Charleston, South Carolina, July 2006.

After diving in the OBX for the first time, I went to Charleston for a few days. I spend one day on the water with Charleston Scuba for a day of diving. One thing about diving here is that you have to go out far to get to a decent dive site. We went 19 miles offshore to dive a "ledge" for out first dive.

"THE INDIGO LEDGES are 70 to 80ft deep and is a great site for Open Water divers. This natural reef line supports a variety of soft corals, sponges and crustaceans. Tropical fish such as the angel are frequent visitors and large pelagics may be seen in the area. The Ledges provide the unique opportunity to drift dive in this area when conditions allow."

Think of the ledge as a place where its 70 feet on the high side, and 80 feet on the deep side. In between there is what looks just like a coral reef you would expect to find in the carribbean. Nooks and crannies, lots of fish to see, corals, shells, etc... The Indigo ledges got their name because it was found by Charleston Scuba 's owner after salvaging a boat called "Indigo". They passed over the ledge either on the way in or out, and must have taken note of the numbers for a later look. I'm glad they did, because this is a nice dive site.

I was really hoping to see a sand tiger shark, but wasn't that lucky. I brought my camera and took a few pics of the sealife. I was diving solo and was the first diver down the line. I looked back to find four divers behind me, all wanting someone else to be the first on the site just in case there was a shark. Viz was carribbean-like, at 60'+, and it was warm....really warm. First in and last out...just the way I like it.

The second dive was supposed to be an artifical reef which had a bunch of piles of rubble, including some old military vehicles and a few larger ships. There were six sport fishing boats on them and they didn't seem too happy to see a dive boat approach. After 30 minutes of trying to find a decent place to hook in, we gave up and went to the wreck of the Frederick W. Day.

"THE FREDERICK W. DAY was a wooden schooner built in 1901 and sank off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina on September 17, 1914, loaded with bags of cement. The bags have formed a reef approximately 200ft long with the top of the reef at 40ft and the bottom at 54ft. There is an abundance of fish and other marine life around the wreck, creating one of the nicest dives off Charleston."

Since I was solo, I buddied up with a diver whose buddy was a little "green" and didn't dive. We were the first in and I immediately noticed a large remora swimming around beneath the boat. He was about 2 1/2 feet long, which I believe is on the large side. As I decended the line, this damn remora was all over me. I think he was trying to latch onto my mask and it was freaking me out. I know they are harmless, but this guy was a pain in my ass.

I got onto the wreck to find most of the actual ship gone. Remaining is a huge heap consisting of of cement, each piece the size and shape of the bag which once contained it. The cement forms the shape of the hull. There was a large anchor on the sand just in front of the bow. Someone obviously tried to raise it, as indicated by the canvas line wrapped around it. Luckily, this attempt was unsuccessful, allowing the anchor to be seen by divers for years to come instead of being in someone's shop or backyard. After 35 minutes, my dive buddy indicated he needed to ascend due to his air supply, so I escorted him to the anchor line and up he went...by himself. I stayed down and tagged along with the Captain and one of his mates. We just kept cruising around the wreck looking for turtles, sharks, or rays. Unfortunately, we saw none. There were thousands of little bait fish swimming all around me, sometimes enveloping me to where I saw almost no light. They swam in unison all around, above and below me. I know that the big fish feed on these litle guys and I was hoping to see some of the big guys dining on these little guys, but no such luck. After an hour dive time, I saw them begin their ascent, so I decided to join them. Ahhh....again the first in and last out.

Here is a link to about a dozen pictures from this trip, which includes the post directly below as well....WreckValley Photo Gallery

Outer Banks NC, July 2006.

I finally got to dive in the Outerbanks. I went down to Kill Devil Hills with my family for a week on the beach. My plan was to dive the U85 but mother nature didn't cooperate and the dive was cancelled the night before. A tropical depression 160 miles offshore made a mess of the surf and caused 8-10' seas. Luckily it only lasted a few days and I got out on an artifical reef called the "advance". We planned on the Jackson, which is a Coast Guard cutter which went down in a hurricane, but the viz. was only 3' according to the DM who went in to set the hook. We moved on to the "Advance" as a backup. I went out with outerbanks dive center in Nags Head, SC, and was truely impressed with their professionalism. They use the boat "Go-Between", which is perfect for diving.

Spade fish and a barracuda (barely visible on the right side near the top, swim above the "Advance" - Formerly USS Worland, PCE-845, WWII patrol craft, 860 tons, 184 ft long, decommissioned in June 1, 1964, subsequently used as a research vessel by Cape Fear Technical Institute. Upper bridge is at 35 to 40 ft with sand at an approximate depth of 80 ft.

I went in first with two fairly new divers, with about 40 dives between them. Since I was diving alone, they teamed me up with these two. The viz on the surface was at least 50 feet, and the water was nice and warm. At about 45' there was a clear thermocline, which reduced the temp. to the mid 60's and viz went to 15'. There was also a moderate current on the wreck. After only15 minutes, this team decided to end their dive, either due to being cold or to sucking wind. I took them to the anchor line and up they went....without me. I stayed down with the hopes of seeing a sand tiger shark or maybe a stingray. As I waited, I played in the large schools of spade fish all around the wreck. I realized that the lense of my camera was fogged over due to the extreme temperture change between the surface and down below. As a result, my camera was useless underneath the thermocline. I played around for another 20 minutes or so, and ascended when the last dive team went to the anchor line. On my safety stop, I noticed a large barracuda hanging out near the bouy about 50 feet away. This was just the way I like it....first in and last out.

During the surface interval, a few of the crew and I snorkeled around the boat watching the large schools of spade, the lingering barracuda, and even a mahi mahi dolphin. I was able to take some nice pics and really enjoyed this break between the dives.

On the second dive, I teamed up with one of the crew and we spent most of the dive inside the Advance. There were lots of swim thoughs and even a few decent penetrations. We went out into the sand looking for sand dollars and nice shells. After 45 minutes, it was time to come up. Again, first in and last out....that's the way to do it!

Coming into the marina, there were many reminders of the havoc of a hurricane. Hurricane Isabel, which stuck the outerbanks in September of 2003 left behind some eerie remiders of the power of mother nature. Many boats which sunk at the docks remain where they went down, partially submerged.