cdiver2
Contributor
Anyone have information on diving the Middle grounds in the Gulf of Mexico from the Clearwater area ?
Middle Grounds G of M
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Excellent diving!!! Best for advanced divers - mostly for spearing fish though. Depths range from 80 to 130 + feet...
There's a couple of charters that go out there regularly for spearing - check out the charter trip section on www.spearboard.com if you're interested. I've been out on the Jolly Rogers II (www.jollyrogersii.com or www.jrii.com or something similar...) - a 43' torres for overnight trips out there. Can be a blast!!!
There's a couple of charters that go out there regularly for spearing - check out the charter trip section on www.spearboard.com if you're interested. I've been out on the Jolly Rogers II (www.jollyrogersii.com or www.jrii.com or something similar...) - a 43' torres for overnight trips out there. Can be a blast!!!
OP
cdiver2
Contributor
Thanks TD I don't spear photography is my thing but I have never seen any uw photos from the MG, thought it may be a good place to go.
It may be decent for photos when vis is good. There's a cool DVD that a guy named fishkilla (spearboard name) makes of MG trips - one titled "Greek" that has 30 foot tall coral-like or rock-like structures that kind of look Easter Islandish...do see tropicals there, but not as many as I do on the East Coast/Caribbean. I've only been out there 3 times so far, so haven't been to that many sites....
cdiver2:
OP
cdiver2
Contributor
Any idea what a good/bad viz day is compared to say 10m out ?. Also is there any shallow dives available 40-50' after a deep one
Heard that the vis 10 m out of Tampa Bay is not very good...don't know that for a fact cause live on East Coast of FL. Dove once on the Mexican Pride (45 m out) and the vis there was better than at the shallower (more inshore) reef sites where vis was 15 to 20 feet. The MG is 100 miles out, so pretty far for variable conditions, best I've seen is 40 ft vis there. Right now (May) all bottom stuff is covered with a "gumbo" of seaweed. For photos, I'd probably stick with East coast...
Oh, and NO shallow 40' to 50' sites in the MG....
OP
cdiver2
Contributor
Thanks TD, it will be the east. The Gulf is ok if I go 10-20m out but all the charters only want to go 4-5m so that they can get back for a afternoon trip. Used to have a great charter boat 39' Searay 6 pack that would do one trip a day and do the 10-20m but he has gone out of business, sh*t.TropicalDiver:
David
David, if you ever do the MG, it's often more than a day trip (ie.overnight). There once was a go-fast boat that went there (now out of business also) for a day trip that started at 4 am and ended at 10 pm...makes for a VERY long day.
I'd consider networking to get on private boats and being a VERY good guest (cleaning boat, etc.) - that's how I got out to dive the Mexican Pride...which, BTW is one of the coolest wreck sites I've seen...
I'd consider networking to get on private boats and being a VERY good guest (cleaning boat, etc.) - that's how I got out to dive the Mexican Pride...which, BTW is one of the coolest wreck sites I've seen...
OP
cdiver2
Contributor
TropicalDiver:
Thats how I dived on the other boat they were friends that asked me if I wanted to go out one weekend. I helped get tanks on board, did the lines, helped gear up the paying guests and washed the boat when we got back, after that they asked me to go every Sat & Sun. Made my day when they gave me a crew shirt. Thats how I meet my wife also, a guest on the boat.
David
Dived the Mexican pride a couple of times
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