The tides look better in around April 9, 10 & 16 as for times.
I'll see if the local dive shop can help me understand the tide magnitudes to know what is ripping and what is not.
MAY 18, 2015! Lets dive the Jetty in Destin or over in Panama City Beach.
- Thread starter Jason_Ellington
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I'll see if the local dive shop can help me understand the tide magnitudes to know what is ripping and what is not.
Wayward Son
Contributor
I don't really see any reason to go to the trouble of entering at the point. It's a pretty good distance from the point to the bay end of the jetty rocks & there's nothing but sand in between.
At the point is a channel, boats cut around it right off the sand. Somewhere between the point & the kiddie pool it turns into a shallow sand flat.
The bay end of the rocks is shallow. I mean like 6 FWS or so at high tide shallow on the channel side.
Viz is driven by 2 things, the overall water condition & the direction & time of the tide. When the tide comes in it brings water from the gulf. If that water is clear you get good viz, if the gulf isn't clear, you don't, but it will still be the best of the day. As soon as the tide turns & heads out it's taking the dirty water from the bay out to sea. Viz can go from 15' to 4' in a very short time.
the current can be different at various depth. So when it's real strong at the surface you may find it's not so bad at 15 or maybe 30'
when you cross from the kiddie pool at the gaps & drop down, you'll level off at about 15' or so (working from memory here. if you turn left to the bay you'll just slowly get shallower. If you turn right to the gulf you can follow it deeper. I think the deepest I've ever hit was about 65' but I've never made it all the way to the end of the rocks so I guess it may get a bit deeper than that.
My common dive profile is to cross the gap, drop down right at the rocks -if you get a few feet out & try to drop down you stand a good chance of getting separated, so stick together, where you can see the rocks- and then turn right going deeper for maybe 1/3 - 1/2 the tank. Then ease up to a shallower depth on the rocks, say 40' and come back. If the tide is still coming in there can be enough current to make this part a drift. But I'll spend my time during this section off gassing at gradually shallower depths. If I get to the gap & still have lots of gas I'll just keep going in. then the choice is to go until I'm in about 6' and either turn around & come back to the gap or just go around the end & back into the kiddie pool.
I've had some impressive sights during this shallow run towards the bay. One time the viz was crap, maybe 4' or so but for that few feet it was really clear & I suddenly had a school of large redfish around me. Hundreds of 30" fish schooling around me.
Sometimes someone will be fishing off that part of the rocks but it's rare, especially at high tide. the gap is mostly under water then & anyone who wants over there has to get wet to take their tackle over & most just won't. The entanglement risk is high in the deeper part since people can just walk out & start fishing. make sure you have at least 2 ways to cut yourself free & that at least one can be reached by each hand.
At the point is a channel, boats cut around it right off the sand. Somewhere between the point & the kiddie pool it turns into a shallow sand flat.
The bay end of the rocks is shallow. I mean like 6 FWS or so at high tide shallow on the channel side.
Viz is driven by 2 things, the overall water condition & the direction & time of the tide. When the tide comes in it brings water from the gulf. If that water is clear you get good viz, if the gulf isn't clear, you don't, but it will still be the best of the day. As soon as the tide turns & heads out it's taking the dirty water from the bay out to sea. Viz can go from 15' to 4' in a very short time.
the current can be different at various depth. So when it's real strong at the surface you may find it's not so bad at 15 or maybe 30'
when you cross from the kiddie pool at the gaps & drop down, you'll level off at about 15' or so (working from memory here. if you turn left to the bay you'll just slowly get shallower. If you turn right to the gulf you can follow it deeper. I think the deepest I've ever hit was about 65' but I've never made it all the way to the end of the rocks so I guess it may get a bit deeper than that.
My common dive profile is to cross the gap, drop down right at the rocks -if you get a few feet out & try to drop down you stand a good chance of getting separated, so stick together, where you can see the rocks- and then turn right going deeper for maybe 1/3 - 1/2 the tank. Then ease up to a shallower depth on the rocks, say 40' and come back. If the tide is still coming in there can be enough current to make this part a drift. But I'll spend my time during this section off gassing at gradually shallower depths. If I get to the gap & still have lots of gas I'll just keep going in. then the choice is to go until I'm in about 6' and either turn around & come back to the gap or just go around the end & back into the kiddie pool.
I've had some impressive sights during this shallow run towards the bay. One time the viz was crap, maybe 4' or so but for that few feet it was really clear & I suddenly had a school of large redfish around me. Hundreds of 30" fish schooling around me.
Sometimes someone will be fishing off that part of the rocks but it's rare, especially at high tide. the gap is mostly under water then & anyone who wants over there has to get wet to take their tackle over & most just won't. The entanglement risk is high in the deeper part since people can just walk out & start fishing. make sure you have at least 2 ways to cut yourself free & that at least one can be reached by each hand.
That is good info.
How do you feel about diving April 9 or 10 instead of March 19? The high tide peaks just before noon on the April dates.
I'm just trying to work out the logistics of my road trip. If I dive on April 9 or 10, I might drive a little harder out and back and do less sight seeing.
How do you feel about diving April 9 or 10 instead of March 19? The high tide peaks just before noon on the April dates.
I'm just trying to work out the logistics of my road trip. If I dive on April 9 or 10, I might drive a little harder out and back and do less sight seeing.
Wayward Son
Contributor
that might work.
I think it will be the better choice. Do you live close enough to be ready to enter the water between 9am-10am?
Wayward Son
Contributor
it's 3 hours, so it's possible
I'm game for moving diving to Saturday, April 9th.
All of my dive trips have involved driving south for 2.5 hours or more. So I appreciate the sacrifice of getting up 3:30am-4:00am to make a dive. The wonderful thing is a good nights sleep after a long haul and a couple of dives is no problem.
Also, you can turn me onto a local eatery after the dive. Who knows I might even treat. I'll be a little bit spent more than one way after traveling to California and back, but a dive will make a nice cap to vacation.
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