Whiskey Wreck 7-31-5 Dive Report(Recon)

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Did a little exploratory dive at the Whiskey Wreck Sunday afternoon. I hadn't been there since the recent storm activity(Arlene, Cindy, Dennis) so I was hoping that more of the wreck had been uncovered. Pre-Arlene, the wreck had very little relief @ ~ 6"-12". Unfortunately there hasn't been much more wreck uncovered since, if any. There is also a beach renourishment project going on in the area that may be impeding on the sand bars moving back out to deeper water *shrugs*.

We found the wreck pretty much right away without needing to scout around for awhile. Visibility was in the 5-7' range and there was little current and very small surf without much surge to speak of. There was 2 sections sticking out of the sand, one about 5' long and the other 10-15' long, neither had more than 12" of relief. There was a ton of life, barnacles, small crabs, blennies, and schools of tiny fish around the little relief there was. We decided to head out to about 20' of water and then turn the dive and swim in UW. We found live sand dollars everywhere, a few pipefish, and some stinging nettles the deeper we got. We did ~ 40 minutes of diving, maxing at 20'. Made the best of our time and in all reality, still had fun getting wet.

We'll keep checking the wreck occasionally, waiting for that day we can start diving it regularly again

 

[Corigan]

Sounds like a fun dive, atleast there was 5-7' viz. I'm still looking forward to doing this dive one day. Hopefully some more of the wreck comes out form the sand. Ever thought about going out there with some shovels, and trying to muck it up and dig it out? LOL!

Matt

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I'm hoping the beach renourishment might help persuade the surf to coax the outer sandbar out a bit further and off the wreck. The beach reaches pretty far off from where it was pre-Ivan and the sandbar is usually much further off the beach.

The sandbar shifts all the time though, the wreck has been covered and uncovered countless times. Last year it had 5-7' of relief. Dec '03, I did a dive on it with 8-10' of relief and was able to see both sides of the hull(usually only one side penetrates the sand). Its always changing, I've noticed it and have only been diving it for 2 years.

 

[SeaYoda]

Sounds like a nice dive if Gulf-Gulper and I ever get to do our trip to Mobile.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Its not bad at all when its uncovered more If you want to dive it the way it is, I'd be more than happy to show you all 15-20ish feet of the one side of the hull thats managing to peak out of the sand Personally, I wouldn't consider it worth the drive from Mobile(~1hour-ish), but if you're that anxious to get wet - I'm not gonna stand in your way either! You may consider the jetties at AL Point though(long walk). Could always do Whiskey for half a tank and the rocks/bridge at West Beach pass too - we'd be shallow the entire time, but its bottom time regardless.

 

[SeaYoda]

We would be up for what-ever dive is good between here and there. We are going to pick up a lawn mower and get back home. I don't know when our schedules are going to allow us to get there. GG is having his surgery soon and my work schedule is filling up rapidly (time to stock up on scuba-cash ). The grass may stop growing by the time we get free.