wjefferis
Contributor
I began my plans by going out to Orange Beach to go diving, but unfortunately the boat trip had to be cancelled due to two people dropping out at the last minute. Gary from Gary’s Gulf Divers was gracious enough to book me at 9:00 P.M. on the H20 Below. At first I was apprehensive about going on the H20 since I have not yet dove with the new captain and crew. I must say that I was totally blown away by their professionalism and how hard they worked at ensuring that everyone had a great time.
The ride out was an omen of things to come, beautiful blue skies and calm seas in the 1 foot or less range. I was able to meet seadoggirl who is a fellow scubaboard.com member and great dive buddy. The first dive was on the new Bridge Rubble Reef. I was able to see the rubble only a few feet down the anchor line. I was wearing my 3 mm full suit which was perfect for the 73* water. Max depth was 75 feet, visibility was 50 feet. I saw a few legal amberjack, some decent red snapper, and a good sized grouper. Several of the larger groups of rubble held a lot of life and there is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be one serious spear fishing haven in years to come. Total dive time was 37 minutes.
We were greeted from our dive with fresh cut watermelon, oranges, snacks, and Bob Marley playing on the boat speaker system. We then headed out towards the Russian Freighter. I enjoyed talking with a British journalist from the UK version of PADI Sport Diver who had dove the Oriskany the day before and was seeing some of the other sites Pensacola holds for UK travelers. It’s pretty cool to know just what a great diving playground we have in our own back yard. Upon arriving we thumbed our noses at the fisherman who were mad at out arrival (WHAAAAAAAAA!!!).
I dropped in after an hour and 55 minute surface interval. Water temp was 73* again and the visibility was between 50 and 60 feet making for a great dive. I enjoyed watching the queen angels hanging around the boilers and taking in the plethora of life that the Freighter holds. Seadoggirl was busy plundering for lead and must have pulled up at least 10 pounds of booty (no pun intended). During the dive a saw a good sized triggerfish that was just hanging out on the boilers. I was able to get the attention of one of the guys spear fishing on our trip and he made short work out of him. After scavenging around a while and taking pictures of the area it was time again to begin our ascent finishing our dive at 37 minutes again. On our journey back to the marina we were treated to more watermelon and Marcie’s (soon to be world famous) hotdogs.
I must say thank you Gary for being such a professional and booking me on another charter when you found out yours was cancelled. You will always have my business in Orange Beach. Also to any of you thinking about taking a charter out of Pensacola I really recommend you check out the H20 Below, you will be glad you did, I was.
The ride out was an omen of things to come, beautiful blue skies and calm seas in the 1 foot or less range. I was able to meet seadoggirl who is a fellow scubaboard.com member and great dive buddy. The first dive was on the new Bridge Rubble Reef. I was able to see the rubble only a few feet down the anchor line. I was wearing my 3 mm full suit which was perfect for the 73* water. Max depth was 75 feet, visibility was 50 feet. I saw a few legal amberjack, some decent red snapper, and a good sized grouper. Several of the larger groups of rubble held a lot of life and there is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be one serious spear fishing haven in years to come. Total dive time was 37 minutes.
We were greeted from our dive with fresh cut watermelon, oranges, snacks, and Bob Marley playing on the boat speaker system. We then headed out towards the Russian Freighter. I enjoyed talking with a British journalist from the UK version of PADI Sport Diver who had dove the Oriskany the day before and was seeing some of the other sites Pensacola holds for UK travelers. It’s pretty cool to know just what a great diving playground we have in our own back yard. Upon arriving we thumbed our noses at the fisherman who were mad at out arrival (WHAAAAAAAAA!!!).
I dropped in after an hour and 55 minute surface interval. Water temp was 73* again and the visibility was between 50 and 60 feet making for a great dive. I enjoyed watching the queen angels hanging around the boilers and taking in the plethora of life that the Freighter holds. Seadoggirl was busy plundering for lead and must have pulled up at least 10 pounds of booty (no pun intended). During the dive a saw a good sized triggerfish that was just hanging out on the boilers. I was able to get the attention of one of the guys spear fishing on our trip and he made short work out of him. After scavenging around a while and taking pictures of the area it was time again to begin our ascent finishing our dive at 37 minutes again. On our journey back to the marina we were treated to more watermelon and Marcie’s (soon to be world famous) hotdogs.
I must say thank you Gary for being such a professional and booking me on another charter when you found out yours was cancelled. You will always have my business in Orange Beach. Also to any of you thinking about taking a charter out of Pensacola I really recommend you check out the H20 Below, you will be glad you did, I was.
