2009 Reports

Jan 14-15 2009: The day after it snowed enough to shut down the bridges here in Carteret County,
we had the privilege of taking a group out diving! YES, it was cold! The icicles never melted all day!

Feb-Mar 2009
We hear that there is some really cold water on the bottom offshore- down by Wilmington, NC it was 44 degrees on the bottom! It must have been sudden, because there were dead fish and dead lionfish in the area. Reports off of Hatteras agree that the bottom for some reason is unreasonably cool.

December 2008
A bad dive report for someone. Likely that boat is worth over $200K. Sure, it's not likely to happen, but "what if?"
http://uwex.us

April 2009

	Location	Visibility	Temp	Comments
April 4, 2009	Papoose	30-35	68/65	A bumpier day than we would have liked, but not everyone got sick! We chose to give a wide berth to some irritable commercial fishing guys... no need to wind up on the Jerry Springer show. Never, ever say "I don't get seasick"
April 4, 2009	Papoose	30-35	68/65
April 5	Schurz Spar	30-35, (less in the baitfish) 20-25	65 58	This Shreck hood is the coolest one we've seen in years!	Today is what yesterday should have been. Gentle seas and no barfing. Respectful indifference is the best way to handle those same fishing guys- our crowd came here to dive the Schurz!!
April 5	Schurz Spar	30-35, (less in the baitfish) 20-25	65 58
Apr 18	Long Day Lobster Rocks	10-15	64/cooler	A nice day to go long for lobster. The water was a bit chilly, and vis a bit low, but that didn't stop the hunters from bringing home dinner!
Apr 19	Papoose Rocks	35	66ish	About a mile before getting to the dive site the water got nice and blue... but it also had a good current. Still do-able, just a bit more challenging.
Apr 25	Schurz Sub	50/baitfish 50+	mid 60's	A nice day on the ocean, and air temps are getting warmer! Tons of baitfish on the Schurz reduced vis on the wreck quite a bit. (didn't slow down the spearfishing, though!)
Apr 26	Papoose	70' on top, 40' on the bottom	mid 60's	Even nicer ocean conditions today, as well as increased vis! A good number of sandtigers were hanging around the wreck, and divers saw a frogfish at the stern. Now that's a badass purse! Every girl needs a spyderco...

May 2009

Special Offer! Click for details

	Location	Visibility	Temp	Comments
May 10	Papoose Sub	40 30	72/68 70/68	Good shark activity on the Papoose, and the water is warmer than it would be up north!
May 11	Box Wreck Hardees	35 30	73/69 72/68	Not much current today, and also not much wave action on the lingering swell.
May 12	Aeolus Spar	35	68/72	Somewhat warmer on the bottom...

May 16	Sub Spar	35 40	71/69 71/68	--- there's some weather out there...
May 17	Aeolus Bow Spar	40/20	72/69	That's not my dog... What do you call a seasick Frenchman? Le'Spew!
				5/17 Video Clip
May 23	Schurz	60' on top, 35' on the bottom	74/73	A beautiful sunrise- caught from the car at the top of the bridge this morning. Seas were a little sloppy, but underwater it's always nicer. Some noticable current on the wreck. We now offer valet parking for scooters...
May 24	Hardee's	45'	72	Who says Octopus don't bite? Friends don't let friends play with 8-legged creatures! Maybe the guys who dove with a Hall of Fame diver have let it go to their heads! ; )	Scooter parking lot.
May 25	Naeco/Papoose	100'+ 70'	77	The wreck was visible at 45' and you could see the whole wreck at depth- clearer water on the bottom, one diver described it as 'high-definition' visibility! Every year the deck structure is getting weaker- storm swells are having an impact. A line of squalls pushed us in-shore to dive the Papoose. Somewhat less visibility, but sharks and rays kept things interesting.
May 26	Spar/Aeolus	50'	73	Sharks are always interesting, and they usually cooperate on these wrecks!

