Date: 10 Apr 04
Wx: Clear, winds S 10 kts, high 60s
Seas: Flat, no current
Viz: 80 ft in the top half of the water column, 30
ft near the bottom
Temp: 63F on the bottom.
Planned for two dives, but only made one and a half.
Got a late start because I thought I had a bunch of full tanks. I forgot that
we had drained some tanks, so I spent an hour filling them back up. Hit the
bayou about 1130. The water on Crab
Island was beautiful. Dove some broken bottom about 6 miles south of the pass.
Candy found a grouper deep under a ledge, but I couldn't see it. Saw a few
black snapper, but nothing worth shooting. Had lunch and went to pull the
anchor. There was so much broken bottom that I decided to pull the anchor
straight up instead of using the anchor ball. Good thing. Anchor wouldn't
budge. I suited back up to go back down and Candy asked me if I wanted to take
my gun. I declined because I hadn't seen anything to shoot on the first dive.
Got to the bottom and found the anchor line had wedged in a crevice. As soon as
I started to free the line, a big ol' grouper came out from under the ledge and
swam away. I'll never leave my gun on the boat again.
Date: 16 Apr 04
Wx: Clear, winds S 10 kts, high 60s
Seas: Flat early, a little chop coming in
Viz: 80 ft in the top half of the water column, 30
ft near the bottom
Temp: 57F on the bottom.
Pulled out of port about 0930, got
back to port around 1930.
Dive one: 18s, looking for lobster. Shot two
groupers, strung one and the other pulled off.
Dive two: Belize Queen, still looking for lobster.
No luck.
Dive three: Candy was a little cold. I dove the Odyssey solo. The anchor chain fouled the flukes,
so the anchor dragged off the wreck. AJs swarmed around me while I was setting
the anchor. I stoned the only legal one in the school and noticed I had
forgotten my stringer. No problem, shove the AJ up the line and reload. I had
two bands pulled when another school
of AJs came to visit. A
huge AJ appeared in front of me and I took the shot. The spear didn't go all
the way through, but I was able to get my hands on the shaft and I thought I
had him. Long story made short: Bent shaft, AJ pulled off.
Towed an unfortunate boater back
to port in Boggy Bayou.
My transmission cable broke while I was trying to
help out.
Date: 18 Apr 04
Wx: Clear, winds SE 10-15 kts, 70s
Seas: 2 ft swells, some around 3 ft
Viz: 80 ft in the top half of the water column, 30
ft near the bottom
Temp: 57F 63F on the bottom.
Dive one: Angelina in about 135 fsw. Dropped the
anchor twice and drifted off the wreck. Anchor held on the third try. Shot one
AJ and found a Danforth. Nearly went into deco, but cleared the computer before
surfacing.
Dive two: Debra in about 130 fsw. Dropped in, swam
about 10 ft to the wreck and popped a gag right between the eyes. I thought the
speartip was stuck in his skull, so I didn't look for anymore fish. Another near deco dive.
Dive three: Broken bottom in 90 fsw. Saw some black
snappers, but didn't feel like pulling the trigger. Found one lobster. Vis was not too good and couldn't find the anchor.
Started a free ascent and found the anchor line on the way up.
Date: 7 May 04
Wx: Clear, winds variable 10 kts or less, 56F early,
80F late.
Seas: Almost flat
Viz: 80 ft in the top half of the water column, 30
ft near the bottom
Temp: 63F
Dive one: Went to 18s (108 ft) looking for lobster.
I was cocking Candy’s gun when two nice red grouper swam by . . . couldn’t take
a shot. Continued to look for lobster, but had no luck. Called the dive, and
headed back to the rope. Same two red grouper showed up and I shot the bigger
one (26 in). I stoned it, but the spear got stuck in its skull and I couldn’t
reload.
Dive two: Angelina (135 fsw). Dropped
the anchor right on top of the wheelhouse. There was a pretty good
current, but not enough to move the anchor, so I left it alone and went looking
for fish. Stoned a 30 inch gag, but the spear got stuck in his skull (recurring
theme). Carried the anchor off the top of the wheelhouse and tried to drop it
in the sand, but it hung up on the incredible amount of fishing line and anchor
rope on the wreck. By the time I cut the anchor free, I was in deco (but not
really). I used a lot of gas, but I still had my buddy (Candy), and a hang
tank. We did a very slow ascent and I still had 300 psi when we reached the
hang tank at 25 ft. I was using 27/17 trimix, so I switched to the hang tank
(33% nitrox) for the safety/deco stop. We waited for the computers to clear
which gave us a good safety margin because we were diving trimix on nitrox
computers.
