The outerbanks of North Carolina is one of the premier wreck diving
destinations in the world. The gulf stream currents extend up the North
Carolina coast to the diamond shoals bringing warm water temps, excellent
visibility and aquatic life that you normally only find in the Caribbean.
Add to that an amazing assortment of ship wrecks from WWII and beyond and
you have a wreck diver’s paradise. It is no wonder that this area is
consistently ranked among the best dive destinations for wreck diving, large
animal encounters, and best dive operation by Rodale’s. The best part is
that all of this is within driving distance of PA making it an ideal road
trip for an affordable weekend getaway. |
|
| Dates: June 1st-3rd |
We will be diving Fri., Sat. and Sunday. Accommodations are Thurs. thru
Saturday nights |
|
| Accommodations: |
We have reserved rooms at the Olympus Dive Lodge in Morehead city. The dive
lodge is practically on the dock so it is just a matter of rolling out of
bed and getting on the boat. The lodge is bunk style and you must provide
your own bedding (sleeping bag and pillow) which makes the trip a little
more fun – SCUBA camp anyone?? |
|
| Dive Operator: |
We will be diving with Olympus Dive Center. They have very professional
staff and operate two well run dive boats. Our dives will be conducted
aboard the Midnight Express. She is a 48ft aluminum crew boat with a
cruising speed of 19 knots, a heated and air conditioned cabin, fresh water
shower, a “fins on” ladder, and full size benches to set up your gear. They
have by far the most experience diving the wrecks in these waters and have
one of the smoothest running operations that I have ever seen. Nitrox and
air fills are available at the shop. |
|
| Diving: |
Our diving will be focused on some of the historically significant ship
wrecks of this region. We plan on diving wrecks such as the German U-boat
U-352 that was depth charged by the USCG Icarus in 1942. The Papoose
(Hutton?, check out the recent WDM for the tanker mix-up), and the W.E.
Hutton were both tankers that were sunk by the U-124 during the same year.
The Schurz was a US gunboat that was sunk after a collision in 1918. These
are some of my favorite wrecks in NC not only because they are historically
significant, but because they are excellent dives and can still yield
artifacts (we recovered boiler bricks form the Papoose last year with
writing on them). In addition to the wrecks, expect to come face to face
with sand tiger sharks and be surrounded by schools of jacks and spadefish,
in addition to all the familiar tropical species on the wrecks such as
angelfish and moray eels.
Spearfishing is allowed and common species include amberjacks, African
Pompano, flounder, and grouper.
|
|
| Cost: |
The best part about diving NC is that it is affordable! We have priced this
trip at $420 which includes three days of diving with Olympus Dive Center
aboard the Midnight Express. Also included are three nights (Thurs. thru
Sat.) accommodations at the Olympus Dive Lodge. A deposit of $100 is
required to reserve your spot. You are not going to find better wreck diving
for this price |
|
| Additional Costs: |
Fills are your responsibility, and are available right at the dock from
Olympus (air or 30% Nitrox) or you can bring your own. You are also
responsible for providing your own gear.
As most wreck lie in the 100-130 fsw range, we are requiring advanced
certification for this trip, so for those of you who do not have your
advanced card yet, you will need to knock that out in advance. |
|
| If you are interested in joining us for this year’s trip and want more information give John a call at the shop (610-631-2288) or you can e-mail Brandon directly. I hope to see you in the water soon. |
|
