Saturday afternoon we boarded the Captain Scuba II and headed for the open seas. Our anticipation grew as we passed the jetties. Seas in the inlet were rough where the wind opposed the outgoing tide. We continued and waves calmed in open water. The seas were safe for diving but too choppy for the long ride to off-shore wrecks. We made the decision to dive in-shore instead.
For our first dive we chose the Hovercraft. This real name for this vessel is Landing Craft Air Cushion or LCAC. She weighs 160 tons, is 96 feet long and 48 feet wide. This particular craft was an experimental unit brought to Panama City in June, 1979 and was designated JEFF-A. She was built by Bell Aerospace and designed to carry 60 tons of cargo at a speed of 50 knots. This vessel has an interesting history in that she wouldn’t sink. The cargo floor lays riddled with holes where explosion after explosion finally enticed her to settle to the bottom. She’s been there since the early nineties but her all-aluminum hull does not support a lot of marine growth. The thick rubber skirt that made the air cushion possible is home to myriads of marine creatures.
We circled the wreck on the bottom and found Atlantic Deer Cowries, crabs of every sort, anemone, bait fish, and huge varieties of larger pelagic animals. Almost every hole and crevice revealed the homely face of a toadfish. This was a late afternoon dive, Bonita and mackerel were already herding baitfish and action of the ocean proved exciting indeed. There is no other place on earth for this kind of show except beneath the sea at shift change.
Large barracuda stacked themselves in the shallower water. The slush of both phytoplankton and zooplankton was thick during the safety stop. I am always amazed at what you can see in this layer if you stop to look. Squiggles that are juvenile something or others, you just have to guess what you’re seeing.
Back on the boat we cooked hotdogs. Leslie was gracious to bring a birthday cake for me. Chocolate with the icing baked into the cake. Yummy! The sunset was absolutely amazing. Dolphins danced all around us.
We moved to Bridge Span 14 for our night dive. No matter how many times I visit this site it always produces something new and something better. Surface current picked up but the bottom was nice. We circled the span on the sand and found another round of cowries and crabs of every sort. I really think that God put hermit crabs and blennies on Earth solely to entertain us. There was a large whelk out walking on the sand, and a spiral of her eggs drifting along. We saw several luminescent cowfish, a two or three-hundred pound jewfish and schools of Atlantic spadefish, jacks and snapper. We rescued two murex shells, their feathery spines tangled in fishing line.
The ascent turned out to be a real treat. Within the plankton layer a river of bioluminescence glowed brightly. We watched for a long time – Mother Nature showing out. How much better can it get?
We thought the ride in would be rough but we were actually on a trailing sea, where all life’s journeys need to be. Life is good!
For our first dive we chose the Hovercraft. This real name for this vessel is Landing Craft Air Cushion or LCAC. She weighs 160 tons, is 96 feet long and 48 feet wide. This particular craft was an experimental unit brought to Panama City in June, 1979 and was designated JEFF-A. She was built by Bell Aerospace and designed to carry 60 tons of cargo at a speed of 50 knots. This vessel has an interesting history in that she wouldn’t sink. The cargo floor lays riddled with holes where explosion after explosion finally enticed her to settle to the bottom. She’s been there since the early nineties but her all-aluminum hull does not support a lot of marine growth. The thick rubber skirt that made the air cushion possible is home to myriads of marine creatures.
We circled the wreck on the bottom and found Atlantic Deer Cowries, crabs of every sort, anemone, bait fish, and huge varieties of larger pelagic animals. Almost every hole and crevice revealed the homely face of a toadfish. This was a late afternoon dive, Bonita and mackerel were already herding baitfish and action of the ocean proved exciting indeed. There is no other place on earth for this kind of show except beneath the sea at shift change.
Large barracuda stacked themselves in the shallower water. The slush of both phytoplankton and zooplankton was thick during the safety stop. I am always amazed at what you can see in this layer if you stop to look. Squiggles that are juvenile something or others, you just have to guess what you’re seeing.
Back on the boat we cooked hotdogs. Leslie was gracious to bring a birthday cake for me. Chocolate with the icing baked into the cake. Yummy! The sunset was absolutely amazing. Dolphins danced all around us.
We moved to Bridge Span 14 for our night dive. No matter how many times I visit this site it always produces something new and something better. Surface current picked up but the bottom was nice. We circled the span on the sand and found another round of cowries and crabs of every sort. I really think that God put hermit crabs and blennies on Earth solely to entertain us. There was a large whelk out walking on the sand, and a spiral of her eggs drifting along. We saw several luminescent cowfish, a two or three-hundred pound jewfish and schools of Atlantic spadefish, jacks and snapper. We rescued two murex shells, their feathery spines tangled in fishing line.
The ascent turned out to be a real treat. Within the plankton layer a river of bioluminescence glowed brightly. We watched for a long time – Mother Nature showing out. How much better can it get?
We thought the ride in would be rough but we were actually on a trailing sea, where all life’s journeys need to be. Life is good!
