Made 4 dives with an advanced nitrox & deco student Saturday on his boat.
To get deep as close as possible out of Tampa Bay you head southwest, but it still takes a long run. Our longest deepest site was 54 nautical miles out of Clearwater. The 157' deep C-47 Airplane was also the clearest at around 40' horizontal vis. & 72*F. If this was a C-47, (and I think it is), it's upside-down because the wings arch from on top of the fuselage down to the bottom. The rest of the plane is broken and scattered all around. I dove the intact tail years ago but missed it this time, or it's gone now. My buddies & I have taken many big fish from this wreck including an 82 lbs cubera, a 59 lbs gag and numerous 60 to 80 lbs AJs. This trip only the AJs were home and we passed on them. Still, a very cool dive to see.
We also had 3 wild dolphins buzz us for a minute or so during the safety stop!
The other sites included the Pride Sink in 132', with 10' vis & 74*F, but several ARS. This sink is 200' deep at the top of the sediment pile, and even deeper the cavers say. A small wreck in 107' off Indian Rocks, also 10' dirty & 77*F, covered with bait so we could not see to shoot the fish that flashed away. And finally a very active little ledge not far from the Sheridan in 80', but again not clear & 81*F. Lots of small gags, a hogfish and snappers. No fish worth taking photos.
I never went into decompression. Had we known the visibility would be so limited in moderately deep water up off Mid Pinellas County we'd have stayed down off Sarasota and made another deeper wreck dive.
I'm hearing lots of reports of decent visibility from St Pete to Tarpon, in about 60' to 85'. Check more than one site. Moving north or south often finds better water.
Capt Chad
To get deep as close as possible out of Tampa Bay you head southwest, but it still takes a long run. Our longest deepest site was 54 nautical miles out of Clearwater. The 157' deep C-47 Airplane was also the clearest at around 40' horizontal vis. & 72*F. If this was a C-47, (and I think it is), it's upside-down because the wings arch from on top of the fuselage down to the bottom. The rest of the plane is broken and scattered all around. I dove the intact tail years ago but missed it this time, or it's gone now. My buddies & I have taken many big fish from this wreck including an 82 lbs cubera, a 59 lbs gag and numerous 60 to 80 lbs AJs. This trip only the AJs were home and we passed on them. Still, a very cool dive to see.
We also had 3 wild dolphins buzz us for a minute or so during the safety stop!
The other sites included the Pride Sink in 132', with 10' vis & 74*F, but several ARS. This sink is 200' deep at the top of the sediment pile, and even deeper the cavers say. A small wreck in 107' off Indian Rocks, also 10' dirty & 77*F, covered with bait so we could not see to shoot the fish that flashed away. And finally a very active little ledge not far from the Sheridan in 80', but again not clear & 81*F. Lots of small gags, a hogfish and snappers. No fish worth taking photos.
I never went into decompression. Had we known the visibility would be so limited in moderately deep water up off Mid Pinellas County we'd have stayed down off Sarasota and made another deeper wreck dive.
I'm hearing lots of reports of decent visibility from St Pete to Tarpon, in about 60' to 85'. Check more than one site. Moving north or south often finds better water.
Capt Chad
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