Date: 8 May 04
Wx: Clear, winds variable 10 kts or less, 56F early,
80F late.
Seas: Calm to 2 ft swells in the afternoon
Viz: 80 ft in the top half of the water column, 30
ft near the bottom
Temp: 63F to 70F
Dive one: Went to the Angelina again, but there were
3 fishing boats on it. Backed off and tried the fish havens nearby (several
pyramids in 120 fsw). Dove it solo on 32% nitrox to
save the trimix for later. Only saw one legal (large) grouper, but he wouldn’t
let me get close. My personal observation is: The pyramids allow the fish to
swim away to a new safe place, but a single wreck keeps them in one area, i.e.,
scattered fish havens are probably better for fishing. . . not spearing.
Dive two: The fishing boats had left the Angelina,
so we dropped anchor. I shot a very large AJ which immediately wrapped me up
against the boat. I pulled the big knife to dispatch it, but it wasn’t dieing
quick enough. Candy shot it again. Now we had two spears in a (40 lb?) fish,
but no more bottom time. I had to cut my lanyard, and disconnect Candy’s
lanyard from her shaft. The fish had wrapped my lanyard around a railing, so I thought
it would still be there for dive 3.
Dive three (Angelina again): I had a spare shaft on
board, so I loaded up. Candy took a pole-spear. We swam to the spot where we
left the AJ wrapped up and found my shaft on the deck (that’s good news). We
looked for some more fish to shoot, but had no luck. At the last minute I
looked out into the sand and saw an AJ carcass. I didn’t get my AJ, but I
retrieved Candy’s shaft. At this point, I think we saved over $100 on shafts
and tips.
Dive four: Damn it! By the time we surfaced and
prepared to pull the anchor (by anchor ball), we were hung on the wreck. Since
I had already done dives of 120, 135, and 135, it was not a good idea to bounce
down to 135 fsw again right away. After a long surface interval (my computer
gave me 4 minutes of bottom time), I took my gun (just in case), and headed for
the bottom as fast as I could. The rope was wrapped under the bow of the wreck.
I tried to swim the anchor away from the wreck, but I did not have the bottom
time to complete the effort. I used my big ScubaPro knife to cut the anchor
rope free from the chain (saving $300).
Epilogue: Thought we blew the engine, but it was the
transmission that had a catastrophic failure . Happened in the bay about 5 Miles from Boggy Bayou Pass. Got towed by Tow-Boat
U.S.
Date: 6 Jun 04
Wx: Early: Clear, winds variable 10 kts or less,
70F. Late: Clouds and a moderate breeze (until the late afternoon showers hit
near the pass).
Seas: Calm in the morning. 3+ ft swells and a little
whitecapping in the afternoon
Viz: 80 ft in the top half of the water column, 20
ft near the bottom
Temp: Forgot to check, but okay in a 3 mil with
hooded vest.
Candy and I bummed a ride on Karl's Gigabyte while
my boat is in drydock. Engine's okay, transmission is
rebuilt, getting the drive-shaft box repacked.
First Dive: "Neverlost" boat unit was
"lost" off the stern. We dropped a line and found the unit as soon as
we hit bottom. Current was a little too strong to swim to the wreck from our
position (especially sucking gas at 135 fsw), so we called the dive. At least
we saved a unit worth a few hundred bucks.
Second Dive: Frangista Culverts. Nothing we wanted
to shoot. Vis was crap on the bottom.
Date: 19 Jun 04
Wx: Clear, winds variable 10 kts or less, 80’s F.
Later: Still clear, but the winds picked up out of the south.
Seas: Calm in the morning. 2+ in the afternoon
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top. 3 mil with
hooded vest still okay.
Boat: Transmission rebuilt again. Theory is that
packing around drive shaft failed allowing a lot water to get into bilge, but
location of bilge pump did not get water out of bilge fast enough to prevent
water from getting into transmission vents. Who knows?
Dive one: Angelina (135 fsw). Tried something new:
We put stuff into a lobster bag (strobe light, boat finder unit, lift bag) and
sent it down on the anchor line. This lobster bag was too big and created too
much drag. A smaller bag will work better. Vis
was about 50’ on the bottom. It was nice to see almost the whole wreck. There
were no legal fish. I lost an anchor on the Angelina last month, so I didn’t
want to leave empty handed. We picked out the best anchor and chain, and headed
topside to plan the recovery.
