Texas Coast ?

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I am interested in doing some diving close to home which is Austin, Texas.

I have been to the Flower Gardens more times than I can count and I love it. But now I want to investigate some easy open water day trips from around Galveston to Corpus Cristi. South Padre is too far to go.

I’m aware of two operators Ultra Dive and Copeland’s. I’ll be contacting them directly but would like to know what others here can tell me.

I’m mostly interested in what I can see on at their dive sites and also how flexible the operators are regarding my buddy who has a restriction on jumping in to the water but rather has to gear after a gentle entry. This is a bit more effort on the operator’s part but a requirement for us.

And if you can recommend someone else, please let me know.

Thank you !

 

[Cap335]

Out of Freeport there is the VA Fog and the Kraken, both can be good. I'm sure you did some rig dives on your Flower Garden trips other than a few wrecks most of Texas offshore diving is on oil platforms. If at some time you decide to do South Padre do the Texas Clipper. Good luck on exploring the gulf

 

[ReefHound]

I’m aware of two operators Ultra Dive and Copeland’s. I’ll be contacting them directly but would like to know what others here can tell me.

I’m mostly interested in what I can see on at their dive sites and also how flexible the operators are regarding my buddy who has a restriction on jumping in to the water but rather has to gear after a gentle entry. This is a bit more effort on the operator’s part but a requirement for us.

That's a bit cryptic. Adaptive diver? As a DM, I wouldn't mind if someone preferred to gear up in water and could safely do so, but if one has a physical limitation that makes it not possible for them to gear up on a boat and roll backwards, I'd be concerned if the same limitation will be an issue in diving safely, specifically getting back on the boat (which is usually much tougher than getting off). So you're going to have to contact the ops and provide more specifics. It all comes down to safety. In my experience, an op will do their best to accomodate you if they feel the procedure is safe.

They have been ripping out all the platforms. Very few left off the Freeport/Galveston area. I went out to the Kraken with Capt Beard a few months ago. There is still a 25 mile platform that may or may not have good viz but there was nothing from there on. VA Fogg and adjacent Liberty ship and Star Reef are 35 miles out, no surface markers or buoys. Kraken is 70 miles out and a long day trip. Not sure what's still out there offshore from the Matagorda/Corpus area.

 

[TexasGulfCoast]

There are several German U Boats sunk off of Freeport Texas. Quintana Beach had a US military Fort during WW2 named Fort Velasco / now called Fort Quintana / that supposedly sank 2 Nazi U Boats off Quintana Beach with the M1 Howitzer that still sits on top of the hill where the fort was. The US navy also had a underwater floating Sea Mine fields off of Surfside Beach and

Quintana Beach to protect the ships going in and out of the port of Freeport Texas during WW2. 2 Sea Mines broke off their base and floated onto Quintana beach back in the late 1970s. Surfside beach has a civil war shipwreck The Acadia sunk in 1865. The Acadia shipwreck is in around 12 feet of water, less than ten miles from the mouth of the Brazos River in Freeport Texas / Brazoria County, Texas. ​