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It's the beginning of a new 2007 dive season in Hatteras.
We will try and post periodic updates to the dive reports to keep you abreast of the conditions and sea life sightings:
June 2, 2007 The forecast for the weekend was really looking good until Thursday night when tropical storm Barry was added to the forecast and it came through as predicted on Sunday. The storm left us with just Saturday and we did go out and have a couple of very good dives. We launched from the dock with the members of the NASA Goddard Dive club and had a fairly good ride south to the Dixie Arrow. We chose the DA as the current offshore was reported to be fairly high and the WX for later in the day to build. We anchored into the bow section and just as soon as the divers jumped in they could see the sand 90 ft deep and at the anchor line they could see the wreck. Current was present down the water column and on the bottom it was flowing from the stern quarter across the wreck to the bow, but not too strong to swim against and many of the divers swam to the stern and drifted back with the current, touring the whole wreck site. The viz was spectacular and you could see across the entire beam of the shipwreck and beyond into the blue. A few sandtigers and several large snappers swimming about made the dive complete. The offshore water conditions are as good as they get, so don't miss out this year. No dive reports are available for the 2006 season. Dive Reports from 2005 June 13~17th 2005 "Lions, Sand Tigers but no Bears...." The "Old Canadian Divers" made the long trek south to enjoy some warm water diving for a change. Even though our temps are down a few degrees for this time of year it still beats the 30's they are used to in the Great Lakes. Most of the week the conditions were best on the Southern wreck sites, so that is where we concentrated the efforts. We visited the Proteus a couple of times and were treated to light currents, good viz of about 75' and large numbers of Sand Tiger Sharks. A dive to the nearby Tarpon had even better water clarity with sightings of Lionfish and a good sized Jewfish as well. Lionfish were also seen on the Dixie Arrow which we visited three times during this expedition with all three providing a different diving experience due to the changing water conditions and various sea life present. A dive on the Keshena proved to be very exciting for she held a surprise for one diver that had speared several very large flounders. The small shark that he scared away from his catch came back with it's big brother and the two were last seen with mesh bag in hand (actually in mouth) cruising off into the sand to enjoy their free picnic lunch, just like Yogi and Booboo taking a Picnic Basket from the tourists at Jellystone... A good week of diving fun was had with only one day at the dock due to rough conditions. June 18th, 2005 BFDC Divers had a great dive on the Proteus. The ride to the wreck was smooth and fast with a NE breeze that built throughout the day. On the wreck we hooked just aft of the engine and the light current allowed exploration of any part of the wreck a diver wanted to swim to. There was a great number of Sand Tigers hanging off the bow section in stacks as far as you could see and I counted over 50 in the area around the stern. There were large numbers of Red and Silver Snappers, Groupers and many other schooling fishes on the wreck too. It was a classic Hatteras Blue Water dive with lots of sea life action and great viz. It was hard to leave the site and travel inshore, but the seas were building. The second dive was at the Dixie Arrow with conditions of cooler water and about 50ft of viz. The NE wind picked up during the afternoon and continued all night so we cancelled the diving for Sunday due to rough sea conditions. Below are the few 2004 Dive Reports that we posted. July 4th, 2004 Divers: Tom Darone Group We had some great weather develop for the July 4th holiday weekend and we went out every day on ever calmer waters. The sun was very bright and the water was clear as well, giving some of the best conditions of the season. During this three day trip Tom and his group enjoyed the Arrow, British Splendour, Monohan, Keshena and Proteus. June 26th, 2004 Sea Ventures Dive Shop The weekend dive trip was looked forward too, but the weather for Saturday had plans of it's own. There was a stiff breeze that caused a short chop on top of a SE swell resulting a a very bumpy ocean. The group made a good decision to sit it out for the day and try a bit of fishing in the sound. We drift fished in the inlet, down the ferry channels and even made one trip out to the sea buoy and promptly turned back to sheltered waters. Everyone caught a fish - and everyone threw their monsters back to grow into adult fish! The breeze shifted overnight and we sailed in the morning for the Arrow and had a great dive there. June 19 & 20, 2004 The weekend weather prediction was for 2 foot seas. With great optimism we headed out to find a two foot wind sea on top of a two to three foot swell. By now I should know better than to trust the weatherman when it comes to this, but they often hit it fairly close. A report from a local fishing Captain of over 2kts of current on the shoals came to us by radio, so we headed to the south and dived first at the Monohan. The water was 80 on the surface, with no current present and we found the viz to be superb of at least 80'. The bottom at 109' could be seen immediately upon jumping in. After a great dive on the KM, we went to the Dixie Arrow where conditions were even just a bit better. The water clarity was very good and large