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Random Quote: A bad day Fishin, is better than a good day at work.
Just changed boats from 27ft SeaRay cruiser to new Sea Hunt 232 cc. Haven't been diving in 9 years but determined to start back. Got spoiled diving Truk, Palau, Guam, Hawaii, Okinawa, etc., all those years overseas so don't want to pay someone $100 or more to go where they want to take me and no refund if weather is rougher than my liking and decide to opt out. Initial questions:
1. Does my 23ft Sea Hunt have the legitimate ability to take me to the wrecks off Morehead? I'd be going out Bogue Inlet or run up to Beaufort Inlet. I'd start with the wrecks closer in before ever attempting something like the U-boat.
2. Any idea of what the run times are to a sampling of some of the wrecks? Any suggestions for "beginner" trips?
3. Having my own boat allows selectivity on when to go and what conditions I'd have to run in but what time of year could the best weather conditions be looked for? I really don't know how long the dive season extends here assuming I've got a 5-6 mm. suit.
4. What would I need in terms of ground tackle to anchor (length of rode, etc. ) and are any of the wrecks marked by buoys or even have mooring buoys to tie off on, ala Truk?
Thanks for any input/advice as I am just getting started on this "scheme" as my wife calls it.
Can't help you with the diving questions....but the 232 Sea Hunt is a godd seaworthy boat that I'd be willing to take 40 miles in good seas no problem.
In my opinion for the NC. area you need at least a 23fter for offshore but there are days that conditions are just plain flat. If you're going to dive the offshore wrecks in NC. ..for the most part they're "deep dives" and I would recomend a pony and a nice mix to go with it. I been diving the NC. and Va. offshore wrecks for many years now and if you haven't been divin recently in that enviroment I would make several dives not as deep so you can get use to that emviroment. Most of the deep wrecks hold lg. fish and also lg. hungry sharks (sadtigers for the most part) that are train to get their fish from dives like you and I and they are wall to wall. Remember that on a deep dive there is a looong way to the top and when you get there you'll be in the water for a bit and things can get out of hand very, very fast when trying to land your dinner. The best rig for those conditions is a blue water gear or find a shallow wreck or ledge if you don't want to deal with all the hungry pets. Good luck to you and don't forget your wreck ancher.
I was just about to ask a similar question. I recently bought a 2001 Sea Hunt Triton 200. I haven't taken it offshore yet, still getting to know the boat and rigging it with the appropriate gear.
I've been diving for a while in NC. We dove Radio Island jetty way too much b/c of weather last year. Let me know if you need some info about diving out of the Beaufort area. I figured my boat would work for Ar-315, Ar-320 & Ar-330 when the weather was right. All are b/t 45fsw and ~65fsw. (aka the Parker, Novelty and Indra. Waypoints below). All are fairly close to the inlet. In a 3mm wetsuit w/ hood we dove through late October last year. The water stays warm for quite a while. If you want some warm-up dives, try Radio Island Jetty or Shackleford jetty at high slack. We should be in that area diving next weekend to 22nd.
The Indra is only a 40m or so run out of the inlet and i'm sure your 23 is quicker than the dive boats. AR-315 is even closer.
I've not seen a mooring bouy on the wrecks yet. Normally you "hook" the wreck then send a diver down to "tie in". Of course someone has to stay topside that can operate the boat and keep watch in case a diver comes up off the line. I was personally thinking about doing a weekday "drift" dive near Shackleford to see if I could salvage some lost tackle (chain) for this use.
I got 5 dives in this past weekend on the inshore AR's. Friday we dove 320 twice, vis was 15-20'. Mostly old bridge pieces and rubble. The bridge has quite a bit of overhead structure. Sunday we went to 342 and that was a great dive. Vis was 20' and there was a bubch of clusters of concrete pipe that really created a nice reef. Huge Spade fish and sheeps head. We stopped by 315 on the way back to Beaufort and the vis was zero from 20' to the bottom, so we didn't stay down long. The Liberty ship is a really good dive when the water is clear. But it is touch and go.
We got our limit on flounder both days. All this from a 20' skiff. It is not the keys or bahamas, but once you get used to the lower visibility, it is actually a lot of fun.
Get a good long chain. You have to find the structure on your fishfinder and then drop your hook. Check it when you get to the bottom, and then be prepared to unhook it yourself when you get someone on the boat. And if you need an anchor, you can always find a couple down there.
When you run to ar342, do you run all the way South from Beaufort inlet or do you go out of Bogue inlet & north? All the charts I have show Bogue Inlet as closed to navigation.
It was a beautiful couple of days, so running there in the ocean was a snap. I have found that if it is too rough to run a 20 footer in the ocean comfortably, it's too rough to dive inshore. Not only is it a pain to get geared up at anchor, the vis usually stinks.
The further you can get away from Beaufort Inlet and the higher the tide (preferabley rising), the better vis you will find inshore. I have also found that if there is any swell, even if they is no chop on the top, the bottom gets stirred up, even when it is clear on the top.
We are up here in Durham, and my daughter wants one more dive trip before before going to college. So (weather permitting) we are coming down for the day on Wednesday. We will try 315 first and if the vis is bad keep moving down the beach to 320 or 340 until we find good water. High tide is around noon that day. I will also have my boys, 14 and 16 with me, so I will be more divemaster than hunter.
I will be coming out of the Beaufort inlet. Send me a private message and I will give you my cell# if you want to join us there.
one more thing...when we got down to 340, there were a lot of 20' ish boats fishing on the AR and the rocks closer in, and I bet they came out of bogue. I don't believe it could be closed, too many marinas and pleasure boats in Swansboro and EI.
We were down over the weekend and Monday+Tuesday with a new diver; had to be back in Raleigh for work today (Wednesday). Hope you had a good dive.
We dove Radio Island Sat & Sun. Nice viz and caught a couple new trops for the tank. Monday we dove shackleford jetty and spent almost 2hrs in the water, viz was a little lower than what we saw at Radio but the current is more managable for a longer period. Lots of bigger Atlanic Spadefish there. Also a big school of juvinile baracuda. Tuesday morning we launched the boat with intentions of trying cape lookout but turned back around after listening to the WX channel for 5mins. A pretty nice t-storm blew threw shortly after. I found a dry stack spot for my boat at Town Creek, so we'll probably be diving even more often now. Send me a PM the next time you're down. We're always looking for new dive buddies and spots.
A shrimp boat also hit the Radio jetty on Monday; posted some photos of that in another thread. Probably would have been a noisy dive had we dove that jetty Monday.
diving 
