GLENFWB
Contributor
(I saw Barry and I posted a report at the same time....sorry we have two reports)
Just a short report about our dive at the Fort Pickens jetty today. MRXRAY, me, and two other divers were going to meet up with PaulWall around 8 AM. I didn't make it there till 8:30 AM. Entrance fee for Fort Pickens is $8.00 or a yearly pass for $25.
Barry and the gang were there when I arrived. They were waiting for Paul to show up. I got geared up and around 9 AM we decided to head to the water. When we arrived we found Paul exiting the water. I did not take my camera on the first dive. I ran a reel for part of the dive. Visibility was ten feet at best. We explored around the rocks and looked for the various structures we know are out there. After about 30 minutes, I signaled Barry and I broke away from the group to go do some exploring solo. I took my time shining my light under rocks. There were numerous lures and fishing line snagged on the rocks. I found a large octopus inside a large truck tire. I saw the usual Gulf fish, damsels, wrasse, many rock and blue crabs. Earlier Barry found two crabs doing the "nasty." You do NOT want to know what Barry's signal is for crabs mating.
Anyways, I ended the dive and surfaced to find Barry and the others had also just surfaced. After our SI we headed back for our second dive. The current was really ripping for this dive. Visibility had also dropped. I would estimate viz was around 5 feet. We had to hold on at the end of the dive while doing our safety stop.
I am posting a few dive pictures. I could not adjust my camera during the dive. I had to leave me camera set on one setting till I get some parts back from Ikelite. So, with no camera adjustments and five foot viz my pictures really sucked. Hopefully Barry was able to get some better pictures on the first dive when visibility was better. Two great dives with some good dive buddies.
I am also posting some pictures of the drive out to the dive site. Some of you might enjoy seeing how the road and the fort looks since the hurricane.
Pre-Dive Discussions
MRXRAY Preparing to Dive
Bad Visibility
The Hurricane Left Its Mark
Fort Entrance
Not Diving Pictures But I Love the Fort
Just a short report about our dive at the Fort Pickens jetty today. MRXRAY, me, and two other divers were going to meet up with PaulWall around 8 AM. I didn't make it there till 8:30 AM. Entrance fee for Fort Pickens is $8.00 or a yearly pass for $25.
Barry and the gang were there when I arrived. They were waiting for Paul to show up. I got geared up and around 9 AM we decided to head to the water. When we arrived we found Paul exiting the water. I did not take my camera on the first dive. I ran a reel for part of the dive. Visibility was ten feet at best. We explored around the rocks and looked for the various structures we know are out there. After about 30 minutes, I signaled Barry and I broke away from the group to go do some exploring solo. I took my time shining my light under rocks. There were numerous lures and fishing line snagged on the rocks. I found a large octopus inside a large truck tire. I saw the usual Gulf fish, damsels, wrasse, many rock and blue crabs. Earlier Barry found two crabs doing the "nasty." You do NOT want to know what Barry's signal is for crabs mating.
Anyways, I ended the dive and surfaced to find Barry and the others had also just surfaced. After our SI we headed back for our second dive. The current was really ripping for this dive. Visibility had also dropped. I would estimate viz was around 5 feet. We had to hold on at the end of the dive while doing our safety stop.
I am posting a few dive pictures. I could not adjust my camera during the dive. I had to leave me camera set on one setting till I get some parts back from Ikelite. So, with no camera adjustments and five foot viz my pictures really sucked. Hopefully Barry was able to get some better pictures on the first dive when visibility was better. Two great dives with some good dive buddies.
I am also posting some pictures of the drive out to the dive site. Some of you might enjoy seeing how the road and the fort looks since the hurricane.
Pre-Dive Discussions
MRXRAY Preparing to Dive
Bad Visibility
The Hurricane Left Its Mark
Fort Entrance
Not Diving Pictures But I Love the Fort
