THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 21, 1996 TAG: 9607190188
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Summer Sun-Days
SOURCE: BY DAVE ADDIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 73 lines
Everybody comes here for the ocean. They swim in it, surf on it, sail and ski on it, haul fish and crabs from it and generally worship the water in any way they can.
But only a select few are familiar with the tourist attractions beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the shores of Virginia Beach.
Storms, collisions at sea and submarine warfare off the coast during World War II have left the bottom littered with shipwrecks that date back a century or more - or as recently as last month, when an old fishing boat was intentionally sunk as part of the artificial reef system.
Virginia Beach is a prime destination for scuba divers, from the weekend dabblers to hard-core technical divers who like to go deep, stay long and come back with souvenirs.
The diving here is not like the Caribbean: Forget those pictures of bright, beautiful coral and schools of tropical fish. But the cooler waters and lower visibility are offset by the adventure of touring a warship that went to the bottom 50 years ago, or spearing a tautog or a grouper for your dinner.
Scuba diving takes training. In order to rent gear or sign up for a dive excursion, you must have a certification card from several agencies that are recognized worldwide.
The best way to start is with one of the local shops. They offer classroom and pool training that, with two or three sessions a week, can get you certified in just a couple of weeks. Two shops quoted classes beginning at $95, plus textbooks and other class materials. YMCA classes are offered at $175, with all materials included. Comparison shopping is advised. The beginner should also have his or her own mask, snorkel and fins.
If you're already certified, boat dives are available just about every day of the week. Prices for a two-tank dive trip vary from $45 for ``inshore'' wrecks that are closer to the coast, to $65 for the deeper wrecks that are farther out. All gear rentals, including tanks, are extra. Most of the dive boats operate out of the marinas at Rudee Inlet. Night dives and multiple-dive, overnight trips are regularly scheduled as well.
What will you see? Depends on where you go. Shallow wrecks, in the 40- to 60-foot range, are little more than hulking piles of rusted debris, but they attract a lot of aquatic life. There are a couple of midsized fishing trawlers in that depth range that are relatively intact and can be delightful dives.
The deeper wrecks, particularly the warships, can offer better visibility and far more interesting sight-seeing. The most famous of them, the John Morgan, is a Liberty ship that went down after a collision on its maiden voyage during World War II. Loaded with war materiel, it burned and much of its ammunition ignited before it sank about 30 miles offshore, in about 120 feet of water.
To this day, the eerie remains of the Morgan's decks offer tanks, trucks, Jeeps and motorcycles for a diver to explore.
The offshore dives, at 80-130 feet, aren't for beginners. They take experience and additional training, but they're well worth it, and they give the new diver a goal to work toward.
Several private boat captains offer charters for certified divers. Ask around at the Rudee Inlet marinas. Most dive shops have an age limit for training youngsters. Lynnhaven Dive Center's summer scuba camp, for example, allows those as young as 12 to join. The following Virginia Beach locations offer scuba training:
Lynnhaven Dive Center, 1413 N. Great Neck Road, 481-7949.
Mid-Atlantic Dive Center, 5350 KempsRiver Drive, 420-6179.
Dan's Dive Center, 4971 Cleveland St., 473-3267.
Mount Trashmore YMCA, 4441 South Blvd., 456-9622. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
Chad Dize, left, and Billy Lauterbach of Virginia Beach check their
diving tanks before going out to sea on the Miss Lindsey. The two
boys were attending scuba camp held by the Lynnhaven Dive Center. by CNB