Hetland
Contributor
After several days of carefully watching the marine forecasts, XRay, Recharge and I decided that the winds were just too iffy for a long ride out to clear water in the Gulf of Mexico. We had hit Vortex the week before, and Panama City before that, so we were up in the air over what to do with our Saturday. I was leaning toward Panama City again, but Xray and Recharge reminded me that Spring Break was in full swing, and none of us was willing to brave the traffic AND the drunken college kids. We were just about to call it a dive-free weekend when someone mentioned Destin Jetties. A vote was held, and there were no objections to braving the walk of shame, so a plan was hatched.
On our way into Destin we saw pale, emerald water from the bridge, which is always a welcome sign. It also looked like the current was pretty mild, so we skipped our usual site inspection and geared up at the best parking spot on the strip.
We mostly had the beach to ourselves, there were a few young ladies sunbathing, and a gent with a sweet boat anchored up in the shallows. We made our way down the walk of shame and hit the water as soon as we could so we wouldnt break our backs.
The water looked great, and registered between 63 and 65 degrees during the dive. Viz started at about 30 just South of the Box, and dropped to 10 or so around the anchor area. We spotted lots of fish carcasses where folks have been illegally cleaning their catches, but not much else over six or seven inches. There were plenty of slippery dick wrasse, baitfish, stone crabs and a few blue crabs. I saw one tiny blenny, and two anemones. No one wanted their photo taken, so I stuck to video, and shell collecting. I think with the water warming up, there may be more to see in the coming weeks, but it was slim-pickins for our dive, so we decided to skip our second tank and grab some grub. Time in was 11:07am for a 47-minute dive. Max depth was 56 and average depth was 41.
Debrief was at the Wharfhouse??? Overlooking the harbor. It wasnt as good as McGuires, but it was good, and it was nice to get some more fresh air while we discussed future dive possibilities and overpriced dive gear.
I have to say I was very happy with the dive conditions if not a bit disappointed at the lack of critters to photograph. If youre looking to get some good saltwater shore dives in before tourist season, you could do a whole lot worse than the Destin Jetties right now.
-ap
On our way into Destin we saw pale, emerald water from the bridge, which is always a welcome sign. It also looked like the current was pretty mild, so we skipped our usual site inspection and geared up at the best parking spot on the strip.
We mostly had the beach to ourselves, there were a few young ladies sunbathing, and a gent with a sweet boat anchored up in the shallows. We made our way down the walk of shame and hit the water as soon as we could so we wouldnt break our backs.
The water looked great, and registered between 63 and 65 degrees during the dive. Viz started at about 30 just South of the Box, and dropped to 10 or so around the anchor area. We spotted lots of fish carcasses where folks have been illegally cleaning their catches, but not much else over six or seven inches. There were plenty of slippery dick wrasse, baitfish, stone crabs and a few blue crabs. I saw one tiny blenny, and two anemones. No one wanted their photo taken, so I stuck to video, and shell collecting. I think with the water warming up, there may be more to see in the coming weeks, but it was slim-pickins for our dive, so we decided to skip our second tank and grab some grub. Time in was 11:07am for a 47-minute dive. Max depth was 56 and average depth was 41.
Debrief was at the Wharfhouse??? Overlooking the harbor. It wasnt as good as McGuires, but it was good, and it was nice to get some more fresh air while we discussed future dive possibilities and overpriced dive gear.
I have to say I was very happy with the dive conditions if not a bit disappointed at the lack of critters to photograph. If youre looking to get some good saltwater shore dives in before tourist season, you could do a whole lot worse than the Destin Jetties right now.
-ap
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