Flower Garden Trip Report

[ReefHound]

PM SENT

Thanks for the cordial and informative messages.

 

[Wookie]

In spring of 2005, the least we paid for off-road diesel fuel was $1.03 FOB Freeport. The price Friday the 14th of October 2005 was $2.32 FOB Freeport. Sometime the week before (I was offshore that week) was as high as $2.69 at the rack. Today, fuel was not available from our (and the Sea Searcher's) normal supplier, nor was it available yesterday. Not that the price of fuel really matters. There is so much crap floating between Freeport and the FGB that any boat operator would be foolish to make that run in the dark. I have had the Spree hauled 3 times in September/October for hitting stuff and bending wheels. Bending just one wheel eats the entire profit from a trip plus some. We took Sanctuary personnel out last week, and only ran in the day. We found oil slicks within 6 miles of the West bank, and would have hit 3 logs and an oil spill containment boom had we run at night on autopilot. The boom would have been the worst, as each section is 100 feet long and has a chain running the length of the boom. And Bill, The Fling first dove the Brine Seep in 1989, Bright and Geyer in 1994, and installed a mooring on Sonnier (Three Hickeys) in 1996. To be fair, those were Volunteer trips, not open to the general public.

 

[Martha]

Great trip report Cudabait! Thanks for sharing with us. My husband and I plan on doing a FG trip next year some time.

 

[shuurltt]

Great Report! Thanks!