Dive two: Angelina again. We stopped at the
clipped-off lobster bag and retrieved the lift bag. We headed straight to the
chosen anchor where I used my stringer to connect the anchor to the lift bag.
As planned, Candy added enough air to the lift bag to get the anchor neutral so
I could swim it to our anchor (after cutting it free from mono, and anchor
rope). I dropped down to my anchor chain, and connected the salvaged anchor
with my stringer. I gave the lift bag enough puffs of air to lift both anchors
out of the sand. By the time we ascended, the lift bag was on the surface, so
all I had to do was pull the anchors to the boat.
Dive three: Broken bottom (90 ft) 5 miles south of
the pass. Vis was about 20 ft on the bottom.
We saw a couple of black snapper, but didn’t pull the trigger. Couldn’t find the anchor, so we did a free ascent. On the
way up, Candy pointed out the biggest (Roughtail? Southern?)
Ray we have ever seen. We surfaced up-current of the boat, but we were glad we
had a tag-line because the wind had created a significant surface current
Date: 20 Jun 04
Wx: 80’s F and partly sunny. Winds were about 5
knots. Went to hell later.
Seas: Calm until about 1600. Went
to hell later.
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and 68F at 135 ft. 3 mil and hooded
vest still okay.
Boat: Second trip after rebuilding the transmission.
Boat ran great. Throttle wouldn’t hold position, so I made some loops out of
zip-ties that would hold the throttle at 3200 rpm. Took on more water than
normal, may need to replace packing around the rudder. We had enough confidence
to invite another diver (Jim Bayes).
Other Observations: On the third dive yesterday, we
couldn’t find the anchor with the “Neverlost”. Candy had a theory that a new
strobe light interfered with the Neverlost, so we didn’t use it this time. We
had no problem locating the anchor line today.
Dive one: Got lucky and hit the Angelina (135 fsw)
without boats already on her. Got unlucky and didn’t see any legal fish. Vis was 60 to 80 ft. After investigating the wheelhouse
and lower compartments, we hung out waiting for the usual schools of AJs, but
they were all short. So the dive wouldn’t be a total waste, Candy and I dropped
to the bottom to retrieve one of the many anchors adorning the wreck. Just like
the anchor recovery yesterday, I hooked up the lift bag and Candy filled it
(she always ends a dive with at least 500 psi more than I do).
Dive two: Went lobster hunting on some broken bottom
(110 fsw). Vis was about 30 ft. Grabbed 6
lobsters and 5 had eggs. Shot a red grouper. At the end of the dive, we swam to
the anchor and found the chain and line flat on the bottom as far as the eye
could see. After a short heart palpitation, we followed the line until it
started up toward the boat.
Dive three: Went lobster hunting on some more broken
bottom nearby (110 fsw). Vis started out at 30
ft but got worse (it was like a fog drifting in). Grabbed 12 lobsters and 8 had
eggs. Shot another red grouper.
Dive four: Would have been a dive on one of the
inshore reefs, but a local cell over FWB/Destin created 3+ ft whitecaps from
the pass out 8 miles, so we motored in at top speed (16 mph into a 20 mph
headwind). The radar showed a ton of rain just west and north of the Destin
Bridge,
but we made it through the pass and headed north to Boggy Bayou without getting
caught.
Date: 3 Jul 04
Wx: High 80’s F and partly sunny. Winds were about
5-10 knots.
Seas: Fairly calm all day
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and 68F at 110 ft. 3 mil and hooded
vest still okay.
Boat: Still running great. Throttle still not
holding position. When accelerating, I have started letting the bow rise by not
using the trim tabs right away; then I turn on the bilge pump manually. This
will work until I install another pump called a “Frog Foot” which should
eliminate the water that collects under my engine where I can’t see it.
Dive One: Specifically went for lobster. Found one
without eggs, and shot a red grouper. Viz was about 20 ft.
Dive Two: Almost the same as dive one: one lobster,
one red grouper, and a black snapper. Viz was about 20 ft.
Date: 4 Jul 04
Wx: High 80’s F and partly sunny. Winds were about 5
- 10 knots.
Seas: Two feet early, but calmed a little later
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and low 70s below the thermo cline
(about 50ft).
Dive One: A storm cell forced us east where we
looked for broken bottom. We found one lobster, but our dive buddy found five
in one hole. There is more sea grass (or what ever it is called) on the bottom
than I have seen before. Viz was about 30 ft.
