OP
SwimsWithMinnows
Guest
It's straight out from Oceania. Plug this into Google maps: 30.381391, -86.487529
Destin Harbor intake and mystery fish
- Thread starter SwimsWithMinnows
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mike_s
Contributor
that's close enough for a shore dive. beach access near it too at Moreno Rd and Gulf Shore.
(doesn't look like much parking though, and might a "Deeded access" with a gate or only parking for local residents)
30.381391, -86.487529 - Google Maps
(doesn't look like much parking though, and might a "Deeded access" with a gate or only parking for local residents)
30.381391, -86.487529 - Google Maps
That is the intake, it is a cube structure about the size the original poster described. I believe the sand is about 25', so about 18' to the top of the structure. There isnt much other than sand around it. It is not a suction for a pump, so no worries concerning being sucked in the pipe. It allows for the tidal change to "exchange" water in the harbor.
Hetland
Contributor
I'll let you guys dive it a few hundred times first.
mike_s
Contributor
I wonder how old it is....
I'm guessing without it the water in the harbor could get stagment.
I imagine it was really bad before they started enforcing dumping marine heads overboard. **Phew**
was thinking it might be somewhere new to hit from the shore and burn that last 700-900psi out of some tanks if needed.
OP
SwimsWithMinnows
Guest
I plan on checking it out early this afternoon. If all goes well, I'll post the video later this evening.
There are several people that have done thier first two open water dives at the intake. Last class there were 18 students on the intake along with 3 instructors.
I have dove the intake a dozen or so times. That is one of the dive locations that I do not count in my log book, it is primarily used as a training site. I dont log those type of dives towards my experiance unless I am working on a particular skill set. If I am there helping or just blowing bubbles with students, then it is just something my computer logs. Similar to all the pool sessions and the FADS.
Unfortunately, there is no public parking anywhere near the Oceania condos. Signs are posted that say you can't park on the streets. There are a couple of beach accesses there, but I think they are supposed to be for residents only of the local area. There are probably gates along the accesses which may or may not be locked. In other places along Holiday Isle (which this part of Destin is called), there are a couple of private beach access paths/boardwalks which usually aren't locked.
mike_s
Contributor
That's what I meant. (by deeded access and parking for local residents).
The Holiday Isle Homeowners Association has all this area locked up legally in convenants. They existed before the city of Destin incorporated, so not much Destin can do about it . (this from the mayor when I asked him about increasing parking spaces at the Jetty parking area a few years ago).
OP
SwimsWithMinnows
Guest
As promised earlier, here's the video from the gulf intake dive today. What doesn't really come across in the video is that, the closer and longer you look, the more life begins to pop out at you. What's most fascinating about the intake is the school of spadefish inside it. At about the 2:43 mark in the video is where I finally got close enough to record the life inside. I honestly hadn't thought about being able to see inside, but as I made one pass over it, the sun reflected off of one of the spadefish and it caught my eye. They were all about the same diameter as a basketball. It's almost like an aquarium in open water. There were other species inside, but they kept to the shadows mostly so I was unable to ID them. It'd be great to get a better view of what's going on in there.
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