schools of spadefish swarmed around the entire dive. Several of the divers reported a large manta ray circling the bow section. But having the camera with us prevented us from seeing it... Early Sunday morning the cold front arrived and the wind blew 25kts from the NE. So we cancelled the diving for the day but it was a hard decision because the "80's" (80 degrees and 80ft viz) are back in Hatteras.. Below are the 2003 dive reports from last year. Dive Report: Aug 29, 30 &31 Divers from Sea Ventures Dive Shop; John Mahoney, John , and Toby The weather has not been better than what these lucky divers ordered up for their weekend at sea. We had light winds and slight seas for all of the days we sailed. The swell from the SE didn't even slow us down as we made our way to the Dive Report: Aug 23&24 Divers: Jim Willis, Tom & Paul Wash, John Mahoney & some guy named Ralph We sailed on Sat into a stiff but falling West breeze that created a 2 foot wind chop on top of the SE swell. Not the best of boat rides, but we slugged it out to the Bow of the DA and hooked in for two dives there. The water was green and clear down to 25', then warmer and clear blue down to 65', then back to green and not so warm on the bottom. In the cooler water on the wreck were large schools of baitfish and jacks, with a large number of Barracudas and a school of African Pompano swarming in the warmer blue water above (photos to come). Occasional eddies of warm water washed over the divers as they explored the bow section. During the SI between dives, that guy named Ralph showed up a few times, but the divers rallied and jumped in for a second look at the DA. The current had increased and the vis dropped to around 25 on the bottom along with the water temps that went down from the 78 of the first dive to around 72! On Sunday, the winds had shifted to the NE and were light, so we went to the shoals area and dived the Liberator. Seas were calm, but the vis was low in the 20' range - when will we get back to normal? Dive Report: Aug 11 thru 15th Divers: Paul Blanchette and the MA divers Paul arranged a week of Hatteras diving for his group of divers and they had some of the best weather conditions we have experienced this season, with the exception of Monday. On Monday, we ventured forth but turned back in short order, choosing to try again another day. This was to be an excellent idea as Tuesday with the winds light and seas almost calm we went to the Dixie and had a very good dive. Wed Am found us headed for the Proteus were conditions were good and the seas again calm, The next day of diving found us at the Tarpon with calm seas, visibility of at least 60 to 80 feet on the bottom - no current either. As the sea conditions were very calm and reports of decent visibility on wreck sites near the shoals, we tried the Liberator for the first dive on Friday. Luck had run it's course and the vis on the Liberator was under 20 feet with a current to boot. We then tried a dive at the Kassandra, but found low vis there as well. A retreat to the Hesperides on the shoals finished the day and the week. Overall, a good week of diving. Dive Report: Aug 9&10 Divers: Herman And his Dive Buds High winds and seas kept us from diving this weekend Dive Report: Aug 2-3 Divers: NASA Goddard Sea Ventures
We really, really wanted this to be a great diving weekend for NASA;
they have listened to us endlessly describe Hatteras diving as warm and clear.
Well, it was a good weekend for other reasons than warm & clear diving. The
colder, green waters (66 degrees) are still here, at least on the bottom layer;
however - soaring between both the deeper water and the warmer (75-78
degree)
We heard on the radio that the divers on the EM Clark had top-to-bottom warm, clear water. The Clark is further offshore and is fairly deep. We can only hope that this water will push its way inward.
The excitement exhausted the NASA divers! -Ann Dive Report July 26-27 Divers: BFDC except P.Hudy We (except P. Hudy) set out for the Shoals this weekend - only the second time this year. We anchored into the Australia. Although the water was warmer (about 75 degrees) it wasn't as clear as we would have liked - but hey - it wasn't green and cold so we're not complaining. This wreck continues to get more sand. At some point, it may join the Veturia unfortunately. The second dive was the Kassandra Louloudis. Sunday, we headed back to the shoals (again without P. Hudy) and visited the Liberator. In my mind, an under-dived wreck. The wreck was clear enough to actually see large pieces of it. The Liberator can be a dirty wreck plagued with high currents which is probably why it isn't dived. At any rate, we saw the biggest jewfish yet in these waters - this Hummer was at least 6 feet long. Next we went to the Northeastern, a wreck in very shallow water. Boy, this wreck is really sanding in - a big portion of the mid-ships is completely sanded over and the stern is almost filled in. At the rate P. Hudy is diving, it will be entirely gone by the time he gets back in the water. -Ann Dive Report: July 19-20 Divers: NASA Goddard Sea Ventures At the beginning of the week, the NWS was calling for 2-3 ft seas on Saturday. After getting blown out the weekend before, this was music to our ears. Of course the predictions and the seas changed by the week's end. Saturday and the forecast was for 3-4 ft seas but what we found once we poked our noses out of Hatteras Inlet was more like 6 ft seas; therefore, we turned back to shore. The day wasn't a total loss for me - I jumped aboard Capt. Bud's boat and trolled the back bay for trout. Amid the waves of torrential downpours, we gaffed and boated a whopper, a 12" trout. Sunday conditions were the total opposite - Lake Hatteras. Gorgeous day, calm