Dive Two: Fishing boats were all over Frangista
barge and the culverts, so we went to the nearest reef. Could have shot a few
black snapper, but they weren’t big enough to make me want to clean them. Viz
was about 15 ft.
Dive Three: Went to the AF Barge for the first time
in a year. Last time, there was a resident GG and no fish. This time, there was
no GG, and still no fish. Dive buddy picked up an 8#
Danforth. Hard to believe, but the vis was about 40
ft.
Date: 5 Jul 04
Wx: High 80’s F and partly sunny. Winds were about 5
- 10 knots.
Seas: Two feet about all day
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and low 70s below the thermo cline
(about 50ft).
Dive one: Once again, a storm cell made us head
east. We reached the LCM and Janet location at the same time as a fishing boat.
They picked the Janet, so we went to the LCM. Saw a couple of legal AJs in a
school, but they stayed on the outside. Subdude shot a flounder. Vis was about 40 ft.
Dive two: More broken bottom. Candy shot a red
grouper. Subdude and his buddy floated the anchor with a lift bag. This will be
SOP when the rocks are so scattered that pulling with an anchor ball is not an
option (and we are too lazy to pull in the anchor manually). Vis
was about 30 ft.
Finale: Got stopped by the Grouper Troupers just as
we cleared the bridge. They were the nicest 2 young men that have ever pulled
us over. The guy who boarded was a spear fisherman. .
. too bad we didn’t have a better catch to show him.
Date: 10 Jul 04
Wx: High 80’s F and partly sunny. Winds were about 5
- 10 knots SE.
Seas: Two feet or less all
day
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and low 70s below the thermocline
(about 50ft).
Boat: Friday afternoon (9 Jul), I replaced a piece
of wood that supports my aft hatch.
While doing so, I noticed wires to my aft bilge pump completely separated from
the crimps. Thirty minutes to fix the hatch problem, and 90 minutes to re-wire
the bilge pump. I thought one connection was okay, so I didn’t fix it. . . of course it failed while we were out and I had to
fix it during a surface interval. The previous owner(s) of my boat crimped
white wires to black wires and red wires to green wires. Working on my boat is
always an adventure.
Dive one: Distant wreck. Viz was at least 50ft.
Candy and I teamed up to grab 6 lobsters, and Candy got a fat, 20 inch
flounder. Our buddy also got 6 lobsters.
Dive two: Another distant wreck (50 ft viz). We
could see the lobsters hanging on the underside of the structure, but without
taking off our tanks and using a 12 ft LP hose, we weren’t going to get them by
hand. I was able to tickle one with my speargun held by the butt in my
outstretched hand, but no luck. Three schools of AJs came by. The first school
was mostly 2 footers (to the fork). The second school was massive, but real
juveniles (about a foot). The third school was mostly 2 footers again, but one
of them looked pretty decent, so I tried to pull the trigger (JBL latent
defect). I had just enough time to use both hands to pull the trigger. It was a
“stone” shot and he turned out to be 32 inches to the fork. I clipped my
lift-bag the anchor (which was inside the structure), Candy went in to free the
chain and add some air, and our other buddy swam it to the sand.
Dive three: Inshore reef. Surface current was
picking up. Vis was 15 ft max. There are
always black snapper under these ledges, but they have several escape routes.
Third buddy had a bull shark get personal (twice). "Bad Viz and Bull
Sharks" (could be an album title like “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”).
Date:
24 Jul 04
Wx: 90’s F and sunny. Winds were about 5
knots SW early, but picked up in the afternoon (maybe 15 knots).
Seas: Lake conditions early, but built to 2 ft
with the wind
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and low 76s below the thermocline (about 20 ft).
We planned to go offshore and deep (Tower
Barge area), but the boat lost power about 9 miles south of the Pass. I opened the engine hatch and got sprayed
because water was deep enough in the bilge to get thrown around by the linkage
on the driveshaft. We killed the engine
to assess the problem, and it looked like water was gushing in from below the
motor. The aft bilge pump wasn’t
working, so I pulled the hose from my fresh water holding tank and used the
water pump to start getting rid of the water in the bilge. To make a long story short, my mechanic
installed a bilge pump under my engine last week. He installed it backwards, and when I turned
it on, it started pumping ocean water into my boat. We reversed the hoses on the pump and got the
water out. The spraying water apparently
caused other problems, but after wiping out the distributor cap, the boat ran
fine. We decided to dive inshore, just
in case.
