Myrtle Beach Diving

[Minion_Diver]

Just did my first set of ocean dives this past week in Myrtle Beach, SC. Dove with Coastal Scuba. They are very nice and made sure you are buddied up with someone before you left the dock. The people in the dive shop and on their dock located off site were very nice and cared about you as a person and diver. I dove the Sherman wreck which was awesome. Saw some Barracuda and what i thought was a shark, but i wasnt going to figure out for sure lol. Overall very satisfied with the service that they provided and would recommend them to anyone who is a diver and going to be in the Myrtle Beach area.

 

[Lee Taylor]

The Sherman is an excellent training platform OR a good site for a diver wanting to start getting use to diving offshore as opposed to lakes, rivers, and quarries. It is also not a LONG boat ride. Sharks can appear when one least expects it. A few years ago I was diving the Sherman with a partner that was new to SCUBA and we had a LARGE tiger shark circle the boat..... it happens. My advice is to learn your sharks. Learn which are the most dangerous, the most unpredictable, sizes, habits, etc. Also learn which are the most docile, least likely to attack, etc. I have been around LOTS of sharks and every situation is different. Gage the situation, measure the sharks behavior, and act accordingly. Sharks do not like cameras or the sound of bubbles. They also like a certain amount of personal space, not unlike humans. Come too close to a shark and they get riled up, nervous, scared, and panicky. You can see it in their behavior and you can sense they are preparing to protect themselves, just like all creatures do. Study the shark info in books, learn about them, and show them respect, while preparing to protect yourself.

 

[TMHeimer]

Had 2 good charters with Coastal last March--both to the Sherman. No sharks. Good.

 

[TMHeimer]

Had 2 good charters with Coastal last Feb. & March--both to the Sherman. No sharks. Good.

 

[al248005]

How far from Myrtle Beach is it to where you catch the boat for Coastal? I've wanted to dive the Sherman or Barracuda Alley when there on vacation but I don't want to be driving either for hours to catch a boat when I can be in Murrells Inlet in less than 20 minutes.

 

[TMHeimer]

How far from Myrtle Beach is it to where you catch the boat for Coastal? I've wanted to dive the Sherman or Barracuda Alley when there on vacation but I don't want to be driving either for hours to catch a boat when I can be in Murrells Inlet in less than 20 minutes.

In Feb./March it took me about a little over 45 mins. from central Myrtle Beach. Can't comment on what summer city traffic might bring. You go West on 501 then North on 31 (NOT 17). Go for 20 miles or so and E. on 90. This takes you close to their shop on 17 in N. Myrtle Beach. Get a map--I think it's on 19th Ave./st. Their boat is up in Little River as they go out Little R. Inlet (just S. of N.C. line). It's something like 20 minutes (?) from the shop.

 

[Hank658]

Or cut east on 22 from 31 and end up at King's Road. From there not too far north on 17. The boat is not too far, in Little River. Dove the Sherman about a month ago. Warm water, one hour dive time, fifty minutes on dive 2. Ran into the DM coming down to pull the hook as I was coming up the line. :shocked2: One shark off the wreck, I think...... If you dive Barracuda make sure to go off the barge to the APC's. Lots of neat places for fish to hide.

 

[al248005]

Thanks, I stay at 23 Aveunue SOUTH. Still though it only takes me around 10 mins or so to get to where the Pavillion used to be there in Central Myrtle. I'll have to check them out next year when I'm there. The reason I didn't check them out this year is I was under the impression you could only have a max 30 min dive. I think I read it somewhere on here. And that time in the morning when you gotta leave to catch the boat its not like there's a ton of people uptown.

 

[MarianneR]

I just dove with Coastal Scuba 2 days ago. We took the boat from Cricket Cove Marina to Barracuda Alley in slightly choppy water (3-4 feet) - enough to get me seasick. My fault - didn't take dramamine the night before! I made the first dive but didn't see much in terms of marine life (minnows, a large spadefish, a few large sand dollars, no sharks). Viz was ca. 6 ft. A couple of divers expressed surprise that we made the dive in that kind of viz. The DM/Instructor on the boat was great - apparently a navy diver. But I was too sick to do the second dive ! Learned my lesson aboout medicating early!

 

[TechDeep]

Looking at my log book, I see my first dive with them was July 4th weekend, 1992! Hard to believe how fast the time goes by. They were in a different location, and have grown a lot since then. I own property and have a place to stay in North Myrtle beach, so it is a short drive for me. No traffic that time of morning, at least in North Myrtle.

I highly reccomend them, I still have my Civil War bullet that I found on the Sherman. Pretty cool.