PCB Offshore and Jetty report for 5/14-5/15

[Biggen]

I went out with Hydrospace on Saturday the 14th for a two tank 4 hour dive. First stop was the USS Strength. There was a very stong surface current when entering the water. It was enough to quickly pull you away from the boat if you didn't immediately grab hold of the anchor line. Surface water temp was around 73F. There was a noticable Thermocline at ~45' and then the temp dropped to around 69F on the bottom at 80'. I was comfortable in my 5mm suit. I could have probably gotten away with a 3mm and still been fine.

Viz for the Strength was not too good. It was 20' at the most. It really didn't make diving that wreck very enjoyable since you really couldn't "take it all in" on the dive. The DM said he had tied us to the bow. In fact, the viz was so bad that he couldn't tell he had in fact tied us to the stern which we found out as we made the dive and finally "found" the bow.

Good news was that the normal summer time fish are making there way back to PCB. Angels were everywhere. Some had to be nearly 2' in size. They were enormous. There were also lots of grouper, snapper, amberjack, etc..

The dive on the bridge span went about the same as the Strength. I banged my head pretty good on one of those damn steel beams though. I did the same thing last time I dove one of the spans. I am going to have to get a caver helmet next time. ;-)

On Sunday, myself and two others went out to the Jetties around 10am. High tide was at 1:52pm. We got there around 10am. The viz was terrible. No more than 10' at the most. We were diving single file style on the jetties. I was bringing up the rear and holding the dive flag rope. I couldn't see the lead diver and I could only see the back half of the diver directly in front of me in the middle. It was THAT bad!

I only wore a 2/1 wetsuit shirt and sleeves for the dive at the Jetties. I was very comfortable. I would guess and say the temp was around 75F,

All in all we had a great time diving this weekend even though the conditions weren't that great. I am hoping to finish up my AOW w/Nitrox this weekend so maybe the conditions will be a bit better.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Great report Biggen, sorry to hear the visibility wasn't as good as you hoped. Shoulda headed out West a bit more SeaYoda had good visibility in Destin and I had good visibility out of Orange Beach, AL

I finished up my Nitrox this past weekend, I was just lacking the 2 dives, my exams have been finished for ~2 months. Goodluck on your AOW and Nitrox.

Might be going out this weekend, if I don't have to go up to Auburn, I'll letcha know something. Regardless, you need to hit up the jetties with us on the 4th or 5th.

 

[jviehe]

Biggen, do you mean you dove at 10am? Viz is best at high tide.

 

[Biggen]

Biggen, do you mean you dove at 10am? Viz is best at high tide.

Actually it was around 10:30am or so, but yes that is when we dove as high tide was coming in. I have dove the jetties numerous times hours before high tide hits and never had the viz problem we had on Sunday. Next time I'll time it to dive no more than an hour before high tide peaks and see if that makes much of a difference.

I would say that for whatever reason, gulf conditions (at least near and around PCB) were not at their greatest last weekend. Especially since we had viz problems a couple miles offshore on Saturday. So I am not certain that hitting it on high tide would have made much of a difference, but it may have. I'll definately try to time it better next time.

 

[SeaYoda]

I'm sorry we sent you the bad viz - not . I wish it would have been as good as ours just off Destin.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Try just after high-tide just don't get sucked out into the Gulf!

Viz was good at Alabama Point jetties last night

 

[Epinephelus]

Thanks for the report...
One of my most memorable dives was on the Strength when the vis was about 3 ft. My wife & I just brought our scan in close and worked along the gunnel. Probably never got more than 30' from the anchor line, just inching along and watching the show as the "little folk" went about their fascinating routines.
When faced with "poor" vis, just bring your point-of-view into the area where you can see clearly - prepare to be amazed and gratified with what the dive has to offer.
This weekend on Bridge Span 1 (the one next to the Strength) we (Smedley, Murchison et al) had a delightful octopus encounter and saw two nice Jewfish in addition to all the usual suspects. Great dives.
E

 

[Biggen]

Try just after high-tide just don't get sucked out into the Gulf!

Viz was good at Alabama Point jetties last night

Yeah, I think we will time it a little closer to high tide next time to see if that makes a difference.

When faced with "poor" vis, just bring your point-of-view into the area where you can see clearly - prepare to be amazed and gratified with what the dive has to offer.

This is great advice! I typically will do this when I am diving with buddies that I know their abilities and trust them enough not to kill themselves or me. But I was solo on Saturday so I met another diver and paired up with him. Not knowing his abilities, I found my self watching him more than I would my normal buddies.