Dive 1:
Eastern reef. Vis
was 15 ft and there is still June Grass all over the rocks. Shot one nice grouper and saw a few more big
ones. Tried a “Hail Mary” shot on one,
but I needed a bigger gun. Our
“Neverlost” flooded. Too, bad. . . it sure makes finding the anchor in bad viz much
easier.
Dive 2:
Another nearby reef. Lots of AJs,
but they were all 2 inches shy of legal.
Subdude shot a legal AJ, but it shrunk by the time we completed the next
dive.
Dive 3:
Same reef again, but this time the fish disappeared. Saw a sea turtle on the safety stop.
Another weird thing: I downloaded an updated list into my GPS last
night, and when I told the unit to “go to” my first waypoint, it said I was
4630 miles away. For some reason, all of
my latitudes ended up being in the southern hemisphere.
Date: 1 Aug 04
Wx: 80’s F and sunny. I think the winds started out about 5 knots
NE early, but picked up in the afternoon (maybe 10 15 knots) and turned SW.
Seas: Big rollers out of
the south early, but less than a foot later
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and 76 below the thermocline (about 50 ft).
Boat ran fine. Horn doesn’t work, aft bilge pump doesn’t
work. I’ll have to check the wiring and
make sure the mechanic didn’t cause any more problems.
Dive one:
Ran up on the Baskins Tower Barge, but a boat was anchored. A fishing boat pulled up at the same time and
we departed at the same time. We headed
to the Prewitt Tug, but the faster fishing boat had the same idea and beat us
there. We decided to got
to the Valp #2 boat, but decided to drop by the Baskins one more time. We got lucky and the boat on the Baskins was
pulling her jugs when we got there. It
was a very nice dive with 40-50 ft of viz.
At the end of the dive, an anchor dropped onto the deck of the barge a
few feet from us. A buddy shoved it
through the railing and into the sand. I
took a picture of the morons, and will post it somewhere.
Dive two:
No boats on the Valp #2 boat, so we made our drop. Nothing special.
Dive three:
Tried the offshore landing craft first, but it was occupied. The Janet and LCM-8 are on the same bearing
to the pass, so we headed in. We dove the LCM-8.
Dropped the anchor past the wreck and drifted back over her. When it was time to pull the anchor, we just
attached the anchor ball and motored straight ahead. After I thought the anchor line was clear, I
gave it some gas. Ten seconds later, my
bow was pulled around 180 degrees. We
took in the slack on the anchor rope and I tried the anchor ball again. The anchor flew right to the surface. The anchor shank is bent about 80
degrees. I wonder what happened?
Weather and seas were excellent until we hit
Boggy Bayou. We unloaded the boat in the
rain and with nearby lightning.
Date: 15 Aug 04
Wx: 80’s F (hazy then sunny). East early, but picked
up in the afternoon (maybe 10-15 knots) and turned
SE.
Seas: Less than a foot
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F on top and 76 below the thermocline (about
50 ft).
Boat ran fine. I fixed the horn and forward &
aft bilge pumps last week. When the mechanic installed the switch for my
amidships pump, he pulled wires loose and broke connectors.
Dive one: We haven’t been to 18s in a while, so we
gave it a try. The vis was about 30 feet, but not much
was going on. I think the reef is over fished. We were already making our
ascent when Candy spied a red grouper and shot it. At least we didn’t get
skunked.
Dive two: We moved to a different location on 18s.
Picked up an air-mattress that probably blew out to sea on Saturday night when
the wind was strong out of the north. We were only .14 miles from our first
spot, but the vis dropped to 15-20 ft. No luck with
fish or lobsters.
Dive three: Dove one of the inshore Amberjack Reefs.
Vis
about 15 feet. Another reef that probably gets hit so
hard that it is not worth diving.
Date: 17 Aug 04
Wx: 80’s F (Mostly sunny). Wind: North early (0800),
then SE (1100), then SW (1400)
Seas: Less than a foot until the late afternoon
sea-breeze, then about 2 ft
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F and no thermoclines on theses sites
Boat ran fine. I have a miniscule leak from the
rudder. One of our usual dive buddies had friends from the U.K. visiting, so we took a day
off. U.K. Dad is very experienced. U.K. Daughter has 3 years, U.K. Mom watched
the boat.
