4-9-5 Destin Jetties Dive Report

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I met Paulwall at the Loxley, AL exit along I-10 to catch a ride out to Destin to do some diving. We knew the conditions probably weren't going to be great do to the recent heavy storms the panhandle had been subjected to, but we were hoping they were good enough to dive. The past few days had been really nice and the surf had subsided to nearly nothing allowing for the water to clear up slightly. Outside temps were in the mid-high 70sF and the water was supposedly near 70F. All the runoff from the flooding put a ton of tannic water into the bay and inshore of the beach, so the high tide just brought in tannic river water. The water was somewhat clear though, with about 5' of visibility. After descending about 20' you would lose sunlight and we had to use our lights. Peering upwards would give you a view of a dark blood red sun. We ended up doing two dives, one of them being slightly longer than an hour. We reached a max depth of 46' and made it as far as the wooden steps and the shell beds where Paul filled his BC pockets to the brim full of shells. We had fun and I was happy to get back in the water after being dry for 3 weeks. It was great meeting another ScubaBoarder(Louisianian) too - looking forward to the next time I can dive with him. Paulwall found a goodybag that someone left behind and I came out of the dive with an extra diveknife that someone dropped. Not too shabby of a bounty.

Here's a pic from above the surface.

 

[SeaYoda]

I'm glad you guys got a dive in. I heard through the grapevine that currents and viz have been bad at the Miss Louise so no better conditions on boat dives either. Did it remind you of our dive at Morrison ?

 

[jviehe]

Well, that sucks. Id like to go to the PC jetties next weekend, but maybe we'll do a spring instead.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Did it remind you of our dive at Morrison ?

Yep! The water tasted a bit differently though

Well, that sucks. Id like to go to the PC jetties next weekend, but maybe we'll do a spring instead.

I think a bunch of us are still going to do Cypress next weekend. Course, the gulf conditions could change alot in a week.

 

[paulwall]

It was great meeting and diving with you Matt! I felt I was hanging on your leg the whole time, between the underweighting, the busted light, and the general lack of familiarity with the site, I couldn't have asked for a better buddy.

It was kind of eerie going from bright light to twilight to night in about 10 ft of water depth change (15 to 25 ft). Very cool flounder, sheepshead, and amberjack(I'm sticking to my ID, since you didn't see it ), chasing the crabs around and watching the blennies and the torpedo fish.

Quite a different and worthwhile dive IMHO....


Now, back to the Gulf!!!!

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Glad you had fun, maybe next time we'll get the blue/green water Destin is more famous for and I'll be able to spot the bigger fish as well.

 

[H2Andy]

lol, that picture reminds of Ginnie when the Santa Fe River creeps in

that tanic water sure gets dark fast

 

[Rick Murchison]

Course, the gulf conditions could change alot in a week.

Indeed... the Gulf can change her entire complexion and demeanor in about 15 minutes!
That's part of why I love her so much, I suppose.
Rick

 

[Nemrod]

I dived the Destin Jetties Monday past. I was on the western jetty and parked by the bridge. I had anywhere from 5 to briefly maybe 30 plus foot viz. In the past, way past, it seems we dived the east jetty? Which one is the jetty you guys dived and how do you get to the east side? My max depth was 40 feet and I enjoyed the dive. The hurricanes certainly rearranged things, where is the tidal pool? N

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

We dive the East Jetties.

Take 98 heading East from Santa Rosa Island over the bridge, then keep going 3-4 redlights, until you reach Gulf Shore Drive(the sign was missing Saturday, its the next redlight after(east) of Main St.). Take Gulf Shore Dr down past the "S" turn until you see a gravel parking area parrellel to the street in front of a marina on the bayside. Park and you'll have to walk back to the westernmost side of the parking and look across the street to see the trail that leads to the jetties. There is a garbage can, shower head, and beach-condition-signs. It can be hard to spot. Its between a beach house and a white condo.