Navarre Pier 6/14/2008 Report + Crappy Vid

[Hetland]

Saturday I joined some pals, and took the boat down to P'Cola with the plan of diving Ft. Pickens. Just out of the ramp, my hydraulic steering decided that it only wanted to go left. Rather than make a self-repair, and risk the use of sea-tow, we decided to let the professionals fix the problem, and drove to Navarre for a pier dive instead.

It turned out to be a beautiful night for a dive. We suited up, and a passerby advised us of the jellies. I asked if they were the sea nettles, or the man-o-wars, and he said, "both", which I did not really believe. He also said a sea-turtle had been in the area all day, and from the number of jellies we saw, he apparently ate very well. We never got to see the turtle though.

There were a few waves at entry and exit, but nothing to complain about. Surge made photography impossible, and video difficult. Temps were 80ish, and max depth was 20'. Vis was maybe 15-18'.

Jellyfish were everywhere (nettles only). I think this batch was worse than a few weeks ago. I did not get hit as much, but the hits I took were much more painful, including one across the top of my lip that made me scream therough my reg. I also had several hit me at the neckline, under my hood. It looks like someone tried to strangle me, and even today, I still have some marks, and the sensation of a sunburn on the back of my neck. I'm seriously considering research on how to kill jellyfish. I had considered strapping a turtle onto my bc. I could do all the swimming for him, and he could eat all the jellies he wanted. I just need to figure a way for him to breathe through my air2

We saw lots of crab corpses, but could never find the octos that were most likely responsible. We did see a few friendly spadefish, a few nice flounder (got within 6" of one guy, who never did take off), and my partners saw 2 friendly parrotfish. There were also baby shrimp and crabs everywhere, and so many tiny critters we thought it was sand that had been stirred up. Hopefully they will all grow up into jellyfish killing machines.

Crappy vid:
(note the crackling sound on the vid. I believe that is the sound of the corals/sponges/barnicles, and other reef critters)

Navarre Beach Pier Dive 6/14/2008 on Vimeo

I can't wait to get off shore again so I can dive without the (literal) pain in the neck jellies....

 

[diver918]

thanks for the write up. Its gotta suck with all those jellies out there! I had one brush up on my lip during a spearfishing trip...not fun to scream thru a reg. I'll have to catch the vid at home...

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

15-18' of visibility make for excellent macro photos, bring that camera along and get up close to the critters!

Thanks for the report, I haven't seen Man-O-Wars around in over a month or two.

 

[Hetland]

15-18' of visibility make for excellent macro photos, bring that camera along and get up close to the critters!

Thanks for the report, I haven't seen Man-O-Wars around in over a month or two.

I tried. The surge was enough to keep me from getting still enough, and when I could get still, the critters were getting pushed around :11doh: I'm still learning though, so hopefully before too long I'll have night shots worth posting.

-h

 

[wjefferis]

Last year I was like a jellyfish magnet. You might want to try some of this stuff it works great:

The jellies were covering up Perdido Pass when we left out so shore dives will be a little painful for a little bit. I would love to go out sometime and hit Navarre Pier during the day if you are interested (easier to dodge jellies). Man I can't wait until next year when you wont need a boat to hit Ft. Pickens. I will be diving the crap out of that site when the road opens back up.

 

[Hetland]

Last year I was like a jellyfish magnet. You might want to try some of this stuff it works great:

The jellies were covering up Perdido Pass when we left out so shore dives will be a little painful for a little bit. I would love to go out sometime and hit Navarre Pier during the day if you are interested (easier to dodge jellies). Man I can't wait until next year when you wont need a boat to hit Ft. Pickens. I will be diving the crap out of that site when the road opens back up.

Actually I need an alternate 4th for Ft. Pickens once the steering is fixed on my boat. I'm booked on other matters until the 2nd weekend in July, but send me a pm with your contact info and I'll put you on the short list (currently diving w/husband & wife team, and I need a 4th)