It may have taken three attempts, but I finally got down to South Padre Island and was able to dive the Texas Clipper with American Diving.
This trip has been in planning since last November. The first trip did not make because there were not enough divers to fill the boat. The second trip went out, but the current literally blew the Texas Clipper buoy horizontal, so the current was just a tad too strong to dive. The third trip was just perfect!
The day began a bit on the early side, with wake-up at 5am so we could make it to the boat by 6am. Other than that, the morning was great, the sky was clear, and the seas were calm. Heading out to the Clipper it soon became apparent that the blue water was in, so the possibility of having 100ft visibility was enough to knock the last vestiges of sleep from my mind.
On the first descent, it became clear that visibility was going to be great. From the surface to about 110ft, horizontal visibility was between 80 and 100ft. Below 110ft, a layer of murk went down to the sand. For the first dive, we headed aft to the crack. The Clipper was literally broken in half from the hydraulic pressure of Hurricane Ike and a crack almost 15ft wide is about ¾ of the way down from the bow. From the crack, there are a number of swim-throughs that offer a great perspective of the ship. It seems a bit odd at first to have a wall above and below, and the ceiling to one side, but the amount of life on the wreck soon makes it easy to just enjoy the sights. Arrow crabs seem to be hiding in every nook and cranny and it seems that every barnacle shell had a goby hiding inside. On the way back to the down line, we swam through the promenade, with the light seemingly putting on a show as we passed beneath the window openings. Going back toward the down line it was amazing how open the ship seemed. In prepping the Clipper for reefing, a number of openings were cut into the hull and they offer any number of places to pop your head in and peek at whatever might be hiding inside. All in all, the first dive had a maximum depth of 104ft, an average depth of 67ft, and a dive time of 36min.
For the second dive, we decided to head aft and try to find the screws. We hoped at least a portion of the screws would be peeping out of the murky layer, which would have offered a great photo opportunity. Luck wasnt with us and the screws were completely hidden in the murk, plus they were a bit deeper than we wanted to go. On the way back toward the bow we did get to see a deck structure that was right in line with the murk. It really made it appear as if the ship was floating on a cloud since half of the structure was hidden in the murky cloud while the rest was in clear blue water. It would have made a great wide-angle picture. Also, right before we passed the crack, another diver found an octopus hiding in an old porthole. You could only make out an eye and a bit of an arm but it was a great find. To end the dive we spent some time looking at the plaques placed on the ship commemorating the sinking and exploring the upper structures. For the second dive we hit a maximum depth of 106ft, an average depth of 56ft, and a dive time of 37min.
Since we had signed up for American Divings Tons of Steel trip we had one more dive to go. For the last dive, we headed over the Little Sara for a rig dive. Little Sara is a natural gas platform just a mile or two distant from the Clipper. On Thursday six whale sharks had been spotted around the rig so we were hoping for another sighting. Unfortunately since the blue water was in and the algae bloom that had brought in the whale sharks had dissipated, we didnt see any whale sharks, but there was plenty of other life to see. The structure of the rig is well coated with all kinds of marine life and it was great to just slowly work along the pylons trying to find different creatures. We found another octopus hiding in a hole as well as a stonefish hidden among the fouling communities. Another really cool thing to watch was the barracuda cleaning stations. Barracuda would come up to the pylons and open their mouths seemingly as wide as they could while small cleaner fish came and give a tooth cleaning. With most of the barracuda being at least 4ft long this was great to watch since the cleaner fish were usually less than 1in long. To finish the dive we hovered just inside the rig structure and watched the barracuda and schools of fish swim by in the current. Little Sara was a great way to end the day of diving. On Little Sara we hit a maximum depth of 83ft, an average depth of 33ft, and a dive time of 53min.
Overall, the trip was amazing and American Diving did a great job running the show. I must say that of all the dive operations I have used in the past, they ran one of the most professional and thorough operations I have had the opportunity to dive through. The crew was very helpful, friendly, and easy to talk with and did a great job making the whole experience enjoyable.
