Pre-weekend visibility report 04-30... it's really good!

[Chad Carney]

Top to bottom in 32' freediving at the Mad Beach Artif. Reef today! (6 n.miles out off St Petersburg area.)

At least 25' horizontal visibility.

I could follow fish from the surface.

Lots of nice sized hogfish. For 30' of water that 5 pounder surprised me. Weighed it on my 100 lbs scale, probably was more!

Chad

For more see the Captains Corner column Sat. in the St Pete Times, page 2C. (or tampabay.com, check the outdoor section.)

 

[heidit1]

That is great news! We dove Blackthorn yesterday and had 40ft of viz there! Looking like a great weekend!

 

[Chad Carney]

heidit1,

The Blackthorn is a great dive! Could you see the superstructure out past the bow? It's about 50 to 60 feet away, slightly SW.

This January 28 will mark 30 years since the tragic sinking by the Skyway.

Chad

 

[Missdirected]

That is great news! We dove Blackthorn yesterday and had 40ft of viz there! Looking like a great weekend!

The Blackthorn or the Sheridan maybe? They are very close to one another... There is nothing really left of the BT except a load of tires.


Spearing tomorrow

 

[InstructorMike]

heidit1,

The Blackthorn is a great dive! Could you see the superstructure out past the bow? It's about 50 to 60 feet away, slightly SW.

This January 28 will mark 30 years since the tragic sinking by the Skyway.

Chad

Chad,

My wife, Capt. Heidi and I did the dive yesterday and it was a great dive. I could see the superstructure. Lots of fish. One gag pushing 20 and a few other smaller in the 10 pound range. One big fat Mango which was as big as any I have seen inside of the grounds. One school of Baby jacks about 18 to 23 pound range, no big ones. Had planned to take my daughter to dive the Sheriton but someone was tied off to the ball. The Black Thorn is a LOT BETTER dive then the Sheridan. A hundred times more fish on the BT. Because the Sheridan is so intact there is NO place for fish to hang out. The Black Thorn has a really nice swim thru which was loaded with fish. I will be posting video and pictures on my trip section on my web page at Scuba Dive Florida - Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters - Diving Tampa, Clearwater, St.Petersburg - Dive Trip Charter Boat which will Show some of the fish and some great shots of the swim thru. .
Water temp was still 73 at the bottom.

Captain Mike

 

[InstructorMike]

The Blackthorn or the Sheridan maybe? They are very close to one another... There is nothing really left of the BT except a load of tires.


Spearing tomorrow

Sorry, YOU were not diving on the Blackthorn. LOT's there. Way better dive then the Sheridan. A hundred times more fish on the BT. There were NO tires on the Blackthorn. Think you were on the pile to the North maybe.

In a day or two will post some pictures to my web site Scuba Dive Florida - Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters - Diving Tampa, Clearwater, St.Petersburg - Dive Trip Charter Boat under the trip photo's and you can check out. May post some video also. I really loved the little swim thru.

Last time I did a dive on it was the year they put it down and what I saw was what you saw.. NOT much. I was on the wrong section.

Capt. Mike

 

[InstructorMike]

Weather looking GREAT for Saturday. Have 11 divers booked to dive on my A.M. Trip.

Capt. Mike
Tanks a lot Dive Charters.

 

[Chad Carney]

The Blackthorn still has 20' of relief at the stern and about 10' to 12' elsewhere along it's original 180' LOA, but it is now slightly longer due to some splits and twists. The debris field to the east is far more attractive to gags and hogfish than the Sheridan Tug about 100 yards to the ESE. The more wrecks break into smaller pieces the more bottom fish love them. (The Mexican Pride is better today than ever when it was totally intact.) The Blackthorn superstructure separated in the 1993 "No Name Storm" and now rests about 20 yards to the SSW of the bow, and to the NW about 50 yards is the Seafood Barge and a small ledge.

If wreck history counts at all for you, no west coast wreck compares to the Blackthorn.

In 1981 the Blackthorn was intact and listing 45 degrees, just like the Sheridan today, except to port, not starboard. The transformation of wrecks is fascinating!

Capt Chad

 

[Missdirected]

Sorry, YOU were not diving on the Blackthorn. LOT's there. Way better dive then the Sheridan. A hundred times more fish on the BT. There were NO tires on the Blackthorn. Think you were on the pile to the North maybe.

In a day or two will post some pictures to my web site Scuba Dive Florida - Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters - Diving Tampa, Clearwater, St.Petersburg - Dive Trip Charter Boat under the trip photo's and you can check out. May post some video also. I really loved the little swim thru.

Last time I did a dive on it was the year they put it down and what I saw was what you saw.. NOT much. I was on the wrong section.

Capt. Mike

Umm uh alrighty then. I simply said there was not a lot left to it (in the way of structure) - I said nothing more. Often people think they are diving the BT when they are diving and taking pics of the big "S" on the Sheridan. Anywho, never said it was a bad dive... Happy diving

 

[Chad Carney]

Miss D,

Sadly many boaters and some captains can't tell which wreck they are on, due to their close proximity.

Hitting all 3 on a single wreck-trek dive is very cool, especially for divers on repeat visits to the Pinellas #2 Reef.

Other than the Sheridan, Mexican Pride and Long Island, I believe no other wrecks in the greater Tampa Bay area have more structure than the Blackthorn. The Orange Tug and Fin Barge are not taller and only the latter of the two is longer. The Anclote Tug is about the same size with similar relief as the Blackthorn, although upside-down.

I hope your spearfishing is fruitful!

Chad