davita
Registered
I'm getting ready to move to the DC area and was wondering what types of dive opportunities I will have? Can anyone fill me in on the dive sites, shops etc?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Moving to DC
- Thread starter davita
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Welcome to the area, we have some great diving off Ocean City, MD about a 2.5 hour drive east from DC on the Eastern Shore. Check out www.ocdiveboat.com we have a bunch of info about our wreck dives as well as a lot of pictures .
Drive time to OC depends on where you live and the traffic. From DC/Arlington, 2.5 hours is optomistic and 3-3.5 is more accurate. Time it poorly with weekend going to the beach traffic and it can be a 4 to 6 hour drive.
Driving to Virgina Beach takes about the same time more or less and the diving in both is similar - can be very good but usually lower viz and colder water temps and the seas can be rough so expect to get blown out about a 1/3rd of the time.
North Carolina has some superb diving and Mooorhead City is a 5-6 hour drive away. Diving there can be epic with 100' plus viz, warm gulfstream water, lots of tropicals and lots of sand tiger sharks. It can also have low viz, cold water and very rough 6' plus seas, and plan on getting blown out maybe 1/3rd of the time.
Millbrook is the closest quarry and it is rather small, low viz and cold below 30-40 feet pretty much year round, but can get up to a toasty 70-80 near the surface by mid summer. There is a plane a coupel boats and various busses etc to look at.
Lake Rawlings is aboiut 3 hours south and can have superb visibility - perhaps the clearest fresh water I have seen outside of a cave and I have sen 100' viz there. It also has aircraft, boats, etc and while it tends to be cold (60-65) at depth in the summer, it is a comfortable 70 something above 30 feet in the summer.
Shop wise, there are several and each has it's own unique flavor.
Driving to Virgina Beach takes about the same time more or less and the diving in both is similar - can be very good but usually lower viz and colder water temps and the seas can be rough so expect to get blown out about a 1/3rd of the time.
North Carolina has some superb diving and Mooorhead City is a 5-6 hour drive away. Diving there can be epic with 100' plus viz, warm gulfstream water, lots of tropicals and lots of sand tiger sharks. It can also have low viz, cold water and very rough 6' plus seas, and plan on getting blown out maybe 1/3rd of the time.
Millbrook is the closest quarry and it is rather small, low viz and cold below 30-40 feet pretty much year round, but can get up to a toasty 70-80 near the surface by mid summer. There is a plane a coupel boats and various busses etc to look at.
Lake Rawlings is aboiut 3 hours south and can have superb visibility - perhaps the clearest fresh water I have seen outside of a cave and I have sen 100' viz there. It also has aircraft, boats, etc and while it tends to be cold (60-65) at depth in the summer, it is a comfortable 70 something above 30 feet in the summer.
Shop wise, there are several and each has it's own unique flavor.
Oyster Diver
Contributor
It depends on what you are looking for.
There are at least two excellent boats in Ocean City Maryland. jrmiah mentioned Dive Ocean City | Ocean City Diving | Maryland SCUBA Charters | Dive OC | Wreck Diving, charter boat, Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, dive boat, OC Diver but there is also the OC Diver at OCDIVER Subheading Goes Here They both go from Ocean City, Maryland but mostly visit different wrecks. The 2010 schedule for the OC Diver isn't up yet, but you can look at last years schedule to get an idea of where Ted goes. If you know the type of diving you want to do, you can't go wrong with either. Visibility out of Ocean City is typically around 20 feet, but it can be much worse or much better.
There is also a dive boat that just started with Off the Wall Scuba. I think they are going to operate in the Chesapeake Bay. There are some interesting wrecks in the bay, but visibility can sometimes be a problem. On more than one occasion, I've experienced black water dives where there was zero visibility. But if you want to see a uboat close to home, or Americas first battleship (USS Texas, renamed the San Marcos before being sunk as a target ship by Billy Mitchell) those are chances you take.
As for dive shops, I would use whatever is closest to you. I am partial to the Brass Anchor, but there are several others I like as well.
Finally, there are a bunch of quarries around including Hydes, Millbrook, Bainbridge, willow springs, Lake Rawlings and a bunch of others. Lake Rawlings is the best in my opinion, but they are all quarries and I only go to them to socialize or practice.
If you are interested in Ocean City, let me know and we can ride together.
There are at least two excellent boats in Ocean City Maryland. jrmiah mentioned Dive Ocean City | Ocean City Diving | Maryland SCUBA Charters | Dive OC | Wreck Diving, charter boat, Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, dive boat, OC Diver but there is also the OC Diver at OCDIVER Subheading Goes Here They both go from Ocean City, Maryland but mostly visit different wrecks. The 2010 schedule for the OC Diver isn't up yet, but you can look at last years schedule to get an idea of where Ted goes. If you know the type of diving you want to do, you can't go wrong with either. Visibility out of Ocean City is typically around 20 feet, but it can be much worse or much better.
There is also a dive boat that just started with Off the Wall Scuba. I think they are going to operate in the Chesapeake Bay. There are some interesting wrecks in the bay, but visibility can sometimes be a problem. On more than one occasion, I've experienced black water dives where there was zero visibility. But if you want to see a uboat close to home, or Americas first battleship (USS Texas, renamed the San Marcos before being sunk as a target ship by Billy Mitchell) those are chances you take.
As for dive shops, I would use whatever is closest to you. I am partial to the Brass Anchor, but there are several others I like as well.
Finally, there are a bunch of quarries around including Hydes, Millbrook, Bainbridge, willow springs, Lake Rawlings and a bunch of others. Lake Rawlings is the best in my opinion, but they are all quarries and I only go to them to socialize or practice.
If you are interested in Ocean City, let me know and we can ride together.
