pensacola!!

[aboalreem]

Going to pensacola, FL. any good dives, what to see, how is the viz,,,,,any advice. thank s

 

[H2Andy]

well, they just sank the Oriskany today, so you gotta dive that!

 

[Soggy]

The Oriskany just went down a couple hours ago....

There are several decent wrecks in the area...the San Pablo (the "Russian" Freighter), and the Antares being a couple of the better ones.

I highly recommend Capt. Dave Mucci and his boat, the YKnot?, which is a 29 ft twin-hulled Pro Sports Kat and does about 35+ knots.

http://www.bluwateradventures.com/

 

[PerroneFord]

Soggy, I always get nervous when I see a lot of spearfishing pics. Can you tell me (us) why you recommend this gentleman? No disrespect meant, just wondering why you recommend him.

He does have a sharp looking boat!

 

[aboalreem]

any normal reef? and how is the viz?

 

[Soggy]

any normal reef? and how is the viz?

We didn't dive any reefs, so I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure the area is fairly barren from a reef point of view, but don't quote me on that. There is lots of marine life, though including some grunting grouper and a very friendly ramora. We had a tropical storm come through the day before we went down there, so vis ranged from 5 ft to 60+ offshore. There are lots of shallow wrecks, though.

We were there in late June and the bottom temps ranged from 70-77 degrees. Surface temps were in the mid 80s, which made deco in a drysuit rather unpleasant.

Soggy, I always get nervous when I see a lot of spearfishing pics. Can you tell me (us) why you recommend this gentleman? No disrespect meant, just wondering why you recommend him.

We did 5 days of charters with him during our adv nitrox/deco/helitrox class ranging from 60 ft barge dives to a 135' wreck complete with liftbag deployments and drifting deco 20 miles off shore. He's down to earth, knowledgeable (but keeps out of your business), has a fast and stable boat, follows directions, and notices lift bags. Plus he's a hoot.

He does do a lot of spearfishing charters and is a spearfisherman himself, but that goes with the territory (NW Florida).

 

[PerroneFord]

Yea, I know about the spearfishing charters. There seem to be two classes of operators.. One's who do spearfishing, but will let divers tag along, and one's who handle divers, but will let spearfishers tag along.

This guy sounds like he knows how to handle divers. That's comforting. How is he about doubles and such?

 

[Soggy]

This guy sounds like he knows how to handle divers. That's comforting. How is he about doubles and such?

Doubles get laid on the deck, so you kinda have to climb around on them, but we had 5 sets of 104s on board plus a bunch of al40s. Just tell him what to expect (and what you expect from him) and he'll handle it.

 

[PerroneFord]

Awesome. Thanks for pointing him out. I'll add him to my favorites.

 

[chickdiver]

Capt. Dave is my favorite charter boat operator in this area. He is extremely knowledgeable and personable, and, as Soggy says knows his business and stays out of yours. I've taught several technical classes on his boat, and he has never given us any grief (other than good natured ribbing) about the amount of equipment. The short version- Dave is a good guy and will treat you right.

WRT reef- NW Florida doesn't realy have "reef" like the Keys and the Carribean. There are some limestone ledges and live bottom areas, but they tend to be deep (130 ish). For the most part, the bottom composition here is white sand. We do have tons of wrecks and artificial reefs.

PF- I haven't forgotten about that info for you- I've just been crazy busy, and I wanted to make sure I have all the bases covered before I send you anything.