Last Flower Gardens trip of season

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Illini_Fan

Contributor
Messages
446
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Location
DFW (Highland Village)
# of dives
500 - 999
For some reason, I thought the Fling was running trips the weekend of 10/27, but in looking at their calendar today, it looks like the last schedule public trip is the weekend of 10/20. Is anyone from the DFW area heading down? Hopefully the weather will be good and the trip will go, so I'm looking for anyone that wants to carpool.

thanks

tom
 
love to, but haven't found a seasickness cure yet :(

Is it that bad? How long does it take to reach the flower garden?
 
Seven hours. However, you are out there for more than two days (or longer for the 11 dive trip). And yes, it CAN be "that bad". I've bounced off the bulkhead from my bunk, but then again I've seen it flat enough to waterski. One just never knows exactly which Gulf of Mexico will decide to show up for the trip. Even my last trip out there in late July, we were treated to a bit of both. Glass flat and no current for the first day, and then the "real" GOM made itself known for the other two days. Pays to be prepared.


Smurf S, what you tried so far?
 
dramamine - fail
prescription ear patch - slightly works, but not enough to fix it - also makes me feel like I'm on death's door
wrist pressure dot - not sure, had a mexican diver m.d. hold my wrist when I was about to barf on a divewithmartin boat in cozumel during a rainstorm as we headed back to shore. I made it to the concrete pier from the site :)

It sucks, being a diver and all - I didn't even make it to the texas clipper (lost it right as they were tying up to the wreck's buoy)
 
Is the diving good? How/where do I sign up for this?
 
Is the diving good? How/where do I sign up for this?

First, the diving is great. BUT, unless you are going to be in the area anyway, spring and fall trips are a bit unreliable. In fact, probably less than 25% of the early spring trips are a go due to excessive seas. Unless you also wanted to see the sights of SE TX, summer trips are probably the way to go. They are much more reliable with probably less than 10% being cancelled.
 
The weather is south/central TX seems to be finally breaking out of the summer horror, so I would echo awap's comment about a trip 2 weeks from now being a good candidate for cancelation. The plus side of that is that at least I can mow my lawn at 10AM without dripping sweat.
 
To Smurf Stomper: So sorry that it's that much of a problem for you. I suffer from seasickness, too, but not to that extent. The patch failed me big time on a FG trip, but I took Dramamine and three hours later I was having a muffin and juice before the morning dive! I'm pretty sure you followed the directions, but just to make sure let me ask...did you start the Dramamine well before boarding? I've found that it works best (for me) to take a full dose 8-12 hours before boarding, then another WHEN I board. Follow up with the suggested dosage for the first 12 hours. After that, I've found I can taper off or sometimes even stop taking it altogether for the rest of the trip. If Dramamine doesn't work under those conditions, you might try Bonine. Some report that it is less unsettling to their systems than Dramamine. Sure hope you find a solution!

Captain Sinbad...the diving in the FG is absolutely stellar. It's all hard coral, but the benthic cover is unbelievable (at least in FG East and West...Stetson Banks is a bit lower). Regardless, the cover is over 80 percent...for reference, the benthic cover in the best of Florida's or Bahamian reef systems is only about 50 percent. There is extremely good diversity, and the coral ecosystem in the FG is HEALTHY. Since it is that far from shore influences (about 110 miles), is a national marine sanctuary, and is typically not over-used, the FG is one of the most pristine coral reef systems in the world. I'm not exaggerating...it really is listed as a baseline data referenced location for measuring the relative health of reef systems.
About the only way I know of getting out there is with Fling Charters, out of Freeport. Very good service, but the best time to go, in my opinion, is July and early August.
 

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