May 28	Lobster Rocks	80'/60'	76	The boys from Charlotte strike again! Their lobster prowess remains unmatched.
May 29	Schurz/ Sub	60'	74	Pretty dives on both locations- lots of fish and blue, clear water.
May 30	Naeco Sailboat	80' 60'	76-77		The DJ at Jack's just said what? Somewhat swelly on the ride out, but after the first dive the wind and waves faded out to reveal nice, calm seas. Good conditions on both dives.
May 31	Box Wreck Ledge	80' 70'	76	Another day of calm seas, and nearly no current. Lionfish are so abundant on the Box Wreck that it seems to be covered with them- on the wreck and in the sand. A few BIG octopus reside in the rocks. The BFDC website has an updated writeup on this wreck, it appears to be a schooner barge. We believe it sank in the hurricane of 1933, and that the Sailboat sank in the same storm.

June 2009

Special Offer! Click for details

	Location	Visibility	Temp	Comments
June 1	Schurz Sub	80'	75/74	A beautiful start to the week
June 2	Papoose Spar	60 40	75/74	Nice dives- with a bit of fishing in-between. Catching Mahi is always a treat on a dive charter!
June 3	Box Wreck Hardees	80 50	77 76	A good current isn't unusual in this area, but the vis is good and the divers know, "don't let go of the down-lines!"
June 4	Papoose Spar	80 50	77/76	Some new divers came down mid-week, and the Papoose/Spar are easy to repeat. Much less current on these southern wrecks.

June 6	Box Wreck Hardees	80' 60'	76/75 74	Gary's big Mahi
June 6	Box Wreck Hardees	80' 60'	76/75 74	Treasures! The Hardees wreck is great for seashells. Fishman John has quite a system for retrieving fish for his aquariums!
June 7	Schurz	60'	76/74	Bruce's fishies Mmmmmmm, pineapple. 6074seas June 7 video clips 6086rolly June 7
				Have the pilings really been here for 30 years?
June 13	Box Wreck	90-100	78	Since the lionfish rodeo put on by Discovery Diving, the population of lionfish on the Box Wreck is greatly diminished.
June 14	Naeco Stern	100', 80' on the bottom	78/77	Shaved Lionfish, pre-dinner. An overheard comment: "that lionfish is kinda small... " And the response: "Well, I eat brim!" LOOK! THERE! wow. When we see mahi, FISH.
June 14	Naeco Stern	100', 80' on the bottom	78/77	There's a frog in my stuff.	That's a fabulous look, Fireball!
				Luke Jumping June 14 video clip
June 15	Naeco	80'	79/76	Achtner beckons. There is no better place to start a week of diving than the Naeco! Ever wonder what kind of responsibility a group leader has?
June 16	Schurz	80'	79/77	As always, a good dive on the Schurz. Great visibility, despite the rainy, overcast conditions.

June 18	Papoose Sailboat	100' 80'	78/77	WOW. Great vis on the Papoose. Some swell and wind kept the boat unsteady, but it was still a great day. 6339bob June 18 video clip 6348swell June 18 video clip
June 19	FarEst Tnkr Duhamel	80'-50' 15'	77/74 76/74	The Far East Tanker is still quite sharky. It's amazing to see how large the engines were on this ship. Diving the 'Due" is gambling with vis- this time it was good enough!
June 20	Naeco Stern Sailboat	90'-70' 80'	79/76	A huge school of about 20 cobia were following a big stingray cruising the wreck. Did anyone see that pink bird? While hanging over the Sailboat, the divers were buzzed by both a small blacktip shark and a small sandbar shark. There were also a couple of Wahoo off in the distance.
June 21	Papoose Sub	90' 80'	79/75	Albacore- catch and release. Nice dives on both wrecks. 6368mahiIN June 21video clip
June 22	Papoose	100', dropped a bit on the 2nd dive	78/75	Getting in that last early-morning text... The first dive of this week was great- not perfect seas, but fantastic vis on the wreck. A few sharks hanging around the big break area.
June 23	Normannia Cassimir	100' 80'	79/77 80/77		Calm seas on the way out, and on the way home. Great vis on both wrecks- scooters made it easy to tour both of the wrecks. The Aquatic Safaris boat was also anchored on the Normannia- with a few Atlantis Friends (Diehards!) on board- we'll see them in August on the pink boat!
June 24	Proteus ~~Caribe Sea~~ Duhamel	100' 5' 10-5'	80/78 78/77		Again, calm Seas. A great day to travel to the Proteus! Some breeze picked up on the way home. The Caribe Sea had poor vis, so we moved on to the Duhamel- also poor vis, but we dove it anyway. While very different from the Proteus, still an interesting dive.
June 25	Naeco Bow Schurz	100' 100' FANTASTIC VISIBILITY- like hi-definition! The blue water went all the way to the bottom!	80/77	Before and after. Yummy! Little Rachel is excited about the NC wrecks! 6387calm1 June 25 video clip 6405calmleaving June 25 video clip
June 26	Schurz	80'	80/76	Look! The first wrist-mounted dive computer... who says the 'edge' is the oldest dive computer in use today? A good dive today, but the seas were somewhat sloppier than the week has been so far. Anyone ever been beat up by a spadefish?
				6415notcalm June 26 video clip
June 28	Cassimir Ledge	80'	80/74	It's not lost, Gina! The WR2 was really pretty again today. Calm seas made the ride simply fantastic! A few lobster were collected on the ledge- there's more to NC diving than just shipwrecks!
June 29	Schurz Sub	99' 60'	80/76	A sloppy start to the day made the ride out a bit restless, but as the day went on, the wind petered out and waves diminished substantially. Excellent underwater conditions persist. Idea of the week: if prone to seasickness, bring mouthwash to freshen up after chumming! Fantastic!
June 30	Naeco Papoose	99 60	80/76		It's one thing to know they're out there... yet another to have the evidence in the palm of your hand. Yes, that's a White Shark tooth- probably the upper left front- likely the 3rd tooth from the middle. No kidding. This is likely from a 15' shark.
				Within a week before finding the above tooth, this photo was said to have been taken by a fishing boat out near the Papoose. Uncanny.

July 2009

Special Offer! Click for details

	Location	Visibility	Temp	Comments
July 1	Box Wreck Hardees	80 70	81/76	Choppy seas made a course to the Box Wreck an easy ride- moderately strong current, but great vis and lots of action on both wrecks.

July 3	Schurz	80	81/78	A bluespotted coronetfish is hanging out on the wreck. Some big lionfish still remain after a recent rodeo event. The water is nice and warm! Did someone lose a nice stainless anchor with the chain attached?
July 4	Lobster Wrk Cassimir	80 40	81/76 83/73	Beautiful conditions on the Lobster Wreck- frogfish, lionfish and lobster! On the WR2, the bottom conditions were rather different- cool and lower vis. Who needs a refresher course in navigation?
July 5	Papoose Spar	70 40	80/76	Sharks hanging out above the wreck posed for photos- but more were seen on the Spar! A nice Mahi got in the boat....

July 7	Schurz Spar	60 40	80/76	Lots of fish on the Schurz- but bigger schools- not the baitfish that can hide the wreck. Who would rather fish from the boat than dive with sharks on the Spar? (we let the stinky go).	How uncommon is it to catch the Back half of an albacore while trolling around the Spar?
July 7	Schurz Spar	60 40	80/76	The USS Nassau- a Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship passes us by offshore. She is the last of that class of ships, and has been in service since 1979. See more photos, facts and history on its official website.
July 8	Papoose Sub	50 50	80/75	A noticeable current ran across the Papoose, stirring up the vis a bit. Less current on the Sub-both good dives. A good size wahoo was caught while fishing between wrecks.

