7 1/2 fathom reef?

[archman]

Has anybody dove 7 1/2 fathom reef in the last few years? Hardly anyone I talk to has even HEARD of the place. I wanted to know if any boat operators went there. Several years back it was mentioned that boats out of Port Aransas sometimes made the trip... I wouldn't mind getting some mastodon bones.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Never heard of it.

If you have more info please post. Mastodon bones????

That sounds cool.

TwoBit

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Doing a quick google search...

I discovered its shallow (45' or less) and the currents can be wicked.

There is a boat that goes there from South Padre.

The reef is not far off the coast from Central SPI.

HTH

TwoBit

 

[archman]

Here's a quick link to the place...

http://www.gulfbase.org/reef/view.php?rid=saohfb


Dr. Wes Tunnell (professor at TAMU-Corpus Christi and coral reef expert extraordinaire) worked up the area in the early '70's as part of his dissertation. He said it was a great place to go in the summertime when the weather calmed down, assuming you could get out there. It's halfway down Padre Island a mile or two from shore.

Since it was formerly (Pleistocene formally) an old watering hole, there are supposed to be heaps of fossils lying around. I heard mastodons, horses, even camels.

Biotically it functions more as an algal reef. There are CRAPLOADS of triggerfish... presumably that means there are lots of urchins and crustaceans as well.