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Dive Review of Discovery Diving in
The Continental USA/Beaufort NC

Discovery Diving, Aug, 2007,

by Martin Kelly, Ma, USA ( 2 reports). Report 3621.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 1 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Number 1 is I wish I had gone to North Carolina long before. Number 2 was that discovery diving along with Olympus provide you with 100 cf tanks and diving with a buddy you could possibly make due without a huge pony bottle-plenty of gas...and no need to lug that Pony through airports
the only negatives were the boat ride out, with at 26 miles or 3 hours can get quite long- but if you are a single diver it makes getting to know other divers so much easier.And luckily for me the water was calm flat the whole three days.....
I also think I am a little jaded with Caribbean Fish. In NC you get your Tropical Fish and Also tons of Sand Tigers, We saw 5 lionfish on the U352-it's just totially different than the Caribbean ! I had spent 3 days diving 5 traveling from home and getting back. The small baitfish are another sight that was wonderful....on the wrecks we saw more swarms than I have ever seen- in one case I could not see the other divers there was so much fish !
Hotels were adequate at the Econolodge in Morehead City. Prices are steep for seafood in Morehead City and Beaufort -alot of entrees at local restaurants are $26 and up !But if you are a Grouper Fan- Go for it I had it almost every night and as the gulf stream comes here as well as Florida it;s the same fish- maybe even fresher !

Also if you are staying in Morehead City and diving with Discovery it will take you 15 minutes to get there do not undertime the ride.I almost missed my dive boat and was pulled over for speeding-luckily I was wearing my dive Cape Ann (Ma. ) hat on- the officer knew I was meeting a dive boat and let me off with a warning- very nice down here !

I had met some online buddies at Rodales Scubadiving who suggested Discovery-I had never heard of Discovery .....It seems they are a bit more low key than Olympus. However every diver should visit Olympus to see the Artifacts that only the Olympus owner can provide.

In short I had a blast because this is diving that gets you away from the mundane Caribbean- the depths are a little deeper and the sharks a lots bigger !
On the bad side the Sub dives get filled up fast. Later I also got paired with a couple who needed more experience- as a videographer I certainly had to learn patience- tried to help them out could see that they were nervous checkinhg their gear repeatedily. They also had a tough time getting to depth.

But in short where else can you see German Subs, Lionfish and Sand Tigers of up to 8 feet !!!!!!!


No Where else but NC

What can I say about discovery diving ? Well I would rate them way up there 5+. While motoring out to the U352 One of my tanks fell and bent my din to yoke converter.I lost about 1000 psi! I cannot tell you how low I felt having come to NC to dive that Sub- well the Captain was willing to let me borrow his - it turned out that someone did have a din connector- so I did not need his - but I sure appreciated the offer !

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving [Bonaire, Aruba, Cozumel, CapeAnn Ma , Grand Bahama, Antigua, St Lucia, Cenotes in Playa Del Carmen, Ft Lauderdale, W Palm and Key Largo Fla, ]
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 75-82°F / 24-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Not too many restrictions mostly good judgement although a couple who brought scooters and stayed down way too long on U352- incured sizable deco time and kept the other divers on boat waiting- got a good talking to from the Capt
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments Having a new high def video camera I was a little apprehensive but there was always a rinse bucket exclusively for photographers. And they offered to hand down your camera and take it when you surfaced
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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