ItsMandy227
Guest
Lets start out first by saying "Boy was it cold!"
It was approximately 62 degrees. We headed out 16 miles to our first reef. I was pleasantly surprised, the visability was great, around 60 feet.
Dive 1 - Max depth 57 feet and down for 41 min. The reef was amazing, as they all are. Not too many colors but plenty of life. Top of the ledge at around 40 feet and 57 on the bottom. My buddy found a fossilized manatee rib which was pretty interesting. On the 15 foot safety stop the water warmed up a few degrees and actually made it bareable. Next time I'll wear more than a 3mm.
After a short ride to our next dive spot which was about 14 miles offshore was my first wreck dive.
Dive 2 - There were a couple of barges that were sunk who knows when. Max depth 44 feet for 40 min this time. Unless you were along side one of the barges you'd never know it was a ship. On top swimming over it was totally covered. They were very open on the inside with lots of room above and ahead so we went in and swam through nice and slow mostly pulling our way through. That was the neatest part. As far as what I saw, tons of starfish, lizard fish, large sanddollars, tons of fish, sorry I'm not good on identifying them, I'm pretty sure some grouper and people above were fishing for king fish but I didn't see any, a frog fish, (I think is what he called it), it let you hold it if you were able to catch it, a sea cucumber, another type of slug purple with yellow spots, and a few large conchs! No sharks! No Barracuda! I wasn't a happy camper, or diver should I say, about that.
All in all it was a great day, the weather was perfect, the trip out calm and smooth. If anyone is coming to the Clearwater area I'd definitly recommend Captain Mac and Captain Jim. Very nice people and they had the best pineapple I've ever had, ever!
It was approximately 62 degrees. We headed out 16 miles to our first reef. I was pleasantly surprised, the visability was great, around 60 feet.
Dive 1 - Max depth 57 feet and down for 41 min. The reef was amazing, as they all are. Not too many colors but plenty of life. Top of the ledge at around 40 feet and 57 on the bottom. My buddy found a fossilized manatee rib which was pretty interesting. On the 15 foot safety stop the water warmed up a few degrees and actually made it bareable. Next time I'll wear more than a 3mm.
After a short ride to our next dive spot which was about 14 miles offshore was my first wreck dive.
Dive 2 - There were a couple of barges that were sunk who knows when. Max depth 44 feet for 40 min this time. Unless you were along side one of the barges you'd never know it was a ship. On top swimming over it was totally covered. They were very open on the inside with lots of room above and ahead so we went in and swam through nice and slow mostly pulling our way through. That was the neatest part. As far as what I saw, tons of starfish, lizard fish, large sanddollars, tons of fish, sorry I'm not good on identifying them, I'm pretty sure some grouper and people above were fishing for king fish but I didn't see any, a frog fish, (I think is what he called it), it let you hold it if you were able to catch it, a sea cucumber, another type of slug purple with yellow spots, and a few large conchs! No sharks! No Barracuda! I wasn't a happy camper, or diver should I say, about that.
All in all it was a great day, the weather was perfect, the trip out calm and smooth. If anyone is coming to the Clearwater area I'd definitly recommend Captain Mac and Captain Jim. Very nice people and they had the best pineapple I've ever had, ever!
almtree: Bob
