Venice Shark Tooth Dive, 09/27

[Scoobahdood]

Ok, lets get a group together to meet up and go shark tooth hunting on Venice beach on Sept 27th.

****The Plan & Attendee List****

Attendees:
Scoobahdood
CMOST
catra8104
Live2sho (2)
jess4diving
msscuba (maybe)
heraks (2)
sadie199 (maybe)
Missdirected
Reef
Zardoz

Dive Spot: Service Club Park, Venice, FL
Date: Saturday, Sept 27th
Time: 8:30
Heading from beach: 300 degrees

Type of diving: Shore Dive

Looking for: Shark tooth and fossil hunting in the Gulf of Mexico. This area is a prehistoric river bed and does yield more fossils than the shark’s teeth.

Directions:

From the North:
I-75 south to Laurel Rd East
Turn left (south) @ Tamiami Trail (US 41)
Exit to the right@ Business 41 and go over Draw Bridge (Florida West Scuba is next to drawbridge).
Turn right @ first traffic light (Tampa Ave.)
Turn left @ Harbor Drive South*

From the South:
I-75 north to Jacaranda Bvld.
Turn left @ East Venice Ave.
Turn left @ Harbor Drive South*

From Sarasota:
Tamiami Trail South (US 41)
Exit to the right @ Business 41 and go over Draw Bridge (Florida West Scuba is next to drawbridge).
Turn right @ first traffic light (Tampa Ave.)
Turn left @ Harbor Drive South*

*to Service Club Park: Harbor Drive South 1.53 miles - on right. (27 04’42.47”N, 82 27’00.62”W)

* To Sharkey’s Park: 1.86 miles on right. (27 04’26.33”N, 82 26’58.28”W)

What to expect at the dive sites: Typical sharks teeth found are from the following: Dusky and Blacktip family, Sand Shark (current and prehistoric), Bull Shark, and Lemon Shark. Rarer but also found are Mako, Great White, Snaggle Tooth and Megalodon. Other fossils that can be found include dolphin, manatee, and whale bones, stingray stingers and crusher platelettes and tail vertabrae, porcupine fish platelettes, mammoth and mastadon teeth/tusk/vertebrae, sloth claws, alligator scales, and sabertooth teeth. Best times for hunting are a few days after a storm when the water has settled down. Depths are 16-18 feet; unless you swim a long way out then you may hit 20.

Both Service Club Park and Sharkey’s Park have paved parking, showers, restrooms and picnic tables. Service Club Park has a long boardwalk over the dunes which can be an obstacle for yak divers (about 100 yards to beach).

Service Club: fossil beds can be patchy, but in general yield better finds, yak diving about ¼ mile off shore (very productive area). 15- 25 fsw

Pros and Cons When the water is clear lots of teeth can be found. When the water is a milky emerald green, there will be no visibility on the bottom and toothing is useless.

 

[CMOST]

I'm in!! Should we plan on a 1 tank? If it's more than that I want to make sure I secure a rental tank. Any idea of a time and meeting location?

 

[catra8104]

Count me in too... Let me know about how many tanks, what time, and exactly where... I'm sooooo there already...

 

[Live2sho]

Us too just need some details

 

[Scoobahdood]

I will be bringing two tanks. It is up to you how many dive you guys want to do. Bring a dive flag if you have one! I will bring mine!!

We can either meet at the end of Alhambra or meet at the parking lot at the park next to the pier where Sharky's is located. Somebody pick a preference. I would like to try the beach near the park and pier because I didn't have any luck off of Alhambra. I will be there around 8-8:30. I have a green Ford Explorer Sport with a SB sticker on the back window.

I will post some links to other posts that have all the directions and locations.

Any expert meg tooth finders want to come and show me how to find them? I must find some soon or I will have to go to extremes and dredge the ocean bottom with a big rake!!

 

[jess4diving]

I may or may not join you...thats my birthday weekend and OLD NORTHEAST TAVERN is having an ALL you can eat and drink from 2pm - 7pm for $20. They have 22 taps with beers from all over the world and another 200 or so in bottles
....sorry for going off topic

IF I dont go there, I may meet you. I definately want to dive that weekend!!!

 

[Sh@rkW@tcher]

If your looking for teeth, service club park is a better choice than sharkeys pier, not to mention the fact that scuba diving within 100 yards of the pier will get you a visit by the sheriff's dept. Take the boardwalk from the parking area at service club, walk straight to the water, take a heading of 300 degrees, swim out till you're about even with the end of the pier, drop down and start looking for black sand and broken shell. You should find teeth in that area.

 

[Scoobahdood]

If your looking for teeth, service club park is a better choice than sharkeys pier, not to mention the fact that scuba diving within 100 yards of the pier will get you a visit by the sheriff's dept. Take the boardwalk from the parking area at service club, walk straight to the water, take a heading of 300 degrees, swim out till you're about even with the end of the pier, drop down and start looking for black sand and broken shell. You should find teeth in that area.

In my post, I wrote: "..the parking lot at the park next to the pier where Sharky's is located." Is this service club park? I know enough NOT to dive next to a pier. Thanks for the info though!! The heading of 300 degrees I didn't know. Good tip!! Thanks!!

 

[Scoobahdood]

I may or may not join you...thats my birthday weekend and OLD NORTHEAST TAVERN is having an ALL you can eat and drink from 2pm - 7pm for $20. They have 22 taps with beers from all over the world and another 200 or so in bottles
....sorry for going off topic

IF I dont go there, I may meet you. I definately want to dive that weekend!!!

I know your priorities! Diving before drinking unless it is Happy Hour!! :mooner:

 

[Sh@rkW@tcher]

In my post, I wrote: "..the parking lot at the park next to the pier where Sharky's is located." Is this service club park? I know enough NOT to dive next to a pier. Thanks for the info though!! The heading of 300 degrees I didn't know. Good tip!! Thanks!!

Service club park is north of Sharkeys about 1/2 mile. If you pass the Coast Guard Aux. station, you went too far.