Sarasota Bound 7/10-7/15

[KEPal]

Hey guys, and gals,
We're heading down to Sarasota this weekend (great timing as usual), and I was planning a shore dive one day next week with my daughter (however the shark thing has her a bit anxious).

Hopefully Dennis won't mess that up.

I have a couple of questions I hope you could answer for me.

Should I bother packing any gear with Dennis mucking up the vis?

If I do pack the gear, should I bring the 3 mil fulls, or find something cooler down there?

Thanks,
Gene

 

[matts1w]

Gene:

I dont think you will be diving. As of 9:00 PM Dennis hopefully will miss the West Coast of Florida by 50 to 100 miles some time on Saturday afternoon. It could be better, but you never know. It is going to take several days for the seas to lay down after the storm passes. Right now they are saying 8-10 foot seas on Sunday. Several more days to a week or even more for the vis to calm down.

I hope they are wrong, but we are in hurricane mode down here. Sunday the 10th may still be pretty weird in SW Florida.

Wish I had better news.

 

[ReefGuy]

I wouldn't plan on diving this weekend. In fact, I'm not

 

[frogman_5]

Checked the marine forecast this morning....

They're calling for 10 - 14' waves this weekend. Forget the scuba and break out the surfboard!

 

[drbill]

My folks live in Sarasota (oops, now it's just Mom). I didn't get the impression there was much shore diving there, except perhaps Point of Rocks? I did look at several boat dive operations and hope to get in a dive or two in the Gulf when I visit there again.

And people worry about the earthquakes in California... at least they don't affect my diving here (been underwater during a few of them over the past few decades).

Bill

 

[KEPal]

Oh well,

I want to thank you guys for the heads up. Looks like the gear will stay here in the land of cold water. A warm water dive would've been nice though.

Thanks again,
Gene

 

[frogman_5]

With Dennis on his way to the panhandle, you just might be able to squeak in a dive at the end of your trip, but I don't think it's worth lugging the gear along. If things improve, you can always rent. Scuba Quest in Sarasota or Sea Trek (friends of mine) on Anna Maria Island are pretty good.

 

[Dv4fun]

I just dove Nokomis beach 5 minutes south of Sarasota, visibility was only 5 - 10 spotty.

I live in Sarasota and try to get 2 - 3 shore dives each weekend, be glad to dive wirth you if your interested in hunting for fossil teeth. Went to Siesta beach at 4:30pm today and waves were 5 - 8 ft , vis is probably 0 - 2 inches, should clear 3 days or so. My daughter dives with me only when its pristine visibility , needless to say she has only dove with me 3 times this summer so far, so the beach diving here is not the best, we have had a bout with red-tide and it seems to be clearing up around here.

Since we have just had heavy surf the fossil hunting should be excellent if you don't mind the low visibility. I found a 4" megaladon last weekend and about 50 smaller teeth.

You can e-mail me at if interested in doing a shore dive ,

SRQ_DIVER@COMCAST.NET

 

[KEPal]

We made it in last night, but haven't gone to check the beaches yet. I did bring our masks, and snorkels (just couldn't come