Hopefully this doesn't bore everyone because it is about snorkeling rather than scuba. I spent the week of Thanksgiving in Destin. I wasnt expecting to do any snorkeling at the jetties because low tide occurred in the morning or mid-day. However, on the first day I walked down to the finger jetty and was surprised to see the water looked fairly clear, despite the tide stage. I ended up going snorkeling on two afternoons about 3-4 hours after low tide. What was indeed surprising was that the visibility wasnt that bad about 20 ft., although the water was quite greenish. The Gulf was fairly rough both days so I couldnt venture beyond the protection of the finger jetty. I was also surprised to find there were still a lot of tropical fish around. I have gone snorkeling at the jetties a couple of times before at Thanksgiving in previous years (on neap tide days), and most of the fish had moved out. This year, there were still numerous slippery dick wrasses buzzing around, cocoa damselfish were common, and there were many juvenile gray snappers. Other fish I can remember seeing included sergeant majors, sheepshead, surgeonfish, razorfish, molly miller blennies, and one black sea bass. I also saw some bluehead wrasses, which are extremely common in the Caribbean, but which I can only remember seeing in Destin once before. I only saw a few pinfish, which in the summer are most common fish at the jetties in shallow water. I previously thought these fish were adapted to cool water and would hang around all winter; I guess not. Blue crabs were also still around and fairly common. Supposedly, fishermen had been catching flounders by the 100s off the jetties the previous week, but I didnt see any.
The water was cool; I'd guess a temp of about 68. I got chilly after about an hour with a full 2mm suit plus 3/8th hood.
I talked with a couple of locals to get their opinion at to why the water was relatively clear at low tide. One guy thought it was because there had been very little rain in the preceding weeks and so the bay water was salty and unusually clear. Another guy said the bay typically gets clear in the fall due to algae die-off. Whatever the reason for the clarity, on the days I went snorkeling this Thanksgiving, I think you could have a reasonably acceptable scuba dive. There didnt seem to be any current on the couple of times I dove down to about 15 ft. off the end of the finger jetty. Ambient light got dim pretty fast, however.
I pretty much had the place all to myself. Very nice compared to summer:
I only got one underwater shot worth posting. This sea anemone was unusual because it was prominently out in the open. Usually at the jetties, the anemones are hidden back in crevices.
On a completely different subject, I went to Grand Cayman for a week after I was in Destin. I got a couple of decent triggerfish shots there:
Queen triggerfish
Gray triggerfish. This one is interesting because according to Humann's book, these are rare in the Caribbean. Also, when you compare this to the typical gray triggerfish you see off the FL panhandle, the colors are very exaggerated.
The water was cool; I'd guess a temp of about 68. I got chilly after about an hour with a full 2mm suit plus 3/8th hood.
I talked with a couple of locals to get their opinion at to why the water was relatively clear at low tide. One guy thought it was because there had been very little rain in the preceding weeks and so the bay water was salty and unusually clear. Another guy said the bay typically gets clear in the fall due to algae die-off. Whatever the reason for the clarity, on the days I went snorkeling this Thanksgiving, I think you could have a reasonably acceptable scuba dive. There didnt seem to be any current on the couple of times I dove down to about 15 ft. off the end of the finger jetty. Ambient light got dim pretty fast, however.
I pretty much had the place all to myself. Very nice compared to summer:
I only got one underwater shot worth posting. This sea anemone was unusual because it was prominently out in the open. Usually at the jetties, the anemones are hidden back in crevices.
On a completely different subject, I went to Grand Cayman for a week after I was in Destin. I got a couple of decent triggerfish shots there:
Queen triggerfish
Gray triggerfish. This one is interesting because according to Humann's book, these are rare in the Caribbean. Also, when you compare this to the typical gray triggerfish you see off the FL panhandle, the colors are very exaggerated.
