Pensacola Diving 9-4-2010

[paulwall]

Not having access to a friend with a boat, I chartered with Dr. Dive for a couple of inshore charters. Seas were forecast 2-3', with winds out of the northeast.

I drove over Friday night to meet Capt. Jim for a 7am boarding. It was a little bit cool for a September morn, with temps in the upper 70's and lightly overcast skies. I had my sunglasses perched on the bill of my cap and they promptly fell into the clear water next to the dock (Doh!). I loaded up the rest of my gear (119's, mask, fins, bc, gloves, and reg) onto the boat and waded into the water to retrieve the sunglasses.

We headed out and the bay was flat. First dive was to be on the tug Deliverance (insert banjo joke here). This was a small tugboat that has been broken into 3 major parts.

The seas were a little sporty after we anchored in, and Capt Jim let out a lot of rode to handle the waves. Swimming down the 300' of line took quite some time. The top 40' or so was very snotty, but breaking through the thermocline at 65' took your breath away. Temps dropped from 84^o to 73^o and felt like a snowball to the face.

The stern is the largest part, and everything was more than 70% covered with sand.

Visibility was fantastic. Easily fifty feet around the wreck. I had intended to find lobsters, so I had light, bag and gloves and started poking around. I looked inside the stern and saw Mr(s) Shovelnose perched on a crossbeam about 10' back. Unfortunately, there was no way my fat butt was going in there after him. So, I looked around the other pieces for 30 minutes or so, checking back regularly to see if the lobster had moved closer to the opening. No such luck.

One of the other divers, a regular, speared a decent Amberjack from the schools that were circling the wreck. On my safety stop, I blew an o-ring on my pony. Everyone around was freaking out, but it didn't seem to bother me too much.

During the surface interval, I realized that p_abercrombie and his posse composed the other 4 divers on the boat. I also started to feel the motion of the boat affect me on the trip to the second site: The infamous San Pablo.

Total Dive time: 40 mins, Max depth: 85', min temp: 73, max Temp 84.

 

[paulwall]

So , Dive 2 took place after a 1 hr surface interval. We motored to the San Pablo, the standard Pensacola dive site. This is a huge debris field punctuated with 3 huge boilers, some machinery, and layers of twisted, rusty metal. It is the home of spadefish, blennies, tropicals, barracuda, and sharks.

The dive profile was similar to the first dive. Max depth 91ft, shockingly cold thermocline, 300' of rode, 6 divers including one spearfisherman. I was the second person in, after the spearo, and met him on the line where his leash had gotten wrapped around his tank. In swimming up to help him out, my fin came off.

I spent most of my time around the boilers, hunting shovelnose and playing with the snapper. I got skunked on the lobster, but found a perfect, empty cowrie shell which I couldn't resist taking.

Upon my ascent up the line, I watched a small nurse shark pass under me. Total dive time was 35mins, 74* on the bottom (brr) and 84 on the top. The seas had laid down quite a bit, and the trip back in was smooth as glass.

The spearo hit a nice Rainbow Runner, so he had a good day.

 

[wjefferis]

Did you make the second dive or just feed the fish? I don't think I have ever seen you turn green on a boat Paul :coolingoff:.

Edit: posted just before you posted your reply.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Great report, you always manage to toss something in the water - never fails!

 

[paulwall]

I've been violently ill on rig trips and 4-5' seas.

Usually, it's someone else's stuff I knock in the water.

No fish were fed on this trip. All lost items were recovered... (totally unrelated to each other)

TBC with dives 3 and 4....

 

[P_Abercrombie]

Enjoyed meeting you Paul. It was everything you said; great couple of dives.

Can't say enough about Dr. Dive. Great captain and great boat.

We should do it again...

 

[paulwall]

After a most excellent luncheon of Whataburger (YUM!), we loaded the boat again a 1:30 to head out for the afternoon trip.

After much discussion, we decided to head to the Liberty Ship Joseph L Meek, a 480ft hull in 95 feet of water. I still hoped to find shovelnose aplenty, and was excited to see an intact Liberty Ship Hull. The ones I've dived in Gulf Shores had mostly collapsed, but held lobster.

The seas had calmed down quite a bit. We traded P_Ambercrombie's crew for a group out of Birmingham led by boondocksaint. The sun had come out, and September in the south had returned.

I was the first one back in with my cave-filled LP95
Because we were nearer shore, the visibility was not as great. Snotty and dim all the way down. The thermocline was still there, though, and I was nearly shivering as I began the search.

I was alone for much of my time down there, and the bathtub shape was a little eerie, draped with lost fishing line and at least 4 anchors. There were lots of smaller fish about, but no crustaceans inside the hull that I could find. The aft portion of the wreck was filled with bricks as ballast, and the walls were cracked and the stern had started falling in.

After about 35 mins, I was cold, and at 1000lbs began the journey up the 300' of anchor line. Total of 0 lobster, again.

 

[Dr Dive]

Thanks guys. Great to have all of you aboard and looking forward to seeing you all again. These were two great dives and I'm glad you enjoyed the sites. A great bunch of guys and a good time was had by all.

Capt. Jim
Dr Dive

 

[paulwall]

We dined on sliced watermelon during our surface interval. Fresh fruit really hits the spot when diving in the salt.

The last site selected was much shallower:55ft to the bottom, but still with the wicked thermocline.

I dove the Navarre pier after Ivan and enjoyed it immensely.

After they built the new pier, they pulled up all of the old concrete pilings, pads, and crosspieces and dumped them offshore. However, they spread it out quite a bit, and didn't stack any of it.

The pilings lay parallel in the sand over a 100yd x 100yd area. The barnacles are still alive, and the tropicals still flit about. Visually, it's not very interesting. Nearby are two large concrete blocks, and two T-shaped decking sections about 50ft long. These are more interesting than the pilings. I was really getting cold on this dive, and one of my computers was geeking out on me, so I cut the dive short after 40mins.

The DM did spot one slipper lobster under a piling, but didn't want to risk his fingers going after it. The pilings are covered with a colony of huge blue crabs.

The site is still very young. I would like to see more relief, with the pilings stacked as they are at Ivan's reef, but they promise to provide shelter in the sand to tasty crustaceans.

It was a great day on the water, with a great, fast boat, and friendly divers, captain, and crew. Thanks Capt. Jim!

 

[DocCarl]

Paulwall, sounded like a great time. I thought I was going to be in New Orleans Friday through Sunday, but plans changed last minute. By that time, Dr. Dive was all booked up Next time, though!

Carl