Dive Report Florida - The SkipJack and an unknown barge
I went out on a boat from Cortez, Florida for a 2 tank dive this morning after listening to locals whine about the cold water and the poor viz the latest storms have brought in. The boat left at a leisurely 8:20AM this morning for 2 wrecks which they do not bother to name, even after asking they only named one.
After a 45 min run out we arrived at the first wreck which was a wooden schooner type vessel which sank in the late 1800s (like pulling teeth to get the info) The wreck sat at 65 feet with a bottom temp of 69 degrees (had I not worn my 7ml as suggested by the shop I might have froze to death)
This was my first dive from a dive platform and I cant say I like or dislike it. There was a bit of a chop but I didn't find it was harder or easier to navigate. As a matter of fact, the only difference I found between Florida and Jersey wreck diving is COLOR! There definately was some color on this wreck and about 30 foot of viz. Tons of spade fish, some rather large grouper, some smaller tropicals, some that looked like blue tang but I dont think they were, they had some yellow markings, sea urchins and sponges, corals and anemones in reds and yellows. Not quite like in the movies but really nice. I was partnered with Tom, from Syracuse who did a lot of diving in the St Lawrence and had a theory about petting the grouper .
A relaxed and entertaining 33 min dive.
My jon line performed admirably on the ascent. And lets just say that fin removal while bouncing off the dive ladder is not my forte, fin # 1 no problem, #2 less than graceful. We were then off to the next site about 30 min away. This appeared to be a barge in about 60 feet of water with a bottom temp of 68 degrees and much worse viz, about 10-15 feet.
The problem with this site was the bait fish. Gazillions of them, so thick that moving more than an arms length away from my dive partner I could not see him. The water actually looked milky there were so many.
But this also brought in some pilot fish and grouper in the 300-350 lb range. While swimming along the edge of the wreck and checking under outcroppings to see what might be there, suddenly the bait fish cleared in a hurry allowing me to actually see my surroundings, including the grouper about 6 inches from me which was longer than I was. I didn't pee in my wetsuit but the thought occurred to me.
Not a bad welcome to Florida dive but I know there is a lot more out there.
Florida Report
I just heard from a dive buddy from New York who is in Florida for 2 wks and we will get some dive days in.
Also went on line and found 2 locals to dive with from Tampa. One is from Bricktown and one is from Atlantic City and his girlfriend and her family live in Bradenton and they are from Toms River.
One of my dive buddies in Jersey lives in Brick and is from Sarasota. Go figure.
Dennis has been to the beach every day and has broken out in a rash. I think he is allergic to Florida.