Dive one: We decided to stay inshore while the wind
was out of the north (about 15 mph), so we went to the LCM-8. Candy and I went
down first and found the anchor flukes fouled on the chain and dragging. I set
the anchor and we followed the anchor “furrow” to the wreck which was over 300
ft away. No fish to shoot, but Candy recovered a small danforth and about 90 ft
of line. We ascended, and repositioned our boat on the wreck for the other
divers. Vis was close to 50 ft.
Dive two: We stayed inshore, but the seas had become
pretty flat as the wind shifted from N to SE. Candy shot a red grouper and I
shot a gag. I shot another big gag that pulled off (I probably left the ring
retainer on the wings). A 6 ft bull showed up about the time we ended the dive.
Vis was about 30 ft.
Dive three: We moved to more broken bottom. I saw
Candy hit a good size gag at the limit for her gun. Two inches closer and she
would have stoned it. While looking under ledges for fish or lobster, we woke
up a nurse shark. We worked our way down the ledge for a while, but didn’t see
anything legal. On our way back to the anchor, the nurse shark moved out from
under the ledge. She was at least 8 ft long. Lots of AJs, but
nothing legal. In a rare occurrence, a bull shark visited us at our 15
ft safety stop. Vis was about 30.
Date: 21 Aug 04
Wx: 80’s F (Mostly sunny). Wind: Pretty calm in the
morning then SW 10 -15 kts later
Seas: Less than a foot until the late afternoon
sea-breeze, then about 2 ft
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F and no thermoclines on theses sites
Boat ran fine until I tried to start it after the
third dive. Starter motor is gone.
Dive one: Went to find lobsters and we were
successful. Just before going up the anchor line, Candy found 5 in a hole and
only one had eggs. Used the liftbag to barely get the anchor
flukes off the rocks. Pulled on the anchor rope a little and let Boyle's
law do the rest. Vis was 30 ft.
Dive two: Went to the off-shore LCM. Lots of AJs, but no trophy fish. Saw a smallish Jewfish,
maybe 200 lbs. Used the liftbag again, but since I was
in sand, I backed the boat up to get the anchor flying and the liftbag did the
rest. Vis was 40 – 50 ft.
Dive three: We moved to more broken bottom. I shot a
gag and Candy shot a triggerfish. My spear was stuck in the gag’s head, so I
hooked my stringer (with gun attached) to the anchor along with the lift bag. I
gave the bag a little too much air, so it went to the surface before we did. Vis was 20 ft.
I tried to get the boat started for about an hour.
We finally called Towboat U.S.
about 1700. The dispatcher gave the boat guys the wrong coordinates, so it took
them an hour to get to us. Under tow at 7 kts, we made it back to the marina
about 2140. It was a little bumpy getting to the pass, but dead calm and very
pleasant in the bay. Pulled the starter on Sunday the 22nd, and hope to have it
replaced by Wednesday.
Date: 28 Aug 04
Wx: 80’s F (Mostly sunny early, then hazy). Wind:
East early (0930), then SE (1100), then S (1600)
Seas: Less than a foot until the late afternoon
sea-breeze, then about 2 ft
Viz: Depended on location
Temp: 84F and slight thermocline on the deeper sites
Boat: My starter got finished being rebuilt after
1700 on Friday the 27th. I installed it this morning at 0730. The boat ran
great.
Dive one: The usual broken bottom. Anchor was nicely
hung on a rock, so I left it there. No fish, but found two lobsters near the
end of the dive. Lately, we have been attaching a lift bag to the anchor when
we are surrounded by rocks. Our third buddy would have done so, but he went
into deco, and came up with the anchor still on the rock. Vis
was about 30 ft.
Dive two: Since the anchor was still on a rock, we
ate lunch and went down again. Found two more lobsters and shot a red grouper
that pulled off. Saved enough bottom time to put the lift bag
on the anchor. Small (4 ft) bull shark seen.
Dive three: We moved to more broken bottom. Candy
shot a black snapper. Third buddy saw a big bull shark (6+ ft) up close and
personal. Using the lift bag on broken bottom is SOP now. The vis was about 15.
Date: 29 Aug 04
Wx: 80’s F (Mostly sunny). Wind: North early (0700),
then SE (1100), then S (1500)
Seas: Like a lake until 1500, then about a foot.
Temp: 84 F and slight thermocline on the deeper
sites
A nearly perfect day. The boat ran great. . . . A north
wind pushed us to our first dive sites. A south wind pushed us to our last dive
site and back to the marina.
Dive one: Belize Queen. Vis
was at least 50 feet. I shot an AJ that pulled off when it swam through the
wheel house and made a hard right turn. Third buddy picked up an anchor.
