27 replies to this topic

[Jerrymxz]

Well day one is in the book! the seas were actually calm but still more motion for many then expected but it didn't dampen the mood when on our first dive we hit the U-352. the Vis was about 60 feet and no current on the wreck and only a very slight one on the hang line. I saw two small eels and a couple of puffer fish and the always present clouds of bait fish.

After that we motored over to the Spar for a great dive with the Sand Tigers. I lost count at a dozen and there were 4 or 5 on the fore deck by the crane boom. Several times the bait fish were so thick I couldn't see the other side of the ship. All in all a very good day

[Diver Ed]

One of our cool guests today!

[Diver Ed]

My dive guide, Tutor, and protector from the denizens of the deep. Thanks for sharing the dives today Brad.

[dustbowl diver]

Nice Pic of the "Special Guest!" Thanks for posting!!

[Jerrymxz]

If someone with a good picture of the whole group taken by the dive shop would send me a copy I would appreciate it. We had a great time for all those who couldn't make it! (just to rub it in a bit)

[Diver Ed]

My first Single Divers experience...........

I started following SD back in March, and it didnt take too long to see that this was most likely a very interesting and fun group of people. I soon there after signed up for a couple of trips. This weekend ended my wait, and now my first SD trip is a memory and an experience. I will again thank Jerry, for setting up my nitrox computer, after I left the manual at home. A thank you to Brad, as my dive buddy for the weekend, and a big thanks to Kamala for all of the extra time and effort that you put into things both before our arrival, and once we got there. As for the diving, it was great. As someone who loves sharks, the sand tigers were quite a sight. Ed

[Jerrymxz]

We are back at work after a great couple of days diving the historic Ship Wrecks of North Carolina and rubbing fins with the Atlantic Sand Tiger sharks. I wanted to get the thread going for the report but I'm not ready to put my version up just yet. Hopefully in a couple of days things will settle out enough to put it together.

[dive_sail_etc]

Holy cats! This trip was far better than I could have hoped. Good to excellent vis on every wreck, LOTS of docile sharks and some of the calmest surface conditions that the NC cape ever gets. (Think a good day off the FL panhandle, dang near flat chop with long low rollers.)

I hope to have resized photos ready to post in the gallery over the next day or so, and encourage other bubble blowing shutterbugs to contribute also. A tip of the hat to all the members who helped make this a most memorable experience, and of course Kamala for putting it all together!

[dive_sail_etc]

Okay, for some reason AT&T has decided to throttle down the local DSL connection to an obnoxious crawl. I managed a few pics and will try later in hopes the mystery packet traffic jam will by then have abated.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

Thanks for sharing what you could get uploaded, Brad! Keep 'em coming, as your connection allows!

[dive_sail_etc]

Okay, all my pics that were fit to post (IMHO) are now up in the Gallery. Thanks again to all who helped make this a memorable experience!

[cat fish]

Brad... thank you for the terrific photos! Wow!!

[scubaclint]

Now that I'm back and the gear is all dry, I guess it's time to put together a trip report. This was my first time diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic. I can see why they call it "Big Boy" diving.

On Saturday, we dove the U352 Sub and the Spar.

Sunday brought the USS Schurz and the Aeolus.

On Monday we dove Live Bottom (reef) and the Spar (for the 2^nd time).

All of the dives had good visibility. On the Schurz, it seemed visibility was mainly limited by fish. I especially enjoyed the Spar and was glad we dove it twice. The sharks were great and I was able to find a tooth. We also saw lots of barracuda. They liked to hang out with us while we completed our safety stop. Sea conditions were somewhat rough the first day and getting back on the boat was challenging (I have the scraped and bruised legs as proof). I for one was glad to see calmer seas the next two days.

I posted some pics in the gallery. It was my first time diving with a camera. I seem to have ended up with a lot of sea urchin photos. I guess they moved at a speed that matched my u/w photo skills.

I do have a tip to pass on to fellow novice photographers. When you get out of the water, turn your camera off from shooting video. Otherwise on the next dive you'll find you have a low battery, full memory card, and 30 min of EXCITING camera bucket footage.

Thanks to Heidi and Scott for being my dive buddies. Also thanks to all that looked after me during my sea sickness. Did I mention the first day was rough? All in all, 6 great dives, a good test of skills, one great weekend.

[WreckWench]

Did I mention a direct correlation between loving NC Diving and NOT being sea sick???

The first day was challenging for many of our first timers to NC as managing the sea sickness for those who NEVER GET SEA SICK, leaving at an early hour (6:30am) in order to be the FIRST ON A WRECK, combined with managing getting back on the boat (aka learning to wait for the seas to calm down meaning the ladder is also calm) can be a bit daunting at first. However once you get the hang of it, you can be VERY PROUD of yourself for doing so well!

For the veterans the seas were very calm despite a few vets being a bit queasy the first day due to lack of rest the night before and a very early start on the first day.

I was proud of all our new NC divers...not one of them looked out of control in or out of the water. Not one of them 'dropped' onto diver's heads when we shared a wreck with other boats...and not one of them floundered in the water or lost their bearings in the water column.

I wish I could say the same for several other boats sharing the wrecks with us this trip.

Kudos to our divers...you all did GREAT!!! And all of your diving skills IMPROVED as they stepped up their game on this trip!

It truly is 'big boy and big girl' diving and no one in our group needed to stay on the dock/boat!

[uwfan]

Okay, my report's gonna be short this time.

I like calm waters. NC wrecks are cool. Sharks aren't as scary as I thought (darn, I didn't get to hold any hands!)
Shark teeth, shark teeth, shark teeth!!! (Found some, want more.)

Yep, that about covers it!

Oh yea, liked seeing everyone who I'd met before and in spite of being a bit off my game, got to know some cool new peeps.