- NDI Texas Swamp Diving Team's Flower Gardens EDG Trip
The M/V Sea Searcher II is a 95ft. live aboard with a very uncrowded maximum of 18 divers. (The Rinn boats, which are the same size, max out with 33 divers!) They furnish the tanks with unlimited air. Sorry, no Nitrox. Breakfast, lunch, dinner & soft drinks plus in-between snacks are included. A fully equipped galley and large salon gives us plenty of room between dives. The Salon also has a TV, VCR and a CD/tape player for our convenience. Carpeting and air-conditioned throughout the boat.
There's also an upper sun deck if you like to toast. Comfortable sleeping arrangements for 18 insure a restful trip. These are large bunks, 4 to a room, and very comfortable. No narrow slots crammed into corners here! Two restrooms and two fresh water showers comes in handy, as does the camera station on the AFT deck with fresh water cleaning tank for us camera buffs. There's also a 12 ft. zodiac that will go fetch you if you get away from the boat. I've had the pleasure of this little craft a couple of times, thankfully!
We'll board the boat no later than 9pm the night before departure. Departure is usually around 10-11pm and when we are awakened the next morning, we'll be in the water for the first dive before breakfast! You can count on 8 and maybe 10 dives for the two-day trip, depending on the weather.
Speaking of weather, the Gulf is notorious for it's surprises! How many of you have planned trip to the FG's and gotten cancelled at the last minute? I had 12 trips in a row cancelled before I finally got out the first time! The final decision is made at noon the day before we leave. If the seas are 4-5ft or less, we go. The best time frame is mid-July to mid- Sept. with the optimum time being around the second weekend in August. This is also the best time to see Whale Sharks and coral spawning! We'll need to book the trip quickly in order to hit this most popular time.
Cost is $355 each and will include a trip T-shirt. I think we can fill the whole boat between the TSDT and others from ScubaBoard. To get our date reserved we'll need to have our deposits in by Jan. 14, 2002. Deposits will be $50 each, due Jan 10, 2002. We can have 14 divers and two free spots for Divemasters or Instructors. DM/Instructors need to be current and insured to go free, and will be required to be in the water with the divers at all times.
Diving in the Gulf of Mexico can be a challenge. If we're lucky the seas will be pancake flat and the currents slow. These are the conditions we dream about! They can also be 2-4ft seas, or higher, and a ripping current. This is also deep diving. The top of the Flower Gardens reef system is around 65 ft. The visibility is 70-100+ft. There is a strictly enforced 100ft depth limit. Because of these conditions, we ask that everyone carry at least an advanced rating with 20 or more dives or can show log book entries of similar dives within the last 6 months. Also, because the FG's are 110 nautical miles offshore, we strongly suggest that you have DAN or equivalent, dive insurance.
My last trip to the FG in late Aug. of '99, I saw 2 Whale Sharks and a large Manta Ray! Some of the largest known specimens of Brain coral are found there. We're talking the size of small rooms!
We'll also hit Stetson Banks, East and West. Stetson is one of the ugliest places on earth, looking more like an underwater construction sight than a reef. But it is also known as the Nursery of the Gulf. For every Caribbean fish you can imagine
you'll see the juveniles there. And if you're lucky, you'll see a Yellow Spotted Trunkfish, which is only known to inhabit Stetson Banks.
A rig dive on one of the oil rigs will be our last dive on the way back to shore.
So, what do ya'll think? Wanna go to the Flower Gardens next summer? If youre interested or have any questions, please post here as well as sending either TexasMike or myself a private message. (Use the msg- button below) Were looking at Aug. 9-10 but it all depends on what dates are available. Final dates will be decided as soon as we know how many of you are interested.
tony