seas. We headed toward the Proteus and anchored into a dark blue ocean. Kind of
weird for July diving; it was dark and cold, The second dive was the Keshena. Weird flashback: am I in Hatteras or Ocean City, MD diving the Washingtonian?? Cold green water with milky white floating stuff and low visibility (10 ft). Ick. for unknown reasons Hatteras has been on and off this season with the viz and water inshore. At least we do not suffer alone, Morehead dive boats report the same issue. -Ann Dive Report: July 12-13 Divers: BFDC High winds and seas kept us from diving this weekend. Dive Report: July 4,5 & 6th, 2003 Divers: Lee Whaler, Ed White, Rob Tarkington, Mac, Tomasz, John Mahoney The Fourth of July weekend weather was predicted to be a bit windy in the wake of ex-tropical storm Bill that had come up from the Gulf of Mexico. The storm had lashed NC with a great deal of rain in the days prior, but was now well to the north. What Bill left behind was a strong Bermuda high and a steady SW wind flow which influenced the diving for the entire weekend. On the 4th we set out for and made it to the Proteus. We found the water blue, but a current that exceeded 1.5kts. After several attempts to hook the wreck, the group decided to go back into the Dixie Arrow and there we found the water not so blue, but no current. Two dives were made on the Bow section and numerous sharks and turtles were seen along with a large octopus in the 50 to 60ft vis. On Saturday, the 5th, the destination was the British Splendour. We motored into a stiff head sea for over half the distance to the BS, but upon crossing into the blue water the seas became more robust and the decision was made to turn again towards the Dixie Arrow. We had about 75 to 90 feet of visibility while diving the stern section. A large amount of sea life inhabits the wreck, to include numerous sand tigers. We went to the F.W. Abrams for a second dive and the vis was around 35 to 45 feet with no current. The 5 foot following seas made for a smooth ride back to the inlet. We chose to bag it on Sunday morning as the winds had been blowing a steady 20kts most of the night and the sea was still fairly rough. The drive home proved vexing for some due to the holiday traffic. Hopefully the memories of the great diving they had just done made it easier to deal with the frustration of the traffic. -Dave Dive Report June 28 & 29, 2003 Divers: Tom Darrone Group
Second dive was the Abrams; sorry to say, we have not hit the wreck yet on a good day this season. The water was 71 degrees on the bottom, cool and green plus 15-20 feet of visibility.
I snorkeled while the divers were in the water. Again, the first 5-10 feet were greenish/brown and then completely opened up to very warm, blue water. I could see all the divers below me at 90 feet down. After Dave and I jumped in the pool (I mean ocean), a sea turtle glided gracefully by and stayed in the area for bit so that we could swim next to her. Plenty of We also saw what (according to Dave Bader) was possibly a scorpion fish sitting on the top of the engine. I photographed it but it blends too well with the wreck. Anyway, as an added bonus, the seas calmed to the point that we could have been on Lake Hatteras and not the Atlantic ocean. Best two days of diving so far this year IMHO. -Ann Dive Report June 26 & 27, 2003 Regional SCUBA of New York -Dave
Divers: Lee, Ron, Dori, Rich Conditions: sunny, 5-10 knots, waves 2 feet We dived the Dixie Arrow, which was still cold and green. Lots of marine life including this large octopus we found scurrying along the port side hull. Good sea conditions for a change. Second dive was the Abrams; still cold and green. We saw some cobia and lots of amberjacks.
Payback day for all the bumpy, rainy, cold weekends we have endured. Sunday was sunny and calm. When we pulled up to the wreck site (Dixie); something was very different - the water was blue (as can be seen from the picture at right) and Capt Dave confirmed that it was warm (80). Was this the same place we had just been not 24 hours earlier?? Schools of spade fish were visible from the surface and you could see the wreck: TOP-TO-BOTTOM-VIS! Finally things are back to normal. Loads of schooling fish blanket this wreck. Each diver lengthened their dive by spending time hovering over the wreck Beautiful day, beautiful diving. -Ann Dive Report: June 14, 2003 Divers: BFDC Wrecks: Dixie Arrow and Keshena Conditions: water: 5 ft seas, 71 degrees bottom, 75 degrees top; slight current, breezy, gusty 15-20kts Our group set out amid sunny skies (for once) but choppy seas. Once past the sea buoy, we headed south toward the DA; it was a long and bumpy trip. At the Arrow, we easily anchored to the wreck and started throwing divers in. The DA had about 50 ft visibility – it’s still cool and green on the bottom and milky on the top layer. There was an abundance of sea life with several large sharks swimming around the stern section. We also saw plenty of juvenile life; notably small toadfish and sea cucumbers. One diver reported a large sea turtle. Keshena was also cool and green. No sharks. The huge
anemone residing in the boilers seems to have vacated. Lots of juvenile fish of
many species schooling there today. This is a good shell wreck so I found some
goodies. Cliff bagged his first keeper of the season. Sunday was a wash for us; June seems to be May II this year. -Ann Date: June 7&8, 2003 Dive Club: NASA Goddard
Space Center Conditions: Wrecks: Son of Tug Boat The Goddard Sea Ventures Dive Club clamored aboard
and the dive crew was briefed and we set off for the Dixie Arrow.
The inlet was rough as usual for a falling tide and the bow dipped
into several waves that almost swept the deck, but smoother water lay
beyond the sea buoy. Shortly after the boat cleared the rough water of the
inlet we picked up speed. The
bright warm sun and the throbbing, melodic beat of the diesels soon had
everyone nodding off into pre-dive naps.
Everyone except Ross, who had chosen to ride on the bridge deck for
a better view. A few miles
later something caught Ross’s eye and he directed the boat to where both
dolphins and manta rays were leaping from the water… What, you want to
know the truth? Ok, here it
is… The gentle Hatteras trade winds kicked up a four-foot
sea in the morning that was right on the bow with much more predicted for
the immediate future. It was
also raining periodically and just plain nasty with not much hope of
getting better so we changed plans mid-ocean.
The DA was replaced with the closest available site, the tug
wrecks, which are just 5 miles out. Even
that short distance took over ˝ hour – a very long one if you ask
Steve. The rough seas made hooking the wreck a two-attempt
affair, but once anchored in all hands rallied for the dive.
The wreck was the smaller of the two tugs – Son of Tugboat – at
81 feet to the deepest spot and the vis was green hazy 25’ sorta like an
OC MD dive but with warmer water and sharks you could actually see.
Everyone got to see several Sand Tigers fairly close along with
schools of spadefish and triggers. Overall,
not a bad dive, just not up to the Hatteras standards. The wind blew
stiffly into the evening with more rain and left the ocean too rough for
diving on Sunday.
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We have been diving and the conditions are excellent. Most of the diving has
all been on the Southern wreck sites with very good viz and lots of sea
life. The sandtigers have been present on all offshore sites and the
swarms of baitfish are now beginning to appear along with larger schools of
those that feed upon them. The August dog days are here and the seas are
finally flattening out a bit. The Gulf Stream has pushed in fairly strong
and large masses of Sargasso grass are everywhere and last Sunday we encountered
a large sea turtle floating in one big patch. At first we thought it to be dead,
but when the boat stopped alongside to investigate it looked up lazily and then
just totally ignored us as we took photos. Later that same day Rich
speared a 51 pound Cubera Snapper on the Keshena wreck, which is one big
fish! I have been too busy (or lazy) to update the
dive reports much. Sorry about that - I will try harder for the rest of
the season.. 
upper layer of water were a pair of manta rays. Saturday, we dived the
bow of the Dixie and were treated to 2 magnificent mantas circling the divers.
Each manta had a cadre of cobias, shark suckers, and amberjacks following them -
a very memorable dive.
Sunday,
given the heavy seas, we ventured back to the Dixie - again, the same conditions
but this time we dived the stern section. All the sharks that normally hang out
in the stern, like us, were cruising in the warmer layer to stay warm. It was a
great dive just hanging out on the anchor line (to keep your point of reference)
and watch the sharks swim by. 
69 degrees on the bottom. Though the water was fairly clear with apx 80 ft viz,
the lack of bright sunshine left it dark looking. I saw a lionfish with a
white fin arrays (maybe frostbite!). Dave pointed out a nice size jewfish - 3 ft
long and wide. The wreck was blanketed by large schools of bait fish trying to
dodge succeeding layers of the food chain. Despite the numerous sharks
patrolling the bottom, at least two free-diver groups were working the Proteus
on Sunday - I wouldn't be surprised if they had a good day.
We
headed to the British Splendor and were treated to a splendid dive. After
the first 5-10 feet of cool, greenish water, the water turned blue and warm and
I could see the wreck below. I was fortunate to see a few very large rays - all
of which were followed by cobia. I also saw a healthy size yellow/black spotted
moray eel toward the end of the dive. This wreck really attracts the marine
life.
Because
of these conditions, on Sunday, we dived the Dixie Arrow twice and were not disappointed.
sharkage on the Dixie for Sunday's dive. At one point, we must have counted a
good dozen or so. They were nice size, too. I couldn't help but to feel like I
was really diving in the Baltimore Aquarium. The water was clear and the sharks
just swam in their endless circles around the stern wreckage. 
Dive
Report June 21, 2003
Dive
Report June 22, 2003