Snuff
Registered
This is my first dive report to the SB, so cut me some slack if I screw it up!!!
We dove the St. Andrews jetties July 13, 14 & 15. High tide was predicted to be roughly 11 a.m. on the 13th, 12 p.m. on the 14th and 1 p.m. on the 15th.
First, to answer the most common question, NO, we did not see any evidence of tarballs or oil. There were tons of BP workers walking up and down the beach doing nothing, but other than that, there was no smell, or other indicators of what is lurking offshore.
We got in the water about 9:30 on the 13th. Water was warm down to about 25-30 feet where there was a thermocline, which remained for all 3 days. I was comfortable in my swim trunks and t-shirt, but my wife in her 2 mil shorty was cold after about 10 minutes under the t-cline. Visibility was 40'+ with a slight cloudiness to it. Wildlife was ABUNDANT. Tons of small schooling fish seemed to cruise by endlessly, and schools of larger fish such as red fish and lookdowns came by regularly. Crossing back over the rocks was a little treacherous, as there were some big waves coming by and crashing over the rocks. We had to time it just right, and were both able to shoot across the rocks with the help of the waves.
On the 14th we got in the water about 9:45, which was really too early, but we met a couple of new divers the previous day who tagged along with us. They needed to get their rental gear back so we went in early. The Junegrass attacked overnight. Tons of seaweed and algae in the water really limited visibility down to 15' at times and it never seemed better than about 25'. My wife and I have never let a little algae get in the way of a dive, but I was worried about our new friends, hoping they wouldn't get discouraged. Wildlife wasn't as visible as it was the previous day, but there was still plenty to be seen. Schools of small fish cruised by sporadically, and there was enough sheepshead, grouper, and angelfish to keep our guests entertained. Crossing the rocks was a similar experience as the previous day, timing it so that we wouldn't crash into the rocks, but all 4 of us made it across without too many scratches. Our new friends couldn't say enough about it when we got out. They apparently had a mediocre experience on a cattle boat, and really battled the current the day before, then got sea sick. They said the diving was the best they've experienced so far, even though my wife and I both know it could be a whole lot better. I assured them that they needed to come back soon.
On the 15th we got in the water about 11:00. We decided to go in on the south side and ride the current north this time (for some reason we usually do the opposite, and swim against the very light current). Again, the Junegrass was everywhere when we first entered the water. Visibility may have been slightly better today vs yesterday. We just floated along (my wife above the t-cline checking out the tropical fish, myself deeper, looking for the bigger fish), enjoying the slow current (tidal change was supposed to be less than 1 ft). About half way through the dive, things started clearing up, and by the end of the dive, vis was up to 30'-40'. The schooling fish were everywhere again, and several times my wife and I found ourselves in the middle of them and they shot by either side of us. Crossing the rocks was much easier today, as the waves were much more calm. Definitely a great way to end out trip.
This was our 4th trip to the jetties this year, and I'm ready to go back already!
We dove the St. Andrews jetties July 13, 14 & 15. High tide was predicted to be roughly 11 a.m. on the 13th, 12 p.m. on the 14th and 1 p.m. on the 15th.
First, to answer the most common question, NO, we did not see any evidence of tarballs or oil. There were tons of BP workers walking up and down the beach doing nothing, but other than that, there was no smell, or other indicators of what is lurking offshore.
We got in the water about 9:30 on the 13th. Water was warm down to about 25-30 feet where there was a thermocline, which remained for all 3 days. I was comfortable in my swim trunks and t-shirt, but my wife in her 2 mil shorty was cold after about 10 minutes under the t-cline. Visibility was 40'+ with a slight cloudiness to it. Wildlife was ABUNDANT. Tons of small schooling fish seemed to cruise by endlessly, and schools of larger fish such as red fish and lookdowns came by regularly. Crossing back over the rocks was a little treacherous, as there were some big waves coming by and crashing over the rocks. We had to time it just right, and were both able to shoot across the rocks with the help of the waves.
On the 14th we got in the water about 9:45, which was really too early, but we met a couple of new divers the previous day who tagged along with us. They needed to get their rental gear back so we went in early. The Junegrass attacked overnight. Tons of seaweed and algae in the water really limited visibility down to 15' at times and it never seemed better than about 25'. My wife and I have never let a little algae get in the way of a dive, but I was worried about our new friends, hoping they wouldn't get discouraged. Wildlife wasn't as visible as it was the previous day, but there was still plenty to be seen. Schools of small fish cruised by sporadically, and there was enough sheepshead, grouper, and angelfish to keep our guests entertained. Crossing the rocks was a similar experience as the previous day, timing it so that we wouldn't crash into the rocks, but all 4 of us made it across without too many scratches. Our new friends couldn't say enough about it when we got out. They apparently had a mediocre experience on a cattle boat, and really battled the current the day before, then got sea sick. They said the diving was the best they've experienced so far, even though my wife and I both know it could be a whole lot better. I assured them that they needed to come back soon.
On the 15th we got in the water about 11:00. We decided to go in on the south side and ride the current north this time (for some reason we usually do the opposite, and swim against the very light current). Again, the Junegrass was everywhere when we first entered the water. Visibility may have been slightly better today vs yesterday. We just floated along (my wife above the t-cline checking out the tropical fish, myself deeper, looking for the bigger fish), enjoying the slow current (tidal change was supposed to be less than 1 ft). About half way through the dive, things started clearing up, and by the end of the dive, vis was up to 30'-40'. The schooling fish were everywhere again, and several times my wife and I found ourselves in the middle of them and they shot by either side of us. Crossing the rocks was much easier today, as the waves were much more calm. Definitely a great way to end out trip.
This was our 4th trip to the jetties this year, and I'm ready to go back already!
