Navy Dive Tender (YDT 14) & PC Barge Report / May 10

The Cat-N-Around left the Dock at 8 am Saturday morning and headed out Perdido Pass with seas at about 2 foot, the marine forecast was saying 3 - 5' seas We were glad they got it wrong.
Onboard we had 2 divers from New Orleans, 1 from Baton Rouge, 1 from Mobile, 1 from B-Ham and 1 from St. Louise, Mo.
First stop was Dive Tender YDT15. We were the only boat on site. Dive Master John splashed and tied into the top deck at 60'. (100' to the sand). In just a few minutes we had all the divers in the water and I was topside watching bubbles. About 30 minutes later the first of the divers were returning to the boat. Reports of 70* water temp. and 50 foot of visibility was agreed on by all. The Wreck was loaded with life that included some nice AJ's, Black Snapper and of course the Red variety of Snapper, this site always holds a good number of Scamp.
These Dive Tenders continue to be a favorite of Divers and are a must dive if your in the area.

Second Site we hit the PC Barge which always makes a great second dive as it is 80' to the sand and about 74' on top of the barge. Divers reported 30' vis. a good number of Spade Fish as well as all the usual fish.
Dive lasted 35 - 40 minutes and water temp. of 70*.
We Decided to go in through Pensacola Pass as the seas were building and stop at one of the Islands to cook our usual lunch, We cooked up some Sausage and served them on a bun and everyone said this was a good ending for a GREAT day on the water.

Great report Gary

Captain Gary got it right. It was a good day to be on the water, and a better day to be diving.

The YDT was a near-perfect dive with 50' viz and lots of fish activity. In addition to the fish Captain Gary mentioned, there were also about a dozen baracuda, a few triggers and some nice tropicals, including soapfish, spotted butterflyfish, blue & yellow damselfish, and one dive pair told me they saw a parrotfish. We saw a group of dolphins playing in both sides of our wake as we left the area, and they were nice enough to let us get a good look at them.

The barge was crusted up nicely, and positively infested with spadefish. I was paying more attention to the fans, and soft corals, so I'm sure I missed a few fish, but I did have a buried flounder take off about 2 feet from my face, which scared the crap out of me, and made me laugh at the same time. Here's what I saw on my safety stop: YouTube - Pensacola Barge 80fsw - Spadefish

Gary and John did a great job keeping us safe, and putting us on some nice dives. They cooked us up some delicious sausages and hot dogs on the beach, and a great time was had by all.

Thanks for the Video Hetland

The YDT's are one of my favorite dive sites in the Gulf. I wanted to go so bad, but I had to to the Pensacola civic center to take a promotional sgt exam. I hope to make the next one with everyone.

Hetland did you get any video of the YDT's ??????? I would love to see it.

I'm new to diving, so I'm taking my time learning how to use the camera/video. The only video I took, I posted above. Look in my gallery for some pics of the dive. I have several additional shots of the boat I did not post. Let me know if you want them, and I'll add them to the gallery.

I really enjoyed the dive, and I can't thank Capt. Gary and Divemaster John enough for showing us a good time. I'll definatly dive the YDT's with them again, and I'll be sure to take more video and post it here.

-h