SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
Out the door before 7AM with TheAwesomeFish and headed down to Gulf Shores, in hopes of beating the Hangout Music Fest crowds, we made it to the public access next to Bahama Bobs after a quick stop at Chick Filet for breakfast. We had, infact, beat the crowds at that point, but the main intersection was closed and diverted down side streets. No holdups since the festival goers still hadn't stirred.
We hoped for a dive at the Whiskey Wreck, but the surf wasn't going to allow it with chest high sets early in the morning. So we headed Eastward, to Perdido Pass to dive the jetties.
The water was blueish and the pass allowed for some sanctuary from the surf. The surge would still make entry interesting, and we had a few hours to blow before high tide so went and sat out on the beach near Florida Point. Had to make a trip to Down Under for a nearly full fill on my AL80 before coming back to Alabama Point for the actual dive. They're using the parking lot near at the seawall as a staging point to launch booms from various small boats along the bay. Lots of boom piled up everywhere in several colors, and lots of hardhat workers waiting for the call.
We geared up and climbed over the rocks and into the water. The surge kicked us around a bit, but MsAwesome and I made it into the water with only a few bruises. Visibility was around 5' and cleared at points to no better than 12'ish. I wore a 1/2mm suit and was extremely comfortable in waters no colder than 77F. We saw the typical fish, bluefish, sandfish, seabass, blennies, wrasse, juvy croaker, and even a few flounder. Didn't spot any jellies, but the hermit crabs were out in force as well as a few small blues and stone crab. While visibility wasn't stellar by any means, the dive went off without much of a hitch, save a mask strap coming undone(which was resolved quickly underwater). We got to watch a bunch of little critters scurry about and had a good time doing so. The water felt great and it was a good first dive back in saltwater for the year(ouch, already May!). Had a max depth of 31' for a dive lasting 64 minutes.
The surf layed down to about thigh high by the end of our dive, so we went to play on the beach for a bit afterwards. There were blue berries all over the parking area that gave us a great little post-dive-snack too. Fought the crowds back to Hwy59, then stopped by Crico's for some pizza buffet goodness, filled my tummy and headed home.
We hoped for a dive at the Whiskey Wreck, but the surf wasn't going to allow it with chest high sets early in the morning. So we headed Eastward, to Perdido Pass to dive the jetties.
The water was blueish and the pass allowed for some sanctuary from the surf. The surge would still make entry interesting, and we had a few hours to blow before high tide so went and sat out on the beach near Florida Point. Had to make a trip to Down Under for a nearly full fill on my AL80 before coming back to Alabama Point for the actual dive. They're using the parking lot near at the seawall as a staging point to launch booms from various small boats along the bay. Lots of boom piled up everywhere in several colors, and lots of hardhat workers waiting for the call.
We geared up and climbed over the rocks and into the water. The surge kicked us around a bit, but MsAwesome and I made it into the water with only a few bruises. Visibility was around 5' and cleared at points to no better than 12'ish. I wore a 1/2mm suit and was extremely comfortable in waters no colder than 77F. We saw the typical fish, bluefish, sandfish, seabass, blennies, wrasse, juvy croaker, and even a few flounder. Didn't spot any jellies, but the hermit crabs were out in force as well as a few small blues and stone crab. While visibility wasn't stellar by any means, the dive went off without much of a hitch, save a mask strap coming undone(which was resolved quickly underwater). We got to watch a bunch of little critters scurry about and had a good time doing so. The water felt great and it was a good first dive back in saltwater for the year(ouch, already May!). Had a max depth of 31' for a dive lasting 64 minutes.
The surf layed down to about thigh high by the end of our dive, so we went to play on the beach for a bit afterwards. There were blue berries all over the parking area that gave us a great little post-dive-snack too. Fought the crowds back to Hwy59, then stopped by Crico's for some pizza buffet goodness, filled my tummy and headed home.
