Friday afternoon I left work early and headed south to the Panhandle. I decided to stop at Vortex and see if I could find the Scubaboard gang. Vortex turned out to be practically deserted so I just drove around the campground until I found a couple of cars with Georgia plates and said to myself, This must be the place. Along with Kraken and Sea Yoda and FSUgly there were several others. SuprBugMan was reportedly stuck in traffic and when Darcy arrived we migrated to Sallys for a great meal and some socialization. Interestingly enough we ran into Doc and Ruth Dockery having dinner too.
I left Sallys around 9:30 knowing that I had to be in Panama City to check-in to my hotel before the office closed at eleven. I arrived safely and enjoyed a restful sleep, dreaming of my dives yet to come.
Six AM came early Saturday and I met the rest of the folks on the all-inclusive package. We had a wonderful breakfast at the All American Diner. Then off to Hydrospace to meet our boat. We piled onto the Reef Runner, parlayed a few minutes with Captain Steve and decided that our three dives would be Two Tugs, Accokeek, and Bridge Span Four. The Weather Channel really missed Saturday because the projected less than two footers really were three foot formed swells that were close together near shore but thankfully spread out the further we went. Of course the trip out was into the wind and made for a bumpy, wet ride.
Splash was already on the Accokeek so we decided to hit Two Tugs first. Visibility at the top of the wreck was more than 40 feet and dropped to about 15 close to the sand. The aggravating thermocline started about 20 feet off the bottom. Current was brisk but manageable and we spent most of the dive on the down current side. There were loads of great marine life and reflections danced from huge balls of baitfish. I managed a series of magazine covers from two Hermit Crabs that were either fighting or attempting to make more Hermits.
Next dive the Accokeek was still busy so we moved to Bridge Span Four. I dont think I have ever experienced a current as hard as we had there. The top of the span boasted about fifty foot visibility, however about ten feet off the sand a mud cloud blacked out everything. I settled on my knees and turned on my light. Serious darkness prevailed and I saw only an orange glow from my light only a foot from my face. Back to the top and hang on like a flag as I tried to make the best of the dive. Problem is that there is just no place to effectively hide from the current on a bridge span. The current was so hard that there was a visible bow in the anchor line.
I finally opened my box lunch and to my delight found a Mystery Meat sandwich, banana, bag of chips, and a Twinkie. By this time I was hungry and it all tasted just fine. I cut the yellow meat watermelon and everyone just stared at it and said Oh Yuk! Why is it yellow? Steve and I had a lot of melon to ourselves. He even saved the seeds. Did you know that Remora like watermelon?
Third dive we made it to the Accokeek and what a great dive it was. There was probably 60 feet visibility on top of the wreck and about 20 near the sand. I went all the way around on the bottom and then to the wheel house. The rest of the gang was looking at about 250 pounds of Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus Itajara). Absolutely fantastic!
On the way back to the hotel I stopped at Divers Den and chatted with Sonja. They were busy as usual. Then a quick stop at the Navy Exchange produced a couple of new tee-shirts. About six the mother of all thunderstorms rolled in. Thunder and lightening at the same time shook the hotel and rain so hard you could barely see across the street. Traffic on Highway 98 stood still until a convoy of fire trucks sped by. I heard on the news that one of the houses behind the hotel was struck by lightening and burned to the ground.
Traffic was still gridlocked as we headed out to meet Scotty at Captain Andersons. All the cars appeared to be trying to turn left on Thomas Drive so I stayed to the right and went up Outer Beach for a couple of miles and turned on an access road and then followed North Lagoon back into Captain Andersons. Cars had been waiting to turn on Thomas Drive for more than forty minutes and we made it to the restaurant in less than fifteen minutes. I guess it pays to know the town. We met at the Empire Mica propeller and walked right into the restaurant to our tables. We strolled past all the glaring crowds. Dinner was scrumptious and as we were leaving they were paging group number 935 and the waiting crowd had not thinned at all. What lure would bring you to a restaurant to wait that long? I got a laugh because there was a limo parked in front of Hydrospace.
Sunday morning I slept until eight and had a leisurely breakfast at Captain Jacks. Then meandered back to Divers Den and chatted with Debbie and Sonja for a while before heading to Hydrospace for the eleven oclock boat. We decided on the Accokeek and Two Tugs because they were so nice yesterday. The seas were glassy smooth and the dolphins were plentiful. The only downside was the floating eel grass that harbored hungry biting flies with no wind to keep them at bay.
On the Accokeek I found a weight belt with genuine Sea Pearl weights totaling 24 pounds. I used my lift bag. I had fifteen minutes of ascent time so the Deck Hands curiosity took over and he came out to get my booty. I know I'm weird but I find it so interesting to study the zooplankton with a magnifying glass as I wait at ten feet. I wish I were an artist to draw some of the creatures.
The final dive of the weekend was Two Tugs. The Goliath Grouper showed up and produced a delightful show.