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bikediver
Guest
Check out the several dive clubs in the area to meet other divers and get the low down on shops, and dive sites.
in Maryland - The Atlantis Rangers' Home Page
in Virginia - Patowmack Divers - dcdiver.com
in DC - either one
in Maryland - The Atlantis Rangers' Home Page
in Virginia - Patowmack Divers - dcdiver.com
in DC - either one
Where in DC are you moving too? Atlantic Edge has a dive shop in Gaithersburg, MD and also in Annapolis, MD right on the South River.
Guam to DC? Man. I think that sucks.
The regional diving leaves a lot to be desired. If you don't have one, a dry suit would be a good acquisition.
Relatively nearby we have some amazing diving, as someone above pointed out, in NC. The Graveyard of the Atlantic. The Gulf Stream comes up along the coast heading North. It turns out to sea at Cape Hatteras. In the Gulf Stream you get warm clear waters. Coming from the North we have the Labrador Current which is cold and not so clear. It is turned by the Gulf Stream North of Hatteras.
We have a variety of quarries and lakes in the region which actually provide some great training grounds. You'll get comfortable in cold darker water.
Where in the region are you moving to? Traffic patterns make a big difference around here.
The regional diving leaves a lot to be desired. If you don't have one, a dry suit would be a good acquisition.
Relatively nearby we have some amazing diving, as someone above pointed out, in NC. The Graveyard of the Atlantic. The Gulf Stream comes up along the coast heading North. It turns out to sea at Cape Hatteras. In the Gulf Stream you get warm clear waters. Coming from the North we have the Labrador Current which is cold and not so clear. It is turned by the Gulf Stream North of Hatteras.
We have a variety of quarries and lakes in the region which actually provide some great training grounds. You'll get comfortable in cold darker water.
Where in the region are you moving to? Traffic patterns make a big difference around here.
Diving here sucks!!!
save your money for Cape hatteras , or Morrehead city. Check out DiveHatteras.com - NC shipwreck diving at it's best! and the BFDC dive club pix and historyof the wrecks @ North Carolina Wreckdiving & BFDC home page
25 years ago the Chesapeake Bay was ok in the winter, but now w/ no bottom grasses, its 1 foot of vis. and then there's the water quality issue.
Ocean City offshore has been bottom dragged for clams and scalops for 50 years or more. Dark cold waters now w/ no grasses. small winds ruin vis for days on end.
I dont think there is a dive shop in OC anymore.
quarrys are good for training.
Atlantis Ragers dive club has been around since 1969 or earlier. they certified me in 1970
Brass Anchor dive shop in Frederick has its own hydo station and has built up enough repair buisness to keep a repair tech working 40 hours a week full time for life. Not many shops I know of have a staff tech w/ 30 years expierence working full time .No part timers working on your gear at their shop. Shop has a nice array of tools also. I had some String steel spearshafts cut and modified on their metal lathe. I used the power hack saw to cut some heavy angle iron for boat trailer repairs.
I gave up spending money on the dark cold OC stuff back in 1982. Alotta of super ocean dives off North Carolina and Florida for bugs.
pix of our dive barge we drag south to dive from
save your money for Cape hatteras , or Morrehead city. Check out DiveHatteras.com - NC shipwreck diving at it's best! and the BFDC dive club pix and historyof the wrecks @ North Carolina Wreckdiving & BFDC home page
25 years ago the Chesapeake Bay was ok in the winter, but now w/ no bottom grasses, its 1 foot of vis. and then there's the water quality issue.
Ocean City offshore has been bottom dragged for clams and scalops for 50 years or more. Dark cold waters now w/ no grasses. small winds ruin vis for days on end.
I dont think there is a dive shop in OC anymore.
quarrys are good for training.
Atlantis Ragers dive club has been around since 1969 or earlier. they certified me in 1970
Brass Anchor dive shop in Frederick has its own hydo station and has built up enough repair buisness to keep a repair tech working 40 hours a week full time for life. Not many shops I know of have a staff tech w/ 30 years expierence working full time .No part timers working on your gear at their shop. Shop has a nice array of tools also. I had some String steel spearshafts cut and modified on their metal lathe. I used the power hack saw to cut some heavy angle iron for boat trailer repairs.
I gave up spending money on the dark cold OC stuff back in 1982. Alotta of super ocean dives off North Carolina and Florida for bugs.
pix of our dive barge we drag south to dive from
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Another dive option is Dutch Springs in PA which is about 3 hours drive north. Similar to Rawlings, just a bit colder and deeper.
+3 for Brass Anchor. Helpful and knowledgeable staff, onsite hydro and repairs, large selection, awesome and frequent trips, active dive club.
I remember reading a post a year or two ago about someone moving here who wanted a reasonably priced home in close proximity to good diving and also close to their work in DC. I don't think a place like that exists (especially the reasonably priced home). We measure distance here in time it takes to travel and the difference of just a few minutes could mean cruising down I-270/I-495 or being stuck at a crawl or worse for an hour or more at rush hour (btw rush hour runs from about 6AM-10AM and 3PM-7PM around here).
Welcome to the neighborhood!
+3 for Brass Anchor. Helpful and knowledgeable staff, onsite hydro and repairs, large selection, awesome and frequent trips, active dive club.
I remember reading a post a year or two ago about someone moving here who wanted a reasonably priced home in close proximity to good diving and also close to their work in DC. I don't think a place like that exists (especially the reasonably priced home). We measure distance here in time it takes to travel and the difference of just a few minutes could mean cruising down I-270/I-495 or being stuck at a crawl or worse for an hour or more at rush hour (btw rush hour runs from about 6AM-10AM and 3PM-7PM around here).
Welcome to the neighborhood!
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