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| Phil... |
 Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:55 pm |
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My wife and I are planning going to the Outer Banks, next May. She
has her AOW and I should be OW by then. Would going in early May be
'too early' for the season?
We'd like to hit some of the wrecks before the summer crowds show up,
but is early May too early?
Also, would I need AOW to dive? Or are there enough wrecks for us if
I have only OW?
Phil |
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| 1hogrider... |
| Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:04 pm |
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Phil wrote:
Quote: My wife and I are planning going to the Outer Banks, next May. She
has her AOW and I should be OW by then. Would going in early May be
'too early' for the season?
We'd like to hit some of the wrecks before the summer crowds show up,
but is early May too early?
Also, would I need AOW to dive? Or are there enough wrecks for us if
I have only OW?
Phil
Much depends on which shop you go with and what they require.
Here is a website you can go to for one of the operators in that area.
http://www.outerbanksdiving.com/
Here is another operator in the Morehead City/Beaufort, NC area. I have
been out with them many times and they run a good operation.
http://discoverydiving.com/
This is another good operation in the Morehead City/Beaufort, NC area.
I have been out with them also.
http://olympusdiving.com/
Just be aware many of the boat rides are rather long and plan on being
out all day. It is not unusual to take 2-3 hours to get to the site
depending on the boat, weather, and the dive site. Also, it can get
kinda rough. If either of you are prone to sea sickness, I would
suggest you take appropriate measure ahead of time. You would also want
to take some food and drinks out with you because there is nothing on
the boat. Also, you will need two tanks each. I don't know of any of
the boats in that area that have an on board compressor.
May is not a bad time to dive in that area. It is starting to warm up
and most of the good sites are well enough into the Gulf Stream you can
practically dive them year round. Just be aware of the weather and sea
conditions. I have been blown out of quite a few dives there. Just the
luck of the draw.
Andy |
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| Art Greenberg... |
| Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:08 pm |
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On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:55:40 -0500, Phil wrote:
Quote: My wife and I are planning going to the Outer Banks, next May. She
has her AOW and I should be OW by then. Would going in early May be
'too early' for the season?
We'd like to hit some of the wrecks before the summer crowds show up,
but is early May too early?
Also, would I need AOW to dive? Or are there enough wrecks for us if
I have only OW?
Phil
I've done some diving out of Hatteras. My comments are for wrecks south
of Cape Hatteras, out of the influence of the Labrador Current. I don't
know about conditions north of the Cape, other than I think you can
expect the water to be colder and the visibility to be lower.
The conditions in May are pretty variable. The water temperature will
probably be in the low 70s and you might get lucky with good visibility.
IMO, the best conditions can be most consistently found in late July or
early August. The weather is most likely to be calm then, so you'll have
good seas. Visibility that time of year can exceed 100 feet and water
temperature will be around 78-80 degrees. You can find equally good
conditions under the surface as late as early October, but you have to
be lucky with the weather. That time of year it is common for the wind
to be up and so you'll have a rougher sea to deal with. I was there for
a week this past October and didn't get to dive even once due to lousy
weather.
Out of Hatteras, you will be diving in the 90-130 foot range. So AOW is
appropriate. Even more significant, you can encounter big seas and decent
current both near the surface and at depth. I'd suggest being sure
you're comfortable with that before you fall off the boat.
--
Art Greenberg
artg at eclipse dot net |
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| Phil... |
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:49 am |
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Guest
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On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:08:50 -0600, Art Greenberg <none at (no spam) none.invalid>
wrote:
Quote: Out of Hatteras, you will be diving in the 90-130 foot range. So AOW is
appropriate. Even more significant, you can encounter big seas and decent
current both near the surface and at depth. I'd suggest being sure
you're comfortable with that before you fall off the boat.
Thanks for the tips, guys.
My wife and I may have to change our plans a little bit. Either wait
a little longer before we go or simply visit the 'easier' wrecks.
Phil |
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