out of Wilmington, you're looking at a 3.5 to 4 hour drive from Charlotte to Wilmington and then a 5 hour drive from Wilmington to Parris Island.

If it is Parris Island, then your closest dive operation is going to be in Charleston. There are several good dive operations out of Charleston (Charleston Scuba is one) and there are numerous offshore dive sites. However, some of the dives do require AOW certification. If you really want a unique experience and blackwater diving doesn't bother you, you might enjoy diving the Cooper River for Megalodon teeth (and other fossils). That being said, the best guy to use for a Cooper River dive is Captain Tom McMillan. However, Cooper River charters is not a full time job for him. So, he only does charters on weekends (to my knowledge). We'll be diving the Cooper with him in September.

If you really are close enough to get to Wilmington, NC in a reasonable amount of time, there are also several good operations there. Someone already mentioned Aquatic Safaris. We're diving with those guys the end of August on the Rosin, Markham, and Hyde. The Markham and Hyde are two of the more popular dive sites on the coast of NC. Again, some of the Aquatic Safari dives will require you to have AOW certification.

The Nitrox cert will also be a must on SOME of the dives out of either Wilmington or Charleston.

Hope this helps.