Destin Dive Report - 5 Nov 05 and Back 2 Weeks

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Stone

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Location
We live in Valparaiso, FL and dive out of Destin,
Date: 26 Oct 05
Wx: Sunny all day and low 70s F
Seas: 2 inches (Vortex Springs)
Temp: 68 F

Prologue: We went to Vortex to “dial-in” our drysuits. All of our adjustments were made while sitting on the entry steps. We trimmed my neck-seal and adjusted our weights. Stone (Dacor): 26 lbs; Candy (Moby) 24 lbs.

Dive One: Vortex. We dove for about 35 minutes. . . 35 incredibly boring minutes.

Epilogue: Diving in fresh water is lovely; however, it is not our “cup of tea”.

Date: 27 Oct 05
Wx: Completely overcast and 60F early, winds NE 10 -20. 70F by 1400.
Seas: Calm in the Bayou and choppy in the Bay. Gulf was 1 to 3 ft early and about 1 ft by 1500.
Temp: No thermocline. About 75 F from top to 95 ft.

Boat Info: 13 Oct 05: Replaced starter motor, ignition solenoid and associated circuit breaker. When Candy ordered the parts, she found out the old solenoid and circuit breaker were not “standard” for my engine. She ordered the correct parts and I installed them. I also installed a fuel flow meter. It is working, but will take a few trips to calibrate.

Prologue: We left the marina at 1000. Just Candy and Stone on this trip. Bayou and Bay were uneventful. When the alternator gauge showed “below nominal” charging, I switched to battery ”1” so I would have a fully charged second battery if needed. Once through the Pass, there was a strong SE swell competing with a 15 kt NE wind. We picked the Janet and LCM-8 as targets. We headed into the swell and could only make about 10 kts without getting beat up and sprayed (there was some white-capping).

Dive One: Janet. We dove “dry”. Candy used 24 lbs with her Moby, and I used 26 with my Dacor. Both suits have a little leakage at the wrists, but I am satisfied. Candy needs to adjust her CG a little, and she may have an allergy to the latex. There was a 6 ft nurse shark under the bow, a few small red snappers, and a few baby grouper. Vis was 50 ft near the top, but only 25 at the bottom.

Dive Two: LCM-8. Candy switched to her 7-mil wetsuit. I stuck with the dry-suit. The LCM certainly looks different sitting upright. The stern superstructure was fairly intact when it was on its side, but now it’s mangled. No decent fish seen.

Epilogue: The boat ran great except for the alternator output. The sun came out at about 1530 and was intermittent for the ride home. Seas calmed to 1 ft.

Just before we pulled anchor on the LCM, we were surrounded by many spotted dolphin. They appeared to be doing a feeding trick where they would be very active at the surface, then “blow” at the same time and descend. At first we thought there were only 12 dolphin feeding at a time; however, as they moved away from the boat, we saw their numbers double (must have been 12 up and 12 down).

We reached the Marina by 1630. Total trip was about 39.5 nm (45.5 statute).

Date: 5 Nov 05
Wx: Mostly sunny and 68F early, winds SE 15 - 20.
Seas: Calm in the Bayou and choppy in the Bay. Gulf was 3 to 4 ft (a couple of 5s) all damn day.
Temp: No thermocline. About 75 F from top to 102 ft.

Boat Info: Since the alternator output was low on the last trip, I decided to replace it. It took me about 4 hours just to get it off (including trips to the hardware store, auto store, and home to get some specialty tools). To make a long story short, I had to cut off the head of the pivot bolt, remove the alternator bracket from the engine block (with alternator still attached), and use a hardened steel nail-set tool to drive the pivot bolt out of the alternator and bracket. I replaced all bolts with stainless. Next time, it will only take me 45 minutes.

Prologue: We left the marina at 0745. Candy, Stone, and buddy Jim. Bayou and Bay were uneventful. Once through the Pass, there was a strong SE swell and SE wind. I headed toward the LCM-8 just because it put the bow into the wind and waves. I could only make about 8 kts into the tightly packed 4 ft waves, so we decided to hit the Phoenix (which is closer). There was a monkey boat about a tenth of a mile away, so we threw the hook. The monkey boat pulled up on us and said they were fishing the wreck. The captain said he had a buoy out, and sure enough, he did. It’s hard to see an 8-inch buoy in 4 ft seas. We apologized and pulled the hook.

Dive One: Janet. Due to the sea-state, we could only turn around (head NW) or continue on to the LCM-8 and Janet (head SE). A boat was on the LCM, so we dove the Janet. We dove wet. I used the 5-mil with 3-mil hooded vest (14 lbs) and Candy used her 7-mil with core warmer. Vis was a nice 30-40 ft and not much current. Pretty boring dive until the end. Earlier in the dive, Candy shot and strung an AJ. Later, she motioned me over to the wheel house to see a Jew Fish. I had seen it already, so I didn’t pay much attention. Then she motioned me over again, and I noticed her tank had slipped out of her BC. Buddy Jim was nearby and he fixed Candy’s tank problem. The next thing I saw was Candy’s AJ in the mouth of the Jew Fish as it was swimming away (along with her stringer ($20), stainless steel double ender ($6), and locking carabiner ($10)). I swam up to the fish and politely removed the stringer from the AJ’s mouth while the Jew fish waited patiently. Too bad we didn’t have a camera.

Dive Two: Phoenix. Again, the sea-state was so bad that we had to keep the bow or stern into the waves. The Phoenix was open on the second try, but there were no fish to shoot.

Epilogue: The boat ran great. I have replaced everything that hangs on the engine except for the distributor and its electronic “black box”. The wind and waves never let up (mostly 4 footers all the way to the pass). We made it back to port about 1600 after a trip of 41.3 nm (47.5 statute)
 
Glad to hear you're getting out there again. Very funny about that Jewfish :D.
 
Thanks for the detailed report Stone. Do you guys plan on heading out through the winter or do you recognize an "offseason"? :D
 
SuPrBuGmAn:
Thanks for the detailed report Stone. Do you guys plan on heading out through the winter or do you recognize an "offseason"? :D

We definitely don't have an "off-season". If the boat is running, we are diving.

If you want to brave the winter season in deep water, let me know (I need help with the gas money!)
 
Will do :) I'm Nitrox'd up now - so I'm ready for whatever profile as long as we don't bust NDL times :D
 
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