SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
Josh L, Patrick D, and I headed out early on the 4th to Gulf Shores to meet up with USCGflyer at 8AM. We left early to avoid the afternoon winds, the massive amount of traffic, and to get scantly available parking at the dive sites.
Paul's Shrimpboat 7-4-6 Dive Report
It was overcast in Fort Morgan and drizzling when we were gearing up to dive Paul's Shrimpboat. The seas were glassy, but the surf was running ~2' while the water looked to be pretty murky(typical for being so close to Mobile Point). Water temps were in the mid 80sF and most of us wore simply swimming trunks. We swam on the surface to where we thought the wreck would be and I submerged in search of hitting it. Visibility was 2' in the better areas and often dropped to inches. I felt my way around the bottom for 16 minutes, not finding anything before we opted to just head to our 2nd divesite(West Beach Paddlewheeler). I hit a max depth of 17'. I was kind of frustrated by not finding the divesite, even though it would have been a brail dive had we found it... Nobody elese seemed to mind not having to brail dive curiously. We did have a casualty to this dive though. USCGflyer left his Suunto computer on the bumper of his truck when he left. When we back tracked to find it, it was run over. Pictures will be added later.
West Beach Paddlewheeler 7-4-6 Dive Reports
By the time we rounded the lagoon and headed West again on the beach, the sun was out and shining. Seas were running 2-3', but the water looked blue, although there was still sawgrass in floating around. We entered without incident and enjoyed 5-8' of visibility on the dive with a bit of surge keeping us on our tows. This really is an enjoyable dive with lots of nooks and crannies left to the wreck to look into. The paddles are well defined and hold many fish. The boiler area seems to be a meeting point for several legal mangroves and the lower parts of the rubble house many flounder. I hit a max depth of 17' for 70 minutes of diving. We were back on the beach with another bronze nail, and two or three more copper spikes. USCG managed to flood his backup dive timer/depth recorder(Timex Helix) - what luck! Josh L and Patrick D had plans for the 4th and headed home, while USCGflyer and I headed to Hooters for a between dive snack.
After a 2 hour SI, we were back onsite at the West Beach Paddlewheeler. Conditions were similar and our dive lasted 69 minutes with another max depth of 17'. We managed to produce 4 more copper spikes and a small square bronze nail. Otherwise, conditions and fauna were similar to our previous dive. We had a great day of artifact hunting that produced quite a bit
Looking forward to future dives onsite.
I'll have attach a pic of a few of the spikes we got later today.
I hope everyone else had a wonderfull Independance Day.
Paul's Shrimpboat 7-4-6 Dive Report
It was overcast in Fort Morgan and drizzling when we were gearing up to dive Paul's Shrimpboat. The seas were glassy, but the surf was running ~2' while the water looked to be pretty murky(typical for being so close to Mobile Point). Water temps were in the mid 80sF and most of us wore simply swimming trunks. We swam on the surface to where we thought the wreck would be and I submerged in search of hitting it. Visibility was 2' in the better areas and often dropped to inches. I felt my way around the bottom for 16 minutes, not finding anything before we opted to just head to our 2nd divesite(West Beach Paddlewheeler). I hit a max depth of 17'. I was kind of frustrated by not finding the divesite, even though it would have been a brail dive had we found it... Nobody elese seemed to mind not having to brail dive curiously. We did have a casualty to this dive though. USCGflyer left his Suunto computer on the bumper of his truck when he left. When we back tracked to find it, it was run over. Pictures will be added later.
West Beach Paddlewheeler 7-4-6 Dive Reports
By the time we rounded the lagoon and headed West again on the beach, the sun was out and shining. Seas were running 2-3', but the water looked blue, although there was still sawgrass in floating around. We entered without incident and enjoyed 5-8' of visibility on the dive with a bit of surge keeping us on our tows. This really is an enjoyable dive with lots of nooks and crannies left to the wreck to look into. The paddles are well defined and hold many fish. The boiler area seems to be a meeting point for several legal mangroves and the lower parts of the rubble house many flounder. I hit a max depth of 17' for 70 minutes of diving. We were back on the beach with another bronze nail, and two or three more copper spikes. USCG managed to flood his backup dive timer/depth recorder(Timex Helix) - what luck! Josh L and Patrick D had plans for the 4th and headed home, while USCGflyer and I headed to Hooters for a between dive snack.
After a 2 hour SI, we were back onsite at the West Beach Paddlewheeler. Conditions were similar and our dive lasted 69 minutes with another max depth of 17'. We managed to produce 4 more copper spikes and a small square bronze nail. Otherwise, conditions and fauna were similar to our previous dive. We had a great day of artifact hunting that produced quite a bit
Looking forward to future dives onsite.I'll have attach a pic of a few of the spikes we got later today.
I hope everyone else had a wonderfull Independance Day.
