Tex Edward and Three Coal Barges Trip Report 08/14/2009

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

jhayes75

Contributor
Messages
981
Reaction score
26
Location
Mandeville, LA
# of dives
100 - 199
The anticipation of diving did not allow me to sleep very well and with maybe 3 hours of sleep and the clock at 4 am, I got up and was on my way by 4:30 am. I arrived at 7:20am at Chico Marina and loaded my gear on the Viking, charted by Capt Tim Thorsen and his wife Tanya as the deck hand. I was met here by George and Kevin who are two buddies of mine from Louisiana. We had two other divers on board who were from Lake Charles LA. With a boat full of Cajuns we were on our way to sea. We had decided to dive the Liberty wreck for our first dive. On our way out the skies did not look good and the bay was a little choppy. As we made our way through the pass, we noticed boats coming in and the seas picking up. Capt Tim stopped the boat and asked if we wanted to call the dive. We had all agreed to continue on. As we were heading out, Tim informed us that the visibility would probably not be in our favor on the Liberty. We then decided to head to the Tex Edward Barge. We battled some 3 to 5 foot swells on the way out and at one point Tim cut back on the throttle which sent me to the floor. Once we arrived on site the sea had got the best of one of the Lake Charles divers and off to the side, he commenced to chumming the water. Tonya splashed in to anchor us the wreck and came up with good news that the viz was great. With my Camera and Home made Video camera housing I splashed in at 9:42 am with a bottom time of 46 minutes to a max depth of 73 ft and a minimum temp of 77 degrees. The visibility was about 40’ and current was moving pretty good. On this wreck my buddy George found a nice rod and reel that could not have been there long. I could not get my remote to control my video camera on this dive, and I found out later why. Once back on the boat and sitting there I started to feel the nausea setting in. I am thinking to myself that I never get sick. Well I ignored the feeling and went to trouble shoot my video camera and found that the water tight bag that housed the remote was not to water tight. I was relieved that it was not my camera. Now to our second site which would be the three coal barges. After a 66 minute surface interval I splashed in at 11:35 am with a bottom time of 60 minutes to a max depth of 55 ft and a minimum temp of 84 degrees. On this dive I had to keep my camera rolling the whole time. The only problem is that I did not change the battery from the first dive. The battery died right when we approached the wreck. It was not a good camera day. At one point a huge barracuda practically swam through my fins. I was able to get the downward photo of him. On my way to the surface I had to avoid some very large jelly fish that was getting a little to close the ladder. My buddy George was not able to avoid it as he was climbing back on board and it had wrapped around his bald head and neck. I think we used a bottle of vinegar on him. I was sitting on the ice chest looking out to the rear of the boat on the way in when the nausea hit me and I could not avoid it any further. I did my fair share of feeding the fish off the back of the boat. Back on land and an empty stomach we were off to eat. Sonny’s BBQ was the choice we made and it was delicious. Now exhausted, full and still not 100% I was back on the road to my three hour haul home. Here are few pictures from the trip, nothing really spectacular.

20090815_20.jpg


20090815_25.jpg


20090815_30.jpg


20090815_11.jpg


20090815_35.jpg


The Fishing Pole

20090815_8.jpg
 
Last edited:
Glad you got to get out. Sorry you got sick. I know about those 3 hour drives home after diving all day. That can be pretty tough. :)
 
Hey, don't be talking trash on Sonny's! Next time we go to Marianna I am going to force you to eat there!

Sweet pole! Too bad about Sonny's though.
 
LOL! Sonny's is EVERYWHERE! Shouldn't we be enjoying the local cuisine??! :D







Yeah, LIKE OLD MEXICO!
 
Depends on what you eat!
 
Now that's funny....I don't care who you are!

If we are going to eat local in Marianna...I vote for the Italian place we found across from the courthouse, I can't remember the name but the food is unforgettable!

Depends on what you eat!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom