We enjoyed some absolutely fantastic diving this past weekend in Panama City. We started Saturday with gas fills at Vortex Spring and breakfast at the Blue Top in Panama City. We were pleasantly surprised when La Quinta upgraded our room to a suite and we learned that we would have less than 15 divers on the Island Diver. It was almost scary the way things fell into place.
The ride out was against the wind and a little bumpy and wet but we did not despair because we knew the ride back would be on a trailing sea, where all life's journeys need to be. We decided on a brand new site. The DuPont Span One doesn't even have any rust yet. Of course, there is no life on the span but she was put down right next to an old pile of PVC pipes. We did a maximum depth of 93 feet and saw too much stuff to write about. There were octopus and flounder and grouper and jack; hard corals and soft corals and echinoderms and coelenterates. These are a few of our favorite things.
A dream on the federal highway system came true when the Hathaway Bridge across St Andrews Bay and the DuPont Bridge across North Bay opened for traffic in 1929. US Highway 98 linked the gulf coast and made travel easier. No longer did folks have to go far inland to visit the railhead and port at Panama City. These bridges were unique as dozens of Parker Through-Truss spans rested atop concrete pilings to span the vast waterways. Each section is 225 feet long, 40 feet high, 20 feet wide and weighs 325 tons. This time they blasted holes in the roadbed to reduce hydraulic lifting and settling during storms. The DuPont Bridge was replaced by a concrete structure in 1967. Be watching for this one to develop into a fantastic dive site. Those who were on the trip Saturday can one day boast to novices, "I saw it when the white line was still on the roadbed."
Paul (Pablo) cooked hotdogs for us to enjoy on the surface interval. I don't think there is a luxury anywhere that's more intense than a warm hotdog after a cool dive. Thanks to Tom Mann for financing the fixings.
For our night dive we chose the Hovercraft or Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC.) This particular craft was one of two prototypes delivered to the Navy in the early 1970s. JEFF-A, which is the one we see on the bottom was built by Aerojet General Corp, in California. JEFF-A's design was four articulated ducted fans. The prototype chosen by the Navy was JEFF-B which boasted of having fixed fans. JEFF-B was scrapped after the testing and JEFF-A lives on as part of the Panama City Artificial Reef Program.
We found a myriad of marine life. Hidden among the thick rubber skirt I found a shovel-nose lobster and he found a way to get in my pocket. I gave him to Paul who enjoyed a gourmet meal later that evening. I was watching a sea cucumber stretched out long and thin when a leopard toadfish darted out and grabbed an arrow crab. Few things in the ocean die of old age. We watched a Deer Cowry with its mantel closed just enough to see his beautiful orange shell. A sassy octopus tried to pull our fingers into its hole. On the anchor line we flailed wildly stirring up the Noctaluca and watching sparks jumping from our fingertips. Phytoplankton has been really present and active on night dives this year.
We enjoyed dinner at Billy's. We had something light to eat while heavy fellowship amongst those of a common interest melded lasting friendships. Apres Plongee almost as good as the Plongee itself. We met new friends who were visiting from the Pacific Northwest.
Then we crashed - our dreams took us to a tropical reef, we hitched a ride on a dolphin and slept in on Sunday morning.
We shared the Island Diver with another group Sunday. They had a bunch of new divers so we allowed them the Black Bart without argument. She's an ex-oilfield resupply boat that's 185 feet long and has thus far resisted storms and remained upright and intact. Her real name was the Volcano de Golfo but the site was renamed Black Bart in honor of Captain Charles Bartholomew. I have several hundred dives on the Black Bart and see something different and exciting on every dive. We anchored on the stern and went clockwise around the wreck. There were bottom-crawlers of every type and huge schools of Atlantic Spadefish. We saw a huge Southern Stingray. Schools of Jack practiced some sort of ritual where they dive down and rub themselves against the sand, probably ridding their skin of parasites. We saw fishermen's hooks with bait dancing. Then we visited the wheelhouse with its cloak of Spadefish and drifted back to the anchor line.
Once again we enjoyed warm hotdogs during the surface interval, a treat beyond description.
The second dive Sunday, Bridge Span 14, was one of the most memorable ever both in the significance and in the marine life we saw. This was dive number 50 for Steve and 950 for May-May. As we reached the bottom a Jewfish greeted us probably more than 250 pounds. We went clockwise around the bottom and snapped a picture of Steve with a thick school of Spadefish in the background. We found an octopus hiding amongst the wreckage and some mondo Flounder. I haven't seen as many oversize Barracuda in one place for a long time. We must have seen a dozen, some up to six-feet long. With sadness we ended the dive and headed in. By the way - I saw Bridge Span 14 while the white line was still on the roadbed.
The air was crisp and the water temperature in the high sixties. We dressed for the weather and really enjoyed the whole weekend. We can't say enough good stuff about our crew. Captain Dave, Paul (Pablo), and Landon gave their all to make the weekend a fantastic experience. Thank you too Captain Jerry for allowing us the luxury of the Island Diver and her outstanding crew.
As an added treat we drove over the latest Hathaway Bridge to Panama City Marina near Uncle Ernie's Restaurant. We gazed in disgust at the unsightly high-rise where the Holiday Lodge used to be. We looked with admiration at the newest addition to the artificial reef system. The decommissioned tug Red Sea will be put down sometime soon and will be placed within the square-mile around the USS Strength. The Red Sea looks much like the Accokeek.
To end a fantastic day and a fantastic weekend we had a fantastic dinner at Bayou Joe's. Great atmosphere, great food, and great companions - Life is good!
The ride out was against the wind and a little bumpy and wet but we did not despair because we knew the ride back would be on a trailing sea, where all life's journeys need to be. We decided on a brand new site. The DuPont Span One doesn't even have any rust yet. Of course, there is no life on the span but she was put down right next to an old pile of PVC pipes. We did a maximum depth of 93 feet and saw too much stuff to write about. There were octopus and flounder and grouper and jack; hard corals and soft corals and echinoderms and coelenterates. These are a few of our favorite things.
A dream on the federal highway system came true when the Hathaway Bridge across St Andrews Bay and the DuPont Bridge across North Bay opened for traffic in 1929. US Highway 98 linked the gulf coast and made travel easier. No longer did folks have to go far inland to visit the railhead and port at Panama City. These bridges were unique as dozens of Parker Through-Truss spans rested atop concrete pilings to span the vast waterways. Each section is 225 feet long, 40 feet high, 20 feet wide and weighs 325 tons. This time they blasted holes in the roadbed to reduce hydraulic lifting and settling during storms. The DuPont Bridge was replaced by a concrete structure in 1967. Be watching for this one to develop into a fantastic dive site. Those who were on the trip Saturday can one day boast to novices, "I saw it when the white line was still on the roadbed."
Paul (Pablo) cooked hotdogs for us to enjoy on the surface interval. I don't think there is a luxury anywhere that's more intense than a warm hotdog after a cool dive. Thanks to Tom Mann for financing the fixings.
For our night dive we chose the Hovercraft or Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC.) This particular craft was one of two prototypes delivered to the Navy in the early 1970s. JEFF-A, which is the one we see on the bottom was built by Aerojet General Corp, in California. JEFF-A's design was four articulated ducted fans. The prototype chosen by the Navy was JEFF-B which boasted of having fixed fans. JEFF-B was scrapped after the testing and JEFF-A lives on as part of the Panama City Artificial Reef Program.
We found a myriad of marine life. Hidden among the thick rubber skirt I found a shovel-nose lobster and he found a way to get in my pocket. I gave him to Paul who enjoyed a gourmet meal later that evening. I was watching a sea cucumber stretched out long and thin when a leopard toadfish darted out and grabbed an arrow crab. Few things in the ocean die of old age. We watched a Deer Cowry with its mantel closed just enough to see his beautiful orange shell. A sassy octopus tried to pull our fingers into its hole. On the anchor line we flailed wildly stirring up the Noctaluca and watching sparks jumping from our fingertips. Phytoplankton has been really present and active on night dives this year.
We enjoyed dinner at Billy's. We had something light to eat while heavy fellowship amongst those of a common interest melded lasting friendships. Apres Plongee almost as good as the Plongee itself. We met new friends who were visiting from the Pacific Northwest.
Then we crashed - our dreams took us to a tropical reef, we hitched a ride on a dolphin and slept in on Sunday morning.
We shared the Island Diver with another group Sunday. They had a bunch of new divers so we allowed them the Black Bart without argument. She's an ex-oilfield resupply boat that's 185 feet long and has thus far resisted storms and remained upright and intact. Her real name was the Volcano de Golfo but the site was renamed Black Bart in honor of Captain Charles Bartholomew. I have several hundred dives on the Black Bart and see something different and exciting on every dive. We anchored on the stern and went clockwise around the wreck. There were bottom-crawlers of every type and huge schools of Atlantic Spadefish. We saw a huge Southern Stingray. Schools of Jack practiced some sort of ritual where they dive down and rub themselves against the sand, probably ridding their skin of parasites. We saw fishermen's hooks with bait dancing. Then we visited the wheelhouse with its cloak of Spadefish and drifted back to the anchor line.
Once again we enjoyed warm hotdogs during the surface interval, a treat beyond description.
The second dive Sunday, Bridge Span 14, was one of the most memorable ever both in the significance and in the marine life we saw. This was dive number 50 for Steve and 950 for May-May. As we reached the bottom a Jewfish greeted us probably more than 250 pounds. We went clockwise around the bottom and snapped a picture of Steve with a thick school of Spadefish in the background. We found an octopus hiding amongst the wreckage and some mondo Flounder. I haven't seen as many oversize Barracuda in one place for a long time. We must have seen a dozen, some up to six-feet long. With sadness we ended the dive and headed in. By the way - I saw Bridge Span 14 while the white line was still on the roadbed.
The air was crisp and the water temperature in the high sixties. We dressed for the weather and really enjoyed the whole weekend. We can't say enough good stuff about our crew. Captain Dave, Paul (Pablo), and Landon gave their all to make the weekend a fantastic experience. Thank you too Captain Jerry for allowing us the luxury of the Island Diver and her outstanding crew.
As an added treat we drove over the latest Hathaway Bridge to Panama City Marina near Uncle Ernie's Restaurant. We gazed in disgust at the unsightly high-rise where the Holiday Lodge used to be. We looked with admiration at the newest addition to the artificial reef system. The decommissioned tug Red Sea will be put down sometime soon and will be placed within the square-mile around the USS Strength. The Red Sea looks much like the Accokeek.
To end a fantastic day and a fantastic weekend we had a fantastic dinner at Bayou Joe's. Great atmosphere, great food, and great companions - Life is good!
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aboard the Red Sea a few months back and she is going to be an amazing dive. The will be some pretty cool areas to penetrate into in addition to some good safe swim throughs. I can't wait to read your write uo on that one!
