Where the cold waters of the Labrador current meet the
clear warm Gulf Stream waters, lies a place called the "Graveyard of
the Atlantic". For as long as men have sailed the seas, they have
found their way to the beautiful Barrier Islands of North
Carolina. But their arrival has not always been a pleasant
one. For many of these vessels, the hazardous shifting shoals,
German U-boats, and just plain old sailor error have determined their
fate. Weather in the Graveyard is unpredictable and can change in
the span of a few minutes. The shifting sand shoals continuously
move about, providing a challenge for even the seasoned mariner.
The tragic irony is that many of these ships who dared to take their
chance close to the shores of North Carolina now sit on the bottom of
the Atlantic, a testament to Man VS Nature. North Carolina is
considered the #1 wreck diving site in the United States by many, and
our large variety of underwater flora and fauna bathed in warm blue
Gulf Stream waters rivals popular Caribbean diving resorts.
Visibility on many of these wrecks is usually in the 70 foot range, but
days of 100+ feet of visibility is not uncommon.
From the Northern tip of the Albemarle Sound to the Southern tip of
Cape Fear, the North Carolina coastline boasts over 2,000
shipwrecks. Some of these are so close you can dive them by just
walking out into the water from the shore, while most require you to
own a boat or take a charter out. Our wrecks vary from 14th
century pirate ships, to World War I and World War II casualties, to
modern ships sank as artificial reefs.
During the summer months, our typical weather pattern
is similar to the tropics ~ hot and sunny in the morning with scattered
showers in the evening. Sometimes, we'll enjoy a ridge of high
pressure that drops the humidity and eliminates the chance of
rain. Though rare, we may also get a few days in a row of
overcast skies and rain. When we get hurricanes, they typically
occur in late September, with the threat diminishing in mid
October. These are few and far between, and should have little
impact on your diving plans. What affects our diving most here in
North Carolina is ...the wind.
North Carolina's coast, similar to the entire east coast...or any coast
for that matter...has issues with wind. The magic of an island is
that, at any given point, there is always a windward side and a leeward
side. That means depending on which way the wind is blowing, it's
usually calm enough to be diving somewhere. Unfortunately, that's
not the case with a coastline. In the summer, the prevailing
winds in North Carolina come from the southwest, offshore, so there is
no protection offered by land. So when the wind blows hard, the
seas get rough in North Carolina.
There is, however, a difference in "wind chop" and "swell".
Wind chop is a sea condition categorized by lots of waves, very close
together that have, as the boat captains say, "no back on them",
meaning they are like miniature ski jumps, where the boat rides
smoothly up one side and then comes crashing straight down the other,
as opposed to a swell, where the boat gently rides up one side of the
wave and gently down the other side. Wind chop can start and stop
rather suddenly here off the North Carolina coast and is, as the name
implies, completely dependent on how hard the wind is blowing.
"Swell" on the other hand, refers to big, wide rollers that have a lot
of space in between them. Swell is often caused by offshore
storms and doesn't fluctuate as quickly as chop. So a four-foot
swell is not an issue, but a four foot chop can be downright
uncomfortable. Add the two together? Forget about it.
Your perception will vary according to where you're used to diving, but
here are some "North Carolina" guidelines: 1-2 foot seas produce
calm, lake-like conditions. 2-3 foot seas make for a pretty good
day on the water, though it is a tad bumpy. Solid 3 foot seas is
doable not miserable, whereas 4 foot seas are probably doable but
miserable. 5 foot seas are not fun at all and if you are in 5
foot seas you might be on your way back to the dock instead of on your
way to the dive site. Anything 6 foot or over, if you left the
dock at all (which is unlikely), there is little chance of getting in
the water.
On average, during the summer, 10% of all North Carolina days are
"blown out" (not diveable). The most common condition in North
Carolina is 2-3 foot seas, which compromise about 50% of our dive days
here in North Carolina. The remaining 40% is evenly split between
marginally miserable, miserable, and positively perfect. A good
rule of thumb is - the actual size of a swell is 2/3 of what you think
it is. What you think are 3's are probably 2's. 6's are
4's, 8's are 5's, etc. This caveat is to save you the
embarassment of claiming you were diving in 8 foot seas in North
Carolina to those of us who know better. Right now somewhere in
the Caribbean, there is absolutely some guy saying out loud to those
around them, "Pffft. I was too out diving in 8 foot seas in North Carolina!"
What winds produce what seas, you ask? Out of the Southwest,
winds exceeding 15 knots (about 17 mph) will create sea conditions in
North Carolina that over a few hours, build to the point of being
undiveable. If you're reading NOAA's Marine Forecast, and you see
words like "light and variable" or "winds 5 to 10 knots", you're in for a wonderful "dead slick calm" day on the water. Another common forecast in North Carolina is "Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots", which is a lot like saying "50% chance of rain"
in that you're being provided with information, but in reality, the
forecaster doesn't have a clue about what to expect. Anything
over 20 knots, go to the cafe, buy yourself breakfast, and sip your
coffee all morning. While you're sure to be dissappointed that
your dive got "blown out", I can guarantee you that you'll be happier
on land than on a dive boat that day.
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