Fourth of July Weekend in North Carolina

      Morehead City, NC, USA

      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
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      142 reviews
      Jul 5 - 7, 2019
      Group size: 8 - 16
      Fourth of July Weekend in North Carolina
      Morehead City, NC, USA

      Blue Planet Scuba
      • Email address verified
      • Facebook verified
      • Twitter verified
      142 reviews

      Jul 5 - 7, 2019
      Group size: 8 - 16

      About this trip

      Join Blue Planet for a long weekend of world-class wreck diving off the coast of North Carolina. Swirling schools of silvery fish and docile sand tiger sharks await you. We’ll be diving from Morehead City, which is conveniently located and has access to wrecks famous for sand tiger sightings.


      North Carolina

      Scuba diving in North Carolina is truly an incredible experience. Fed by the warm, clear waters of the Gulfstream, it offers incredible visibility and comfortable temperatures making NC Diving top rated by scuba enthusiasts and dive publications. North Carolina is referred to as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” – more than 2,000 ships have sunk in these waters since people began keeping records in 1526, and Olympus Dive Center knows the best wrecks to dive off the coast of North Carolina!


      The Diving


      Minimum dive certification/experience:  As most dive sites are between 90-120 feet, Advanced Open Water Diver and Enriched Air/Nitrox are required. Deep Diver certification preferred (we can do it on the trip).

      • A minimum of 25 logged dives. 
      • At least 2 dives in the ocean to 70 feet or greater.
      • At least 2 logged boat ocean dives.
      • At least 2 dives in the last 12 months.
      • Minimum age for Full Day Dive Trip is 15 years of age.
      • For divers who are close to but do not meet all of the requirements, in some cases the NC shop will allow you to hire one of their Divemaster Dive Guides.  

      Wreck Diving: Some of the most impressive wrecks are the World War II casualties - vessels fallen prey to Hitler's U-boat fleet as they traversed the offshore waters, including tankers, cargo ships, British fishing trawlers and even German submarines. You can also find a World War I gunboat, a late 18th-century schooner, an early 20th-century luxury liner as well as a number of vessels sunk purposefully as artificial reefs. 

       

      Sharks: North Carolina is fortunate to be a breeding ground for the Atlantic sand tiger shark. An impressive looking but a docile shark, sand tiger encounters are common occurrences in offshore waters. Often present in large numbers, the sharks range in size from four to over eight feet long! Sand tigers typically swim with their mouths open, smiling for photos, and proudly displaying three rows of ferocious teeth.


      Marine Life: The wrecks are the homes to an abundant variety of marine life.  Rays the size of small cars, Loggerhead turtles nestled into the corner of a wreck taking 40 winks, octopus, eels and massive schools of fish! Wrecks provide vital habitat for numerous species of fish, coral, and invertebrate marine life. 


      Macro: Who loves looking for the little stuff? We do! The wrecks contain loads of little critters and a keen eye will find you numerous small treasures including Seaweed Blennies, Sea Spiders, Nudibranchs, juvenile tropicals and that is just to get you started. Bring your Macro lenses and/or magnifying glass and prepare to be delighted with the intricate beauty of these little critters.  


      Travel & Lodging

      We’re happy to set up carpools OR we can even rent a van and you can leave the driving to us! We’ll be heading down Thursday, July 4 and returning on Monday, July 8. Accommodations are not included in the price of the trip, but you have several choices:

      • Hampton Inn, 252-240-2300 (Olympus Dive Center Rate: $119/night + tax)
      • Beaufort Hotel,  252-728-3000 (call for Olympus Dive Center Rate)
      • Olympus Dive Center’s The Dive Lodge ($30/night + tax)

      Cancellation Policy

      Upon cancellation of a reservation for any reason, the refund of the deposit and payments made or due will be contingent upon Blue Planet reselling the participant's reservation. Any refund may also be subject to a cancellation fee and payment of any non-refundable fees imposed by the tour company, dive operator or any other contractor associated with the trip. 


      Dive accident insurance is required for all divers on this trip. We strongly recommend travel insurance to protect your vacation investment. Contact us if you need more information. 

      What’s included

      • 6 dives
        3 days x 2-tank boat dives with experienced Blue Planet instructors or divemasters leading the dives

      What’s not included

      • Tanks
        Air or Nitrox, aluminum or steel, 80 or 100 cf
      • Scuba equipment
        Only weights included; rental gear available
      • Tips
        Tips for the boat's excellent crew
      • Transportation
        Travel to and in NC
      • Lodging
        Different options available
      • Meals
        There's a cooler on the boat if you'd like to bring lunch or snacks.

