North Carolina diving, mostly flat seas, and a visit from Murphy
We went out with Cape Fear Divers, (www.capefeardivers.com) the owner Jim Conner runs a very nice boat. The set up is a bit different them most charters, think rows of stations one behind the other with 3 divers to a station. So when you gear up you are sitting on a bench and all your stuff is in front of you. This is a little different, but works quite well. There is also a top deck which is certified for 12 divers and is a great place to hang out and relax. Oh I forgot to mention the boat is a 50 Newton, which is roomy and has a very comfortable ride. The other thing Jim does that is different from other NC Charters is he provides drinks and snacks for the divers. It seems NC diving for the most part, it is a boat ride out the site, nothing more. I am pleased he is going a bit above and beyond with little extra touches to differentiae himself from the other operators here.
There was a very small swell, but for the most part you could not ask for better sea conditions on top, but one should not be lulled into a false sense of calm based on that alone. There was about 15 of vis as we dropped down to the hang line, but it only got worse from there, probably still after effects from Ophelia. There was maybe 5 of vis on the wreck, and there was a ripping current, if you didnt hang on to the boat you could fly off and not be able to even see the boat to get back, never mind the current. We dove the Hyde and Markham. Both appeared to have tons of fish life, (from what I could tell in my 10 of vision). In summary I would go out with Cape Fear againb but hopefully the visibility would be better.
As for Murphy.
I checked my gear the night before I left, all was fine. I hooked it up when I got to the boat all was fine, I did my final check just before donning my BC and my computer was wacked out. It did not show any pressure readings, and seemed to think I had been diving. My computer completely erases all previous data after 12 hours out of the water. Well since I hadnt done any diving since September 2nd I should have had a clean slate. However it seemed to thing I was on dive #2 and was doing dive planning. I guess it is into Gypsy Divers on Monday. Oddly enough I have been thinking about a new puter anyway. But maybe if it cant be fixed easily Aqua Lung will have some sort of program where I can upgrade for a small fee. I guess I will find out. I figured I would have to blow off the diving.
One of the guys on the trip, (not from our group) got majorly sick on the way out (I did take my Bonine, and it was reasonably calm, but one never knows when Murphy can strike. He kindly lent me his set up. Problem, he did not have a computer just a depth gauge, so I was basically on tables and my watch. This may have been a bigger problem if the vis had been good because I was very limited on my time for the 2nd dive based on tables. There was apparently too much line on the wreck and when I followed it down it put me at 80, but when I continued to follow the line it took me back to the deck at 60 where I spent 95% of my dive. So technically it was a 60 dive for 37 minutes, not an 80 dive for 37 minutes, but in following the tables it was an 80 dive. However since the vis was so crummy it was no big deal I did not feel cheated, and since it was BRAIL diving, it didnt matter.
The guy who loaned me the gear, on the 2nd dive his intended buddys BC hose had a malfunction, and actually broke and failed. Fortunately there was an extra hose around to fix him up
One of the guys from our group (no names to protect my life), forgot his regulator set up, so he was diving on loaned gear as well.
Finally just before we left the site, someones tank, that was not securely fastened, tipped over and fell on the bench. Fortunately I dont think regulator was damaged.
Of course, did I mention the lousy visibility?
I guess Murphy had a field day with us, but we did see dolphins one way back so lets put that in the plus column. All in all, despite the underwater conditions it was a fun day and I will definitely be back out with Cape Fear Divers.
But, I haven't given up on NC at all, and will look forward to another, longer diving trip in your waters.
