paulwall
Contributor
Signed up with Viking Diving for a two-tank inshore trip on Sunday. I, as usual, was alone, but there were two other couples on the boat, one couple was from Arkansas and the other was from Eglin AFB.
It was not uncomfortably cool that morning, temps were in the low 70's, and we had the boat loaded up a little early for the trip out to the gulf. The winds were from the West, and there were very gentle rollers as we headed out to the Russian Freighter/San Pablo. We arrived on site, and I was the last person in the water as one of the AF divers was having a regulator problem and the other set of divers was waiting on a tour of the sit by Capt. Tim. I was diving my 119 with EAN36, so I knew I'd be down a while, even though I hate to have people waiting too long for me on the boat, I set a TBT of 45mins.
Hitting the bottom, I immediately removed 5lbs of un-needed weight and began to explore forward (?) from the boilers. Saw the usual suspects, snapper, grouper and a huge flounder, also present was a scrawled filefish, a pair of butterfly fish, and a few lacy jellyfish, one of which was being consumed by a fireworm. Of course there were huge toadfish everwhere. The wreck was covered in schools of baitfish, and a few barracuda hung around above. The water was comfortable, but I doubt it was 84o, probably more in the upper 70's. Although the Deckhand reported 50' of visibility, I think 35' was a more honest estimate, and that was hazy. I rescued a porcelain crab from some fishing line, goofed around for my 45mins, retrieved my 5lb of lead and headed back up the anchor line. During my safety stop, I watched spanish mackerel zip around. I still had 1200psi in the tank, but wanted to be back home before nightfall.
Second dive was on the Tex Edwards barge. I don't remember diving this site recently (if at all). It's a long barge and also covered in baitfish. I was the first to splash, and was rewarded by the sight of 3 huge grouper moving out from the structure we had anchored onto. The barge is full of holes and could probably be penetrated, with preparation. I'm told there is a huge Goliath Grouper hanging out inside, over 150lbs. Did I mention the baitfish? I had to move them out of the way sometimes while swimming. I putzed around on this site for a while, just learning the layout, and checking some nooks and crannies for crustaceans and checked out the other debris in the surrounding sand. On my way up the anchor line I was entertained by the largest school of Spadefish I have ever seen. It was like watching a train go by. I counted over 300 on my deeper stop
. They were accompanied by a few mid-size barracuda and some Spanish mackerel.
On the way back in, we checked on the Catherine site (still buried), and near Fort Pickens, in the bay, we watched a huge school of cownose rays feeding in the shallows. Matt (the deckhand) jumped in with his trusty snorkel and tried to race with them.
I've never had a bad trip with Viking diving. They may lack some amenities, like the mid-trip pineapple, or the grilled dogs, but they run a professional and enjoyable trip.
It was not uncomfortably cool that morning, temps were in the low 70's, and we had the boat loaded up a little early for the trip out to the gulf. The winds were from the West, and there were very gentle rollers as we headed out to the Russian Freighter/San Pablo. We arrived on site, and I was the last person in the water as one of the AF divers was having a regulator problem and the other set of divers was waiting on a tour of the sit by Capt. Tim. I was diving my 119 with EAN36, so I knew I'd be down a while, even though I hate to have people waiting too long for me on the boat, I set a TBT of 45mins.
Hitting the bottom, I immediately removed 5lbs of un-needed weight and began to explore forward (?) from the boilers. Saw the usual suspects, snapper, grouper and a huge flounder, also present was a scrawled filefish, a pair of butterfly fish, and a few lacy jellyfish, one of which was being consumed by a fireworm. Of course there were huge toadfish everwhere. The wreck was covered in schools of baitfish, and a few barracuda hung around above. The water was comfortable, but I doubt it was 84o, probably more in the upper 70's. Although the Deckhand reported 50' of visibility, I think 35' was a more honest estimate, and that was hazy. I rescued a porcelain crab from some fishing line, goofed around for my 45mins, retrieved my 5lb of lead and headed back up the anchor line. During my safety stop, I watched spanish mackerel zip around. I still had 1200psi in the tank, but wanted to be back home before nightfall.
Second dive was on the Tex Edwards barge. I don't remember diving this site recently (if at all). It's a long barge and also covered in baitfish. I was the first to splash, and was rewarded by the sight of 3 huge grouper moving out from the structure we had anchored onto. The barge is full of holes and could probably be penetrated, with preparation. I'm told there is a huge Goliath Grouper hanging out inside, over 150lbs. Did I mention the baitfish? I had to move them out of the way sometimes while swimming. I putzed around on this site for a while, just learning the layout, and checking some nooks and crannies for crustaceans and checked out the other debris in the surrounding sand. On my way up the anchor line I was entertained by the largest school of Spadefish I have ever seen. It was like watching a train go by. I counted over 300 on my deeper stop
. They were accompanied by a few mid-size barracuda and some Spanish mackerel.On the way back in, we checked on the Catherine site (still buried), and near Fort Pickens, in the bay, we watched a huge school of cownose rays feeding in the shallows. Matt (the deckhand) jumped in with his trusty snorkel and tried to race with them.
I've never had a bad trip with Viking diving. They may lack some amenities, like the mid-trip pineapple, or the grilled dogs, but they run a professional and enjoyable trip.