July 10	Spar	40-45'	78	The little guy on that bow is what Larry must have been like as a kid.... and the SNACKTABLE this week has been phenomenal! Harry can fit 3 week's worth of dive gear in the Porsche- he travels well!
July 11	Proteus Caribe Sea	50-60' 40'	80/76 78	A fantastic day to the Proteus- especially with Jade's cookies (some people get very possessive with Jade's cookies!) Great conditions as well on the Caribe Sea- nice big sharks hanging around and a small frogfish was filmed- in HD no less!

July 14	Papoose Schurz	50'	79/73		Our first Canadian group has arrived, and they brought Obama's souvenir cookies from the Moulin de Provence bakery in Ottawa. Although the forecast for the week seemed dire, the first day was fantastic- both on the surface, and below!
July 15	Caribe Sea	35-40'	80/78	Another 'against the forecast' beautiful day. Lots of shark's teeth were found on this wreck, and it was worth making 2 dives on. Mike from the Midnight Express snapped this picture of Bob in front of the boilers while diving. "Hey, honey- will you pick up that shark's tooth for me?"
July 16	Spar	40-45'	78/76	Breathtaking conditions on the Spar today- not only is is a fully intact wreck, but the marine life is spectacular. Multiple bait-balls seemed to block out the sun, and there were too many sharks to count.
July 17	Spar Indra	50' 45'	79/76 80/78	The Spar dive was worth repeating, and we once again foiled the forecast by making it out and back before the weather arrived. The Indra has become a much different dive in recent years- with the stern superstructure pushed off into the sand, and a new sailboat/reef put down by Discovery Diving in June leans against the starboard side midway down the wreck.
				Although the food is good here, no one wants to end up at breakfast!
July 19	Naeco Bow Naeco Stern	70'	80/76	What a great system the boys have developed for spearing lionfish! "L.E.A.K." (Lionfish Extractor Apparatus Keeper)- awesome!
July 20	Box Wreck Hardees	45-50'	80/75	A shot of the causeway as the boat departs in the morning, (and we all love Tammy's cookies!) We left the afternoon weather behind when going home.
July 20	Box Wreck Hardees	45-50'	80/75	There was a touch of weather offshore today, but off in the distance. The dives were good- not much current and lots of marine life. Don't they call that a 'spearless' gun? ; )
This Mahi came home for dinner!
July 21	Naeco Schurz	80' 60'	80/76	But this wahoo got away... Great sea conditions for day 2 of the week- both above and below the surface.
July 22	Caribe Sea	25-30'	81/77	Lower vis than we're used to, but everyone made 2 good quality dives. MANY sharks teeth were brought up, and at least 8 LARGE sand tigers were cruising around just under the hang line. The guys in that center-console fishing boat took our advice and headed in-shore just in the nick of time... that storm cloud enveloped the wreck just after we left!
July 22	Caribe Sea	25-30'	81/77
July 23	Naeco Schurz	50' 60'	80/79 80/76	An overcast day, but we still made it to the Naeco. A moderate swell kept the boat somewhat rolly. Vis was a little better on the Schurz...	Mmmm... lemon Tammy cookies!
July 24	A turnaround day... this is the wrong view for so early in the morning!
July 25	Papoose Sub	50'	80/77 80/75	A light swell remains from yesterday, but the vis was good and there were a few sharks around. The engine room area of the Papoose is very interesting. Great dive on the Sub!
July 26	Aeolus Spar	50'	80/76	The Aeolus is a wreck-lover's wreck- one of Rachel's favorites! That bait-ball with the sharks in it is still hanging over the Spar.

July 28	Spar	50'	80/79	Unfortunately, the weather has NOT been cooperating this week! But our dive on the Spar was quite memorable. It's a good thing that there is so much else to do while staying here at the beach!

April 2009

May 2009 Special Offer! Click for details

June 2009 Special Offer! Click for details

July 2009 Special Offer! Click for details

GO TO AUGUST 2009