Whiskey Wreck 4-21-8 Dive Report

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Straight out of work, I headed down to Gulf Shores to meet up with jwhitlock and shagman to dive the Whiskey Wreck this afternoon. jwhitlock ended up being called back home, so it was left to shagman and me to check on the wreck conditions.

Surf was running shin high and a bit choppy with light winds out of the west. From the surface, the water looked relatively clearish. We geared up and hit the water, which was running 69F still. Had and easy 5-10'visibility, but pretty dirty on the longer side. Without a compass, I ran us directly into the wreck using only my sense of smell. We hit the stern portion, which is no longer connected by visible relief to the main hulk of the wreck. We did fine the main portion though, the starboard side hull which still has several ribs high enough to swim under and the base of the mast is still visible. Total relief from the beachside of the hull was around 5'-6' at the highest points, but 1-2' less relief if on the inside of the hull where all the sand is being caught. Portside hull is no longer visible at all. The long mast laying parrallel, just outside of the starboard side hull is still visible. We didn't swim out to the bow sections as they are most likely covered.

Tons of life out, some flounder, some sheepshead, a trigger(~8"), pigfish, mangroves snapper, and a ton of sponge growing all over the wreck.

Hit a max depth of 13' for a dive lasting 51 minutes. Hit up Bahama Bobs afterwards. Had a great time!




Its gonna take me quite some time to do a Spring-SpringFest report, so that'll come tomorrow or the next day Whiskey reports are easy.

 

[ShagMan]

I don't think I've ever seen that much sponge outside of the PCB jetties.

Lots of schooling spadefish and some large sheepshead were hanging around, as well as a large triggerfish, and I saw a solitary pufferfish. There were a few flounder, but nothing to write home about.

There was a small shellbed where stuff was gathering, I picked out a few empties and brought them back with me.

The vis was semi-decent, but there was a lot of "snot" in the water, so you were doing good to make anything out at 10'.

Mat's skills at finding the wreck are amazing... I've been to the Whiskey 1/2 dozen times, and I STILL don't think I could find it on my own.

Thanks for being my tour guide!

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

No prob!

 

[cmufieldhockey8]

You must have a hell of a sense of smell.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

There's atleast one good thing about this gonzo nose of mine

 

[Port Tack]

I was enjoying lunch at Bahama Bob's a couple weeks ago and noticed a dive flag around the second sand bar and about 50-60 yards down the beach toward Fort Morgan. Is there a flag attached to the wreck? I never saw anyone come out of the water so I do not think there was anyone diving at the time.

Mike

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

No permanant flag at the wreck, its possible someone marked the wreck on a previous dive and left the flag tied to it, for a future dive.

 

[PerlDiver]

That is an interesting question, tho. What is required to have a permanent floating ball buoy put on the Whiskey? Permission? Or just put one up and opt for forgiveness?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

On occassion a bouy ends up on the wreck, but it doesn't stay long. I don't know if boat traffic takes care of them or other divers.

Sharpen your navigational skills and don't rely on a bouy

 

[Port Tack]

I do not have any flounder in the freezer. Would the Whiskey be a good place to get some or is it too early?