Outer Banks dive ops & any tips?

[BoomerNJ]

Hey all,

I am planning a trip to the Outer Banks, NC. Any suggestions on who to use for a dive operator? There will be 5 - 10 divers in my group, all fairly new, but at least AOW certified. I saw one trip report that was great from GlockGuy & he mentioned Outer Banks Dive Center, whom I have already contacted. I just want to see if anyone has any other suggestions...

Thanks all!

Chris

[Lulubelle]

What part of the Outer Banks do you want to go to? What time of year? I only have recommendations for the "southern" outer banks, Morehead area. Your options will depend on the time of year you are going.

[ScubaDude]

Bobby and Renate Edwards run a nice 6 pack boat out of Atlantic Beach on the Atlantis IV.

[BoomerNJ]

We're planning on the week of May 9th next year, and we're planning on Morehead City...

Thanks guys!

[fireflock]

The area you're looking at is called the Crystal Coast by tourism folks (vs the outer banks), so that might help in your search. Basically, your choices boil down to if you want a bigger boat (more people, but more stable in seas) or a 6-pack. From there, the 2 largest big boat ops are Discovery Diving in Beaufort and Olympus Diving in Morehead. They are in different towns, but only 5min away from each other. They both dive the same wrecks and I think they both do a nice job. For six packs, in most cases you need to round up a group (up to 6, duh) to make it work. The one exception is a 6-pack at Discovery where they sell seats. There is a full list of all ops on the front page of ncdivers.com

GoDiveNC has some good info from someone who used to run the shop at Olympus.

May 9 is still early in the season, so you might have a little bit of trouble finding weekday trips. My advice, if you only have a small group of divers, is to be flexible and try to jump on with a larger group that is also diving for the week (if there is one). Committing to a trip can encourage others to jump on board, but it can also leave you committed to a trip that may not get enough divers to run. It's not usually a problem in the summer, but it can be a problem early and late in the season.

Hope that helps a little.

Rich

[BoomerNJ]

Thanks a lot Rich, that helps a ton...

I picked that week to beat some of the in-season rates for rentals & stuff... That part is working out nicely. I spoke with Olympus already & thanks to you I have another shop to call to double check them & their rates. I appreciate it!

[shawnwill36]

whats the vis like in nc? and what kind of marine life can you expect to see?

[georoc01]

I was down in Morehead City over July 4th holiday, diving with Diver Down and stayed at the hotel next door.

Vis was about 50' that week, I hear it can be much higher or lower depending on the weather.

Marine life? Well, we saw lots of Lionfish. Much bigger than the ones in Australia. Big rays, Sand Tiger Sharks. Went face to face with a barracuda as I swam through the baitfish on one of the wrecks.

[fireflock]

Video is better than a description, so here is some footage from a trip in May 2007 (not mine, from a friend).

YouTube - Swampfest 2007

To be fair, we had a pretty great day as far as conditions go at depth. It was a bit bumpy on the surface.

I'm the guy cruising down the anchor line with white fins.

Rich