Dive two: Short trip to the Odyssey. Vis was still 50 ft. I shot a nice AJ. Candy shot an AJ
and the threaded end of her shaft sheared off.
Dive three: Broken bottom. Got one lobster The vis was about 20.
Date: 11 Sep 04
Wx:
80’s F (Overcast early, sunny on the gulf heading to the pass, then storm
clouds in the bay). Wind: 10-15 kts NE (0930), then E 10 kts (1400)
Seas: 2-3 ft and choppy early, then calmed to 2 ft
swells
Temp: 84 F
Boat: Battery
needed a little help. Candy bought a portable jumper a few weeks ago and it did
the trick. Boat ran great and started fine the rest of the day.
Dive one: The NE wind and wave action kept us
inshore. We dropped the hook on a tank near the Miss Louise. The viz was crap
and the current was strong, so we didn’t want to look for it. It was probably
just out of sight since there were fish all around.
Dive two: Frangista Reef. Viz was crap again. Saw
some black snapper near the end of the dive, but didn’t want to take a shot.
Dive three: You can’t get much closer to shore than
the Miss Louise, so we headed that way. Two boats were on it, so we went back
to the first dive site. I basically hovered over the tank while Candy dropped
the hook. This time we were within 5 ft. I shot a red snapper and Candy shot a
flounder as we were headed up the anchor line.
The surface current (and down 40 ft) was ripping on
every dive. The bottom current wasn’t too bad. By the time we headed home, the
seas were 2 ft smooth swells. From
Destin
Bridge, my radar showed
Boggy Bayou getting pounded with rain. By the time we made it to the bayou
entrance, the rain had moved into Valp. Total trip: 40 nm.
Date: 14 Sep 04 (0600)
Wx:
Overcast, wind 20 kts and building
Seas: Probably 20 ft
Temp: 80s F
Boat: “Secured” in front of the boat barn at
Lighthouse Key Marina. Our boat was one of about 10 boats that could not find
“room at the inn”, which meant we were not placed in the boat barn. My boat was
placed in a cradle with the bow aimed approximately south.
Day One (14 Sep 04): My Mom drove in from Pensacola in order to
evacuate with us. Earlier in the day, I made reservations at a motel in Lake City, FL.
Day Two (15 Sep 04): We departed
Valparaiso, FL
at 0630 CST. The drive to Lake
City was uneventful and
we had very little rain (in stark contrast to our “last-minute” evacuation
during “Opal” which resulted in an 8-hour trip in tropical-storm winds). Here
is a weird side-note: We ended up in the same motel that we used during “Opal”.
We spent the rest of the night watching the “Weather Channel”.
Day Three: (16 Sep 04): We departed Lake
City
at 1030 EST. There were a few residual “feeder bands” on our way home, but
winds and rain were manageable. We called a few friends in the Niceville area
(thanks Tom!) to find out about road closures. I decided to try US 285 first,
then US
85 if necessary. US 285 was in much better shape than when we returned from
“Opal”, so we had high hopes that Niceville/Valparaiso would be okay.
We made it to Hwy 20 (John Sims Pky) and decided to stop by the
marina to check on our boat (1400 CST). The water was about 8 ft above normal.
Of two main docks, one was gone, and the other was 75% destroyed. Our boat was
still in its cradle, and its port and starboard “windows” looked secure. I
could not approach the boat without walking through water. The roads were clear
from the marina to Lewis
Middle School. We only
encountered one tree blocking our way on Grandview Ave. Fortunately, the tree
fell at an intersection, and we were able to drive around it.
When we arrived home, we found many large pine trees
laying in our yard. The roof was missing hundreds of shingles (our house has an
eastern exposure and took the brunt of the storm. Our roof will have to be
replaced). The only tree I will miss is the magnolia we lost in the back yard.
Candy planted the Magnolia 14 years ago when we built the house. We watched it
grow from 2 ft to 30 ft.
Day three through Six: We packed our refrigerators
with ice before we evacuated, so we knew we had a couple of days before we lost
our food. When we arrived home (about 1400 Thurs) everything was still frozen
solid. Our generator worked great. The generator supplied power to the
refrigerators, the TV, the VCR/DVD, and a few fans and lights. For the next few
days we worked in the yard during daylight hours and watched DVDs at night.
Power returned about 1400 on 19 Sep 04.
