North Carolina Diving

[diveilm]

Just want to open peoples eyes to the amazing diving we have in North Carolina. Visit wilmingtondiving.com and aquaticsafaris.com.

 

[redox]

yes mine eyes have seen the glory

 

[diveilm]

What wrecks/ledges have you dove in NC?

 

[redox]

just about every wreck within 60 miles radius of Atlantic Beach.We rarely go down near Frying pan shoals due to mainly fuel costs and partly due to the fact that most of the wrecks are up this way. The east side of Cape lookout has some real good 100'plus dives(really blue water)

 

[fussoverthis]

Checked out wilmingtondiving.com. What an informative site! I watched one video on the Rosin wreck. Looks very interesting not to mention all the fish around there.

Is North Carolina diving very cold? What would you recommend in terms of wetsuits? I get cold in the water fairly easily.

Thanks!

 

[redox]

depends on time of year. some times in the summer you wish to find a thermocline and its just hot. I have seen all kinds of different conditions from year to year. I have dove the day before Christmas and the water was 65 40miles off shore. NC diving is really diverse and dangerous. There are so many wrecks out there I will only see such a small portion in my life. We like to just drop anchor and dive down and pic up the anchor and drift till we find something

 

[ferg822]

Is there reef diving there? What kinds of fish and oceanlife is there. I would like to go diving in the OBX

 

[redox]

yes we do have tons of live bottom. Ive seen all kinds of tropical fish out there including the pacific Black volitan lion. There gorgonias purple,yellow ,red. several species of hard coral,both lps and sps. tons of snails and hermits. The wreck diving is just about the best in the world, lots of ships and in lots of different depths. On some days the vis is so good you can see the deck of the shipwrecks from the dive boat.(50'vis)

 

[Freed]

There are reefs that far north?

 

[redox]

yes. Ive seen reef as far north as the Chespeake bay bridge tunnel

 

[Freed]

Wow, I thought there were only reefs in the Florida coast area. When I was diving out about 2-300 feet along West Palm beach I thought that was as far north as a reef could live. That is just too cool.

 

[cybrsufr]

I think it really depends on how you define a reef. I have been diving the NC Shipwrecks for several years, and while there is a reef environment (from the shipwrecks and such), I have never really seen what I would call a true reef much north of Florida. The diving out of Morehead City/Beaufort NC is some of the best wreck diving anywhere in the US and compares to the best sites around the world. During the summer the temps range from upper 70's to mid 80's. Even during late November and Early December, even though air temps are in the 40's, the water temp in the Gulf Stream is still in the mid to lower 70's, still warm enough that all that is needed is a 3mm wet suit with a hooded vest if you get cold easy. I only use my 3mm and am fine up until towards the end of December. visibility depends on the weather, but usually it ranges from 60 feet to over 100 feet. I have on two occasions dove when I could see all the way from the Bow to the Stern of the Caribsea wreck, that would be close to 200 feet of visibility. Here are some picts of a few of the shipwrecks out of Morehead City area.

<font color="sienna">WreckDiver </font> </b>
<i><font size="1"><font color="teal">aka: CyBrSuFr</font> </font> </i>

 

[redox]

those are good pics. I used to live in Richmond and have relatives there . I now live where you dive on vacation You have seen the glory of our coast lucky you You should sometime dive off the beaten path and you might see the reefs I speak of. Yes there is not as mach diversity of coral species(sps)but the diversity of other species is emmense. Maybe you havent had the time to see it as you are on vacation and when you plan ahead we all know what can happen (murphys law) The east side of the cape that you dove on is awsome and the caribsea is one of the best sights in the summer to see species unusual to our waters

 

[cybrsufr]

I would be very interested in diving some of the reefs then. I did not even know they were there and I have been diving that area for 4 years or so. Are they more towards Wilmington or further south of Morehead. I would love to check them out before it gets too cold this year.

<font color="sienna">WreckDiver </font> </b>
<i><font size="1"><font color="teal">aka: CyBrSuFr</font> </font> </i>

 

[redox]

they are all around on the east side as well as down south to wilm. I have a hanheld gps just full of coordinates. Do you guys have your own boat or do you charter? If you charter its gonna be tough to get a local capn to go off the beaten path. most of the good live bottoms are due south of morehead. Northwest places has some good ones. by the looks of your gear it must have been cool when you dove the Caribsea?

 

[cybrsufr]

I have never seen it really cold on the wrecks. A couple of times I have hit a midwater thermocline that dropped to about 70 degrees, but it was only like 15ft thick and when you got under it, the temps were back to the upper 70's. I always wear a 3mm wet suit and gloves regardless of what the temps are strictly for protection from the Wrecks. I do a lot of full penetration dives, so there are numerous pieces of metal and debris to get cut and scratched up on, so I choose to protect my self. I also usually have a 40cf pony of EAN50 for Deco, Reels, Lights, Knives, Lift Bags, etc. Most of the time I am on charters out of Olympus Diving or Discovery Diving in Beaufort/Morehead City. I wish I had my own boat and it is in the plans for the future. Maybe one of these days I will find someone going out that way with their own boat and be able to hit some of those places. How far offshore are most of the reefs? Are they out in the GS?

<font color="sienna">WreckDiver </font> </b>
<i><font size="1"><font color="teal">aka: CyBrSuFr</font> </font> </i>

 

[redox]

the gs influxes into 50ft water dept in the summer depending on the predominate winds . sw is best. sw makes the vis on the east side low just as a noreaster clouds up the west side. its all relative . these live bottoms are easilly found with fish finders. We have discovered many of them by seeing an obstruction on the finder and trying to dive down and see what is there. sometimes nothing so we pic up the ancor and drift walk it till we see something. and sometimes you dont find anything and we all know you dont want to bounce dive so you can only do this a few times in a day trip depending on dive tables. Pm me and maybe we can talk further about this.