Whitehill Reef and Liberty Ship (Destin FL) Nov 3rd

[sportxlh]

This one is not from the trip to PCB where I saw four of them..... there was only a single on this span in May. It's closest pass was probably 15 feet or so. The bridge spans are good spots as are most of the wrecks in PCB. The only issue is if divers chase them off towards the start of the dive and they choose not to come back



By way of comparison to SE Florida, this was on a wreck in Jupiter about a year ago....



And this is a single grouper nick named Gary in West Palm Beach that is known to be very friendly with divers....



If you can ever take a trip to Jupiter, WPB or Boynton during spawning season during the late summer and early fall, the aggregations are amazing.

 

[Skeptic14]

I've got to do that at some point, looks awesome, work key largo in maybe too, be a hell of a trip!

 

[flyingDiver75]

Saw the resident Goliath on the Destin Main Stack on Friday again:
Goliath Grouper

There's also a massive Red Snapper that hangs out if you can find him. Saw him again for the 2nd time on Friday:
Massive Red Snapper

 

[Skeptic14]

That's cool that several sites have resident goliaths, perhaps there numbers will keep increasing.

How was the temp, both in the water and during the surface interval? I think scubatech said it was about 73, any thermocline? Do you warm up any between dives?

 

[flyingDiver75]

I still need to download my computer to get the definitive numbers - but about 74ish on the bottom. I'm wearing a full 3mm with a 3mm vest + 5mm hood over top. I noticed some step temperature differences, but nothing severe. My dive buddy has a 5mm and she said she was pretty comfortable. I'm seriously considering switching to my 7/8 semi-dry because I like to be nice and warm, but not liking the thought of needing to lug 20+ lbs of weight up the ladder.

ScubaJac and I both brought a full thermos of hot chocolate to drink between dives. That combined with drying off the top 1/2 and bundling up kept us from getting too cold during the interval and trip back.

 

[Skeptic14]

If a nice sunny day comes along I might have to play hookie again; the water has been looking great the last month... so much different than last fall!