Is this true?

[DiverG]

These guys have covered GOM very well. I will add that if you plan on flying here (Houston) to go diving there (GOM) try to fly into Humble or Ellington Field if at all possible. IAH is on the north side of Houston and that the direction you will need to travel to get to departure sites.

Best of Luck,

Toe

Hey Toecutter, I think you meant to say fly into Hobby.

 

[nativenarcosis]

Hey Toecutter, I think you meant to say fly into Hobby.

Yes Hobby is a better gig for the southside but take into consideration your flight might be cheaper into the Bush and it is just an additional 40 minutes drive time.

 

[Cudabait]

Yes, if you catch the weather on a nice day the gulf rigs can be great dives. However it's usually a pretty long boat ride to get there--the ones I've dived out of Port Aransas are a 1.5-2 hour ride, that's if it's calm.

I wouldn't make a special trip to Texas to dive the rigs, there's just not a guarantee the weather will cooperate. The Texas coast is notorious for wind, and you won't want to be running offshore if it rough, espcially if you get seasick.

In case you're curious, I've got a few rig dive pictures on the web:

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~jwc8398/scuba.html
(scroll down to the bottom of the page.

As one who has been on hundreds of rigs, both professionally and for sport, I would say they are some of the most interesting diving one can experience. Acres of verticle reef to explore in the water column.

Capt. M, above, is correct. Additionally, there are rotary currents in the Gulf which can be unpredictable and quite strong. Serious gulf divng should be done initially with the experienced. According to your profile you are a writer. I suggest gulf trip with Seasearcher II, Fling or Spree. All livaboards operating out of Freeport. Tx. Plan for August or Sept. They go to the Flower Garden Banks and include rig dives. However, if you don't have time to burn, you may be better off going somewhere that the viz, sea conditions and wind speed are almost guaranteed. You will probably spend less and dive a lot more in the long run.

Regards,

 

[WaterWayne]

...if you plan on flying here (Houston) fly into Humble or Ellington Field if at all possible. IAH is on the north side of Houston...

Toe

Toe's got airworthy advice, but the airport on the south (Gulf) side of Houston is Hobby Airport, coded HOU. (Humble is a town on the north side of Houston.) Not only is HOU 50 miles closer to the Gulf, without traversing America's 4th-biggest city, in-and-out is much easier than the big airport.