Date: 17 Oct 04
Wx:
Mostly sunny; wind SW less than 10
kts
Seas: Mostly glass with
some 2 ft swells
Temp: 70s F
Sunday was great. We got a late start, so we only
did two dives. The offshore wreck (Offshore LCM) was covered with gags,
AJs, triggerfish, and snapper. The gags were freaked out. They would scatter if
you got within 20 ft (which was about the viz limit). I got my two gags by
ambush. I would float above the wreck and shoot when they poked a head out.
Candy shot a big AJ which bent her shaft before it pulled off, so she couldn’t
shoot for the rest of the first dive. She shot three triggers on the second
dive before her tip came off (probably loosened by the AJ spinning around). She
replaced the tip but forgot to put the shaft slide back on. Then she couldn’t
get the tip off again. She should have kept on shooting the triggers freeshaft, but it didn’t occur to her until she was back on
the boat. Some of the triggers we shot were pretty decent. My spear got stuck
in the skull of both my gags, so I wasted a lot of time banging the tip all the
way through so I could pull it out. If I would have concentrated on the
snapper, I could have shot my limit, but I had grouper fever. The good news is
that I was able to straighten Candy’s shaft, and she didn’t lose her spear tip.
I also found my exhaust “T” on the second dive. Probably
saved $75.
We tried to go out yesterday (18 Oct), but the
forecast was about 8 hours off. We expected 2 ft seas early, building to 4 ft
in the afternoon. By the time we got to the pass at 0830, the seas were already
4 ft. I swear there were 8 footers in the pass. A 15 kt south
wind meeting the outgoing tide. We got the hell beat out of us.
Date: 24 Oct 04
Wx:
Overcast with the sun breaking through
Seas: Choppy in the bay
Temp: 70s F
Another aborted trip. The pass was not as bad as 18 October, but we
elected to turn around. We had intended
to head offshore to find good viz, but the seas were at least 3 and 4 ft and the wave
period was about 2 seconds. We could
only make 10 kts into the 15 kt wind and swell.
Date: 30 Oct 04
Wx:
Mostly sunny, winds SW at 15 kts early
Seas: Light chop in the bay, 2 and 3 ft in the Gulf on
the way out.
Temp: 80s F
Boat continues to
run great. We used a lot of gas getting
to the first dive site due to the headwind and wave period.
Dive one: Belize Queen.
We drove right over the usual numbers for the wreck, but the relief was
only about 5 feet on the bottom finder (instead of the usual 15 ft). I made a few more passes and decided to drop
the hook (I thought the wheel house might have separated during “Ivan”, and we
were just seeing part of the structure.
As it turns out, the anchor dropped right into the hold of the
wreck. Ivan has blasted the sand from
under the boat, so it doesn’t show as much relief as you drive over it. The wreck is still in fine shape. Viz was 15 to 20 ft. I pulled 4 lobsters from one of the small
round openings on the forward deck.
Candy shot a triggerfish. There
were grouper and red snapper, but they were skittish. Tom shot a black snapper.
Dive two: Odyssey Paddleboat. I had grouper fever, so I didn’t go for any
of the red and black snapper. I have
never seen grouper so freaked out. We
shot more triggers.
Dive three: Awesome:
Vis was 50 ft until about 40 ft from
the bottom. We could see a layer of
“smog” and the viz slowly worsened as we descended through it. There was still light, but no viz at the bottom. We called the dive.
Date: 31 Oct 04
Wx:
Mostly sunny, winds SE at 10 kts early
Seas: Glass in the bay, 2 ft or less in the Gulf
Temp: 80s F
Boat continues to
run great. With just Candy and I on the boat, we were several hundred pounds lighter than
yesterday’s trip. We made 20 to 23 mph
at times.
Dive one: Offshore Landing Craft. Vis was
about 15 ft. We both shot red snappers
that pulled off. The baitfish
were so thick that they interfered with visibility. Candy shot a trigger. I managed to shove my hand into Candy’s
speartip.
Dive two: Baskins Tower Barge. After verifying offshore tanks 13 and 14, we
went to the Baskins Tower Barge. We
expected the viz to be better offshore, but we were wrong. Baskins was sitting in a
smog just like “awesome” (even though they are 20 miles apart). We called the dive.
Dive Three: Janet.
After dives to 115 ft and 135 ft. We headed into the shallows. Two boats were on the LCM-8, but the “Janet”
was open. There were many
”short” schooling AJs. There were
several gags under the hull on the starboard side, but they were freaked out,
and I was not able to even ambush them.
Candy found 2 lobsters and shot a fat 20 inch flounder.