All-in-all, it was a great and relaxing weekend. The water temperature is about 85 on the surface and 82 on the bottom. But the 82 feels cool until your body adapts. Visibility on the off shore sites is great on top of the structures and less on the bottom. Marine life is healthy and abundant.
To end a perfect trip, I stopped at Billys Oyster Bar for a Grouper Salad Sandwich, Yum! Yum!
I left Sallys around 9:30 knowing that I had to be in Panama City to check-in to my hotel before the office closed at eleven. I arrived safely and enjoyed a restful sleep, dreaming of my dives yet to come.
Six AM came early Saturday and I met the rest of the folks on the all-inclusive package. We had a wonderful breakfast at the All American Diner. Then off to Hydrospace to meet our boat. We piled onto the Reef Runner, parlayed a few minutes with Captain Steve and decided that our three dives would be Two Tugs, Accokeek, and Bridge Span Four. The Weather Channel really missed Saturday because the projected less than two footers really were three foot formed swells that were close together near shore but thankfully spread out the further we went. Of course the trip out was into the wind and made for a bumpy, wet ride.
Splash was already on the Accokeek so we decided to hit Two Tugs first. Visibility at the top of the wreck was more than 40 feet and dropped to about 15 close to the sand. The aggravating thermocline started about 20 feet off the bottom. Current was brisk but manageable and we spent most of the dive on the down current side. There were loads of great marine life and reflections danced from huge balls of baitfish. I managed a series of magazine covers from two Hermit Crabs that were either fighting or attempting to make more Hermits.
Next dive the Accokeek was still busy so we moved to Bridge Span Four. I dont think I have ever experienced a current as hard as we had there. The top of the span boasted about fifty foot visibility, however about ten feet off the sand a mud cloud blacked out everything. I settled on my knees and turned on my light. Serious darkness prevailed and I saw only an orange glow from my light only a foot from my face. Back to the top and hang on like a flag as I tried to make the best of the dive. Problem is that there is just no place to effectively hide from the current on a bridge span. The current was so hard that there was a visible bow in the anchor line.
I finally opened my box lunch and to my delight found a Mystery Meat sandwich, banana, bag of chips, and a Twinkie. By this time I was hungry and it all tasted just fine. I cut the yellow meat watermelon and everyone just stared at it and said Oh Yuk! Why is it yellow? Steve and I had a lot of melon to ourselves. He even saved the seeds. Did you know that Remora like watermelon?
Third dive we made it to the Accokeek and what a great dive it was. There was probably 60 feet visibility on top of the wreck and about 20 near the sand. I went all the way around on the bottom and then to the wheel house. The rest of the gang was looking at about 250 pounds of Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus Itajara). Absolutely fantastic!
On the way back to the hotel I stopped at Divers Den and chatted with Sonja. They were busy as usual. Then a quick stop at the Navy Exchange produced a couple of new tee-shirts. About six the mother of all thunderstorms rolled in. Thunder and lightening at the same time shook the hotel and rain so hard you could barely see across the street. Traffic on Highway 98 stood still until a convoy of fire trucks sped by. I heard on the news that one of the houses behind the hotel was struck by lightening and burned to the ground.
Traffic was still gridlocked as we headed out to meet Scotty at Captain Andersons. All the cars appeared to be trying to turn left on Thomas Drive so I stayed to the right and went up Outer Beach for a couple of miles and turned on an access road and then followed North Lagoon back into Captain Andersons. Cars had been waiting to turn on Thomas Drive for more than forty minutes and we made it to the restaurant in less than fifteen minutes. I guess it pays to know the town. We met at the Empire Mica propeller and walked right into the restaurant to our tables. We strolled past all the glaring crowds. Dinner was scrumptious and as we were leaving they were paging group number 935 and the waiting crowd had not thinned at all. What lure would bring you to a restaurant to wait that long? I got a laugh because there was a limo parked in front of Hydrospace.
Sunday morning I slept until eight and had a leisurely breakfast at Captain Jacks. Then meandered back to Divers Den and chatted with Debbie and Sonja for a while before heading to Hydrospace for the eleven oclock boat. We decided on the Accokeek and Two Tugs because they were so nice yesterday. The seas were glassy smooth and the dolphins were plentiful. The only downside was the floating eel grass that harbored hungry biting flies with no wind to keep them at bay.
On the Accokeek I found a weight belt with genuine Sea Pearl weights totaling 24 pounds. I used my lift bag. I had fifteen minutes of ascent time so the Deck Hands curiosity took over and he came out to get my booty. I know I'm weird but I find it so interesting to study the zooplankton with a magnifying glass as I wait at ten feet. I wish I were an artist to draw some of the creatures.
The final dive of the weekend was Two Tugs. The Goliath Grouper showed up and produced a delightful show.
All-in-all, it was a great and relaxing weekend. The water temperature is about 85 on the surface and 82 on the bottom. But the 82 feels cool until your body adapts. Visibility on the off shore sites is great on top of the structures and less on the bottom. Marine life is healthy and abundant.
To end a perfect trip, I stopped at Billys Oyster Bar for a Grouper Salad Sandwich, Yum! Yum!