      Available Packages

      Trip Price
      $450
      Deposit: $200

      Itinerary

      Thursday
      Arrival in Morehead City

      Arrive in Morehead City and check in at the dive shop. We'll get together for dinner and to enjoy the fireworks!

      Your Organizer


      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
      142 reviews
      Blue Planet is a different kind of scuba diving organization — aimed at providing the best education and experiences to divers in the Washington, DC area and beyond, while harnessing the excitement and adventure of scuba diving to help protect our fragile oceans.

      Reviews

      Heather & Jonas were excellent trip leaders making sure everyone was well taken care of. The Galapagos Aggressor had a super crew and the diving was challenging and stunning! We saw hammerheads, penguins, seals, sea lions & dolphins! I really appreciated the personal touches like our matching jackets and a cake for my birthday. I would highly recommend this trip.
      By Catherine W for Explore the Galapagos on Mar 02, 2024
      This review is belated, I know... ...But that only means I took **serious*** consideration into reviewing my experience with Blue Planet DC, and ranking them very highly. Its been almost a year since I was OW Certified with Blue Planet in Cozumel - my training during that trip was thorough enough to provide me with a solid foundation to continue scuba diving afterwards many, many times. The trip itinerary, accommodations, and overall pacing of the scuba lessons were incredibly well organized. The instructors were patient and attentive - at various times I was provided specific one-on-one, actionable feedback regarding things like my trim or my breathing rhythm impacting my buoyancy and what I could do to improve my technique. They made sure we knew our stuff before letting us loose into the ocean, and during our checkout dives they stayed closeby and kept a watchful eye on us, so I felt more at ease and safe. (Even with the drift moving us around!) My main priority for this trip was to learn how to scuba, but that said, there were opportunities at Cozumel to (after the day's lessons are done) be a tourist and explore the area. The resort itself is a very beautiful spot with relaxing, open air dining, lounge, and balcony areas as well as a fantastic view of the ocean horizon. I also really appreciated that lodging AND meals were included in this travel package - it saved me the trouble of having to figure that out on my own, which made a big difference by freeing up more time after each full day of lessons to just relax and chill. I know each trip is always different of course in terms of other group trip attendees you may end up with, so of course this can just be sheer dumb luck, but everyone else on this trip was chill. Even the more seasoned divers who were already certified and doing this for years were friendly and happy to drop useful advice or recount from their personal experiences how it was like them becoming certified the first time. The time I did this it was "drift diving" and of course that scared me a ton. But the PADI material that is mandatory to study goes over what drift diving is. When doing my checkout dive the drift didn't like, wash me away from the group dive route. You'll be under instructor supervision so people are keeping an eye on you, and the drift itself is mild - I didn't have to struggle against the current (if you've ever surfed, you'll see that this isn't at all like a riptide or undertow). If anything, managing your buoyancy will end up your primary concern or worry during the checkout dive. Hope this review helps anyone considering who to go with for getting certified on their first ever scuba trip! I'm very glad I went with Blue Planet.
      By M T for March Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Feb 19, 2024
      EM
      This was my first liveaboard! 🛥️ Anthony was a fantastic trip leader and teacher, as always! The Aquacat crew was fun, the food was delicious and the diving and excursions were great! I would definitely recommend this trip with Blue Planet, especially as a first liveaboard experience! I had a good time learning about sharks, too! 🦈
      By Elsbeth M for Ring in 2024 on a Liveaboard in the Bahamas! on Jan 15, 2024
      Thanks for joining on another amazing trip! Hopefully we will be on another fun trip in sharky waters soon.
      By Anthony White on Jan 17, 2024
      AW
      This was my first trip with Blue Planet and my first liveaboard - both were a great experience! The communication and prep from Blue Planet was excellent (pre-trip meeting was really helpful, paperwork was clear and organized). My husband and I are new divers and Anthony (trip lead from Blue Planet) was an invaluable resource - we learned a lot during the dives and felt safe with him looking out for us. The liveaboard itself was amazing. The bed was comfortable, the food was amazing, the staff were wonderful. This was one of the best trips of my life - it's going to be hard to top with the bar now set so high!
      By Rachel L for Ring in 2024 on a Liveaboard in the Bahamas! on Jan 08, 2024
      Thank you so much, Rachel! I am glad you and Ben had such a good time on the trip. You were both great divers, and I can't wait to see you on more of our trips. I look forward to diving with you some more!
      By Anthony White on Jan 13, 2024
      AW
      JR
      Had a great time diving, wonderful people and nice accommodations; hotel was super convenient to dive boats.
      By Jennifer R for December Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Dec 11, 2023
      Thank you so much, Jennifer! We’re so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the dive experience with Blue Planet in Cozumel. We look forward to you joining with us on a future trip!
      By Blue Planet Scuba on Dec 12, 2023
      BP
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