Outer Banks NC Diving

Hey Folks long time diver and new to this site...long time reader and contributor to Undercurrent magazine also. My wife and I go each year in July to a family reunion in Corolla NC on the Outer Banks. Several years back , we took a day away from the family ( after 5 days...etc etc ) and drove way down to do the dives with Olympus ...but the drive and the currents etc just made it no fun, especially dragging equipment all the way from MO to do one day of diving! So here's my question to anyone familiar with the area and operators:
can we find an operator within an hour's drive of Duck/Corolla in July?
Read about Outer Banks Diving- are they a good operator and is the shore dive worth doing?
What about the Proteus wreck? Viz and water temp assuming no storms etc?
If we bring our rigs , masks, fins and 3 mm full suits, are there BCDs for rent?
How long does the dive day take? If it's not a huge time outlay, we'd consider doing 2 days diving. If the diving is fairly easy, we'd be looking to include at least 2 and perhaps 3 other divers. Please advise. Glad to see another forum and sure hope we get activity on this one.:)