Lindas News Letter and Dive Report for the last few weeks.
Greeting from the beach,
We have been very busy this Summer, with students boat trips and even Discover scuba drivers. It’s good to see so much interest in advanced dive classes this year. We have met a lot of new people this summer and glad to have all our repeat customers.
This month we have had so many dive trips on our boat. The seas have been calm most days with seas at 2 foot or less. We try to vary our destinations so our divers don’t get bored going to the same spots all the time. We have made quite a few trips to the Navy Tug ,as we have found this sight to have consistently good visibility. The visibility has been 70 to 80 foot most days. Gary usually goes Rome for the second dive. Rome is Bridge rubble and usually holds a good bit of marine life. We have heard on certain days that shark have been seen here. Some of our divers like to see them and some are not too thrilled. We haven’t heard of them being aggressive unless someone is Spearfishing.
On Wednesdays Gary does inshore trips such as the Wallace. People have been raving about the amount of fish life on it. The depth is 85 - 95 foot and about 10 miles out of our pass. We can leave at about 8 and be back at the dock by 12:30 or so. People seem to like not tying up their whole day. It gives them time to enjoy the many other things Orange Beach has to offer.
The Oriskany is still one of the favorite dives of advanced divers. We go to this site at least once a week sometimes more. If you have 6 divers you can charter the boat and do a private trip . The groups that have done this seem to enjoy it a lot. There is nothing better than experiencing this dive with 6 of your best friends. The visibility is usually between 80 to 100 foot. There is a lot of growth on the Oriskany which has attracted a lot of fish. We have seen amberjack, barracuda ,shark and resident octopus. A lot of marine life in just one year. It’s just getting better and better. When you go to the Oriskany everyone notices how well all the boat operators work together. All of us want your trip out there to be enjoyable.
Some of the other dive sites we have gone to this month are ,The Old Dry Docks, Pete Tide, 3 mile barge, Rock Barge, and the 3 Coal barges. We try to plan some shallow dives for our new divers. We have had some good trips to these places and have seen lots of spade fish and even an occasional dolphin. Too many species to name them all.
This past weekend we had one of our favorite trips. It was a perfect days to go to the Avocet. We left the dock at 8 and arrived at the Avocet around 9. After our divemaster Blake tied into the wreck and gave us the thumbs up sign we were ready to make our first dive. Some of our divers were very excited when they saw 3 or 4 very large spotted eagle rays, moray eels and some of the largest barracudas they have ever seen. Visibilty was 70 to 80 feet with water temperature being 77 degrees. Next we moved over to Ydt 15 (Suitland). Our plan had been to go to Ydt 14 but another group beat us to it. After about an hour and a half surface interval our divers made their second dive. With visibility at a decent 50 foot. They reported a lot of moon jellies in the first 30 feet. Once they cleared those it was a great second dive. People just loved both of these dives. We celebrated 3 birthdays on this trip. Donna brought a ton of snack food, Gary supplied pineapple and smoked sausages for lunch and we topped it off with a birthday cake with an under water scene on it. I have never seen so much food on a dive boat. We got back to the dock about the same time a big black cloud came over head but never did get rained on. What a perfect day!
Most divers have been wearing a 3 mil wetsuit or a shorty this month. If not for warmth but to keep from getting stung by the Jellyfish. Not all sites have been reporting them but you just never know if they will be there. Some days we see more than others. There has been some beach diving going on but not as much as last year. The pass at high tide seems to draw the jellyfish in. Most people are either wearing a full 3mil or a skin. Blake went to the whiskey wreck in Gulf Shores on Saturday with 2 very excited discover scuba diving students and reports a great dive, with vis at 15 ft. This dive can be good if the wind is North or the seas are calm.
We are looking forward to this weekend with the Boat Races in town. We have a dive trip on Saturday with a few spots still left. On Sunday our boat will help with rescue diver support for the boat races. This is always a fun spectator event so come to the beach.
Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it. We have some dive trips with limited space, so if you will be here for that weekend and want to dive please call the shop and reserve your spot.
Don't forget Our Cozumel Trip Feb.21-26/ 2008 call the shop to book this fun filled trip.
Keep diving!!!!!
Linda.
Greeting from the beach,
We have been very busy this Summer, with students boat trips and even Discover scuba drivers. It’s good to see so much interest in advanced dive classes this year. We have met a lot of new people this summer and glad to have all our repeat customers.
This month we have had so many dive trips on our boat. The seas have been calm most days with seas at 2 foot or less. We try to vary our destinations so our divers don’t get bored going to the same spots all the time. We have made quite a few trips to the Navy Tug ,as we have found this sight to have consistently good visibility. The visibility has been 70 to 80 foot most days. Gary usually goes Rome for the second dive. Rome is Bridge rubble and usually holds a good bit of marine life. We have heard on certain days that shark have been seen here. Some of our divers like to see them and some are not too thrilled. We haven’t heard of them being aggressive unless someone is Spearfishing.
On Wednesdays Gary does inshore trips such as the Wallace. People have been raving about the amount of fish life on it. The depth is 85 - 95 foot and about 10 miles out of our pass. We can leave at about 8 and be back at the dock by 12:30 or so. People seem to like not tying up their whole day. It gives them time to enjoy the many other things Orange Beach has to offer.
The Oriskany is still one of the favorite dives of advanced divers. We go to this site at least once a week sometimes more. If you have 6 divers you can charter the boat and do a private trip . The groups that have done this seem to enjoy it a lot. There is nothing better than experiencing this dive with 6 of your best friends. The visibility is usually between 80 to 100 foot. There is a lot of growth on the Oriskany which has attracted a lot of fish. We have seen amberjack, barracuda ,shark and resident octopus. A lot of marine life in just one year. It’s just getting better and better. When you go to the Oriskany everyone notices how well all the boat operators work together. All of us want your trip out there to be enjoyable.
Some of the other dive sites we have gone to this month are ,The Old Dry Docks, Pete Tide, 3 mile barge, Rock Barge, and the 3 Coal barges. We try to plan some shallow dives for our new divers. We have had some good trips to these places and have seen lots of spade fish and even an occasional dolphin. Too many species to name them all.
This past weekend we had one of our favorite trips. It was a perfect days to go to the Avocet. We left the dock at 8 and arrived at the Avocet around 9. After our divemaster Blake tied into the wreck and gave us the thumbs up sign we were ready to make our first dive. Some of our divers were very excited when they saw 3 or 4 very large spotted eagle rays, moray eels and some of the largest barracudas they have ever seen. Visibilty was 70 to 80 feet with water temperature being 77 degrees. Next we moved over to Ydt 15 (Suitland). Our plan had been to go to Ydt 14 but another group beat us to it. After about an hour and a half surface interval our divers made their second dive. With visibility at a decent 50 foot. They reported a lot of moon jellies in the first 30 feet. Once they cleared those it was a great second dive. People just loved both of these dives. We celebrated 3 birthdays on this trip. Donna brought a ton of snack food, Gary supplied pineapple and smoked sausages for lunch and we topped it off with a birthday cake with an under water scene on it. I have never seen so much food on a dive boat. We got back to the dock about the same time a big black cloud came over head but never did get rained on. What a perfect day!
Most divers have been wearing a 3 mil wetsuit or a shorty this month. If not for warmth but to keep from getting stung by the Jellyfish. Not all sites have been reporting them but you just never know if they will be there. Some days we see more than others. There has been some beach diving going on but not as much as last year. The pass at high tide seems to draw the jellyfish in. Most people are either wearing a full 3mil or a skin. Blake went to the whiskey wreck in Gulf Shores on Saturday with 2 very excited discover scuba diving students and reports a great dive, with vis at 15 ft. This dive can be good if the wind is North or the seas are calm.
We are looking forward to this weekend with the Boat Races in town. We have a dive trip on Saturday with a few spots still left. On Sunday our boat will help with rescue diver support for the boat races. This is always a fun spectator event so come to the beach.
Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it. We have some dive trips with limited space, so if you will be here for that weekend and want to dive please call the shop and reserve your spot.
Don't forget Our Cozumel Trip Feb.21-26/ 2008 call the shop to book this fun filled trip.
Keep diving!!!!!
Linda.
