Travel

 Once you get certified, a whole new world opens up for you to explore.  Whether you dive in local lakes, quarries and ponds or you wander to the far corners of the earth, there is underwater adventure awaiting you.  And oh for the opportunity to see what is below!  We have been assisting divers for thirty years in finding a dive destination that suits their needs.  We offer group travel (and this is a great way to make new friends - many who travel together year after year) and individual trips.  We try to offer 3 or 4 international dive trips each year and fill in with offshore South Carolina, Lake Jocassee, wreck diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic to meet the needs of those who prefer local diving.  We also welcome dive-alongs on our openwater training trips to the Florida springs during the colder months.  Ms. Merriweather offers a mystery trip every other year and has lots of repeat divers who don't even want to know the location until they arrive.  Whenever you decide on a dive destination, give us a chance to help you plan your trip!

Unexpected events can occur at any time and cause delays or even cancellation of your vacation. We strongly recommend that you protect your vacation investment with trip insurance.  Any trips leaving the country will require a valid Passport for participation, Even to the Bahamas.    

Ask About any local diving opportunities as they come up often and may not be listed here.
 

GROUP TRIPS FOR 2010:

OFFSHORE SOUTH CAROLINA --  SEPTEMBER 17, 18 & 19 , 2010

We are heading up to dive offshore SC in September with Express Water Sports out of Murrell's Inlet.

OFFSHORE (open to experienced offshore divers only)

Friday, September 17, 2010 is open to experienced divers for diving the HEBE, a Dutch freighter that hit the St. Cathan in black out conditions in WWII.  This wreck is loaded with fish.  Artifacts can also be found.  This one of the best DEEP sites to see fish, find bottles, and see sand tiger sharks.  Depths range from 75 - 110 feet, making this a dive for experienced divers with advanced and deep certifications.

INSHORE (open to all certified divers)

Saturday and Sunday, September 18 and 19, 2010 is open to all divers for diving the BILL PERRY SITE and the CITY OF RICHMOND.

        The BILL PERRY SITE consists of a tugboat, several Navy landing craft and a shrimp  trawler.  Swim the Landing Craft deck or crew quarters with good swim throughs.  This is a good site to see grouper, snapper, and tropical fish.  Depths are from 40 - 60 feet.

         The CITY OF RICHMOND is a five deck passenger ship that sank during a storm while being towed to the Virgin Islands.  The site is broken up on the bottom in sections and is a dive shop favorite for th variety of fish.  Grouper, Snapper and triggerfish can be found here.  China is occasionally found as well.  Depths are from 35 - 65 feet.

For you advanced divers, come dive the HEBE.  It will provide you with a good opportunity to scratch the itch for your treasure hunting, spearfishing or shark watching desires:

Then stay on with us and dive the Bill Perry.  It will offer ample opportunity to get in a nice long dive, while offering good spearfishing and returns to the dock relatively early as it is not a long boat ride to this site.

Finally, join us on Sunday for the City of Richmond, one of my favorites as it offers the artifact hunter a chance to dig around and has some good spearfishing as well as being an amazingly beautiful wreck.

For the novice diver or if you are just getting your feet wet to South Carolina's coastal diving, join us on Saturday for the Bill Perry Site.  This is a good dive site to introduce you to South Carolina Ocean Diving. You'll see lots of fish, have lots of fun and get a nice long dive.  It is not as far as some of the other sites and leaves you with a little afternoon time to rest up, relax and or see some of the local sites.   It's also a good warm-up dive for Sunday and the City of Richmond.

The City of Richmond is a little farther out with the opportunity to dive a little deeper and see a whole new type of dive site.  This site is particularly beautiful and offers a great shelter for many tropical species, look carefully and you might see moray eels among other interesting fish.

 $350.00 (includes three days/2 tanks per day)

Advanced Divers ONLY for Friday, September 17

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$215.00 (includes two days/2 tanks per day)

Open to all certified Divers

Prior offshore experience will be required for diving on Friday, September 17, 2010.  We also strongly recommend the use of a dive computer and nitrox for this site

Fills for air and nitrox are available through Express WaterSports.  Tanks are not included in the Charter Prices listed above.  You will be responsible for arrangements to bring or rent tanks and fills.

Lodging is not included in the trip price.  Due to the location and season, Wateree will not be blocking rooms for any specific lodging, but here are some suggestions.  We recommend that you reserve early to be sure you have lodging in place:

The Brookwood Inn, Murrells Inlet  -843-651-2550

Hampton Inn, Murrells Inlet - 843-651-6687

Comfort Inn, Surfside Beach - 843-233-8585     

Day's Inn, Surfside Beach - 843-238-4444

As always, we will have more trip specific info for you closer to the dates of the trip, but for now we need to confirm our reservation with a deposit.  We will need a $100 per diver deposit to confirm your space on the boat.  Deposites are non-refundable, unless, your space is filled by a qualified diver.  We will need the balance by September 4th, 2010.  Space is limited on this charter and is first come first serve.  Give us a call or email if you have any questions.

We are in the planning stages for our summer 2011 trips.  Some suggestions have been Bonaire,  Little Cayman, Green Turtle Cay, Cayman Brac for our group trips.  If you are particularly interested in group trips, we can help plan individual dive vacations. 

 Summer 2011 Dive Trips...

Cayman Brac - July 23 - 30, 2011

Join us as we return to one of our all time favorites - Brac Reef Resort on Cayman Brac.  This property has been refurbished as a result of hurricane damage in late 2008.  The ease of diving in Cayman Brac makes for a very relaxing week.  The reefs and walls offer a wide variety of marine life from turtles, eels, angelfish, shark, along with four wrecks to explore weather permitting.  And don't forget the valet dive service -- leave your dive bag outside your door the first morning -- you set up your equipment on the first dive and they take care of it the rest of the week.  We promise you will be spoiled by the time you leave! 

There are 40 air-conditioned rooms offering 2 doubles or a king-size bed.  All rooms have a patio or balcony with a nice ocean view.  There is a fitness center, game room, gift boutique, couple of restaurants, pool, tennis courts, bicycles, kayaks, photo shop and spa on the property.  One night they offer karaoke and one night is movie night. 

 Our package includes round trip airfare from Columbia to Cayman Brac, airport to hotel transfers in Cayman Brac, 7 nights accommodations in a standard room, breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, 3 drinks nightly, 6 days of 2-tank boat dives for six days and 5 afternoon 1-tank boat dives, tanks, weights, belt, taxes and service charges and tips for the boat crew.  Price per diver based on double occupancy is $2475.00 and $1895.00 for a non-diver.  Call to reserve your spot which requires a $250.00 per person deposit with the balance paid by May 15th.  Travel insurance is available at $125.00 per person additional.