Photos - Texas Clipper (August 2009) | Facebook
This trip has been in planning since last November. The first trip did not make because there were not enough divers to fill the boat. The second trip went out, but the current literally blew the Texas Clipper buoy horizontal, so the current was just a tad too strong to dive. The third trip was just perfect!
The day began a bit on the early side, with wake-up at 5am so we could make it to the boat by 6am. Other than that, the morning was great, the sky was clear, and the seas were calm. Heading out to the Clipper it soon became apparent that the blue water was in, so the possibility of having 100ft visibility was enough to knock the last vestiges of sleep from my mind.
On the first descent, it became clear that visibility was going to be great. From the surface to about 110ft, horizontal visibility was between 80 and 100ft. Below 110ft, a layer of murk went down to the sand. For the first dive, we headed aft to the crack. The Clipper was literally broken in half from the hydraulic pressure of Hurricane Ike and a crack almost 15ft wide is about ¾ of the way down from the bow. From the crack, there are a number of swim-throughs that offer a great perspective of the ship. It seems a bit odd at first to have a wall above and below, and the ceiling to one side, but the amount of life on the wreck soon makes it easy to just enjoy the sights. Arrow crabs seem to be hiding in every nook and cranny and it seems that every barnacle shell had a goby hiding inside. On the way back to the down line, we swam through the promenade, with the light seemingly putting on a show as we passed beneath the window openings. Going back toward the down line it was amazing how open the ship seemed. In prepping the Clipper for reefing, a number of openings were cut into the hull and they offer any number of places to pop your head in and peek at whatever might be hiding inside. All in all, the first dive had a maximum depth of 104ft, an average depth of 67ft, and a dive time of 36min.
For the second dive, we decided to head aft and try to find the screws. We hoped at least a portion of the screws would be peeping out of the murky layer, which would have offered a great photo opportunity. Luck wasnt with us and the screws were completely hidden in the murk, plus they were a bit deeper than we wanted to go. On the way back toward the bow we did get to see a deck structure that was right in line with the murk. It really made it appear as if the ship was floating on a cloud since half of the structure was hidden in the murky cloud while the rest was in clear blue water. It would have made a great wide-angle picture. Also, right before we passed the crack, another diver found an octopus hiding in an old porthole. You could only make out an eye and a bit of an arm but it was a great find. To end the dive we spent some time looking at the plaques placed on the ship commemorating the sinking and exploring the upper structures. For the second dive we hit a maximum depth of 106ft, an average depth of 56ft, and a dive time of 37min.
Since we had signed up for American Divings Tons of Steel trip we had one more dive to go. For the last dive, we headed over the Little Sara for a rig dive. Little Sara is a natural gas platform just a mile or two distant from the Clipper. On Thursday six whale sharks had been spotted around the rig so we were hoping for another sighting. Unfortunately since the blue water was in and the algae bloom that had brought in the whale sharks had dissipated, we didnt see any whale sharks, but there was plenty of other life to see. The structure of the rig is well coated with all kinds of marine life and it was great to just slowly work along the pylons trying to find different creatures. We found another octopus hiding in a hole as well as a stonefish hidden among the fouling communities. Another really cool thing to watch was the barracuda cleaning stations. Barracuda would come up to the pylons and open their mouths seemingly as wide as they could while small cleaner fish came and give a tooth cleaning. With most of the barracuda being at least 4ft long this was great to watch since the cleaner fish were usually less than 1in long. To finish the dive we hovered just inside the rig structure and watched the barracuda and schools of fish swim by in the current. Little Sara was a great way to end the day of diving. On Little Sara we hit a maximum depth of 83ft, an average depth of 33ft, and a dive time of 53min.
Overall, the trip was amazing and American Diving did a great job running the show. I must say that of all the dive operations I have used in the past, they ran one of the most professional and thorough operations I have had the opportunity to dive through. The crew was very helpful, friendly, and easy to talk with and did a great job making the whole experience enjoyable.
Photos - Texas Clipper (August 2009) | Facebook
