wjefferis
Contributor
I got out to Pensacola Beach around 9:00 am a bit before high tide. I was surprised that the wind which was forecasted to be out of the South was actually blowing out of the North making for very smooth conditions. Upon entering the water I was disappointed to see a lot of algae in the water and then it dawned on me that this was the algae field that normally has been sitting between the beach and the site. This meant that the algae had been totally pushed in the beach by the in-coming tide clearing the area. I normally drop down at the beach and underwater navigate in, but since the algae was so think we decide to surface swim. The in-coming tide had brought some jellies in, but they were mainly hanging around the surface. I took a good hit to the neck and chin but it was my fault as I was back fining and not paying attention. The jellies were manageable and once I turned and faced the direction I was going I swan around any that came my way. Once we arrived on the site I was amazed at the visibility. I could clearly see the site from the surface. During high slack tide viz stayed at 20 feet maybe a little more in some areas. Once the tide shifted the viz went down to about 10 to 15 feet which was still great in my book. Water temps were very nice at 82* and I only counted a couple jellies hanging around at depth that were very easy to avoid. There was a ton of life hanging around the rubble as usual. Once my buddy hit her turn around pressure we decided to navigate back to the beach underwater since we didnt see any jellies at depth. This worked out well and I only saw a couple on the way back in. If you read this in time I would hit P-Cola beach on Sunday (7-29-07) high tide is early again and dont surface swim to the site. Line up with the number#4 lifeguard tower and head out due south till you hit about 15-16 fsw if your not on site just go east a bit and then west a bit till you hit it. Here are some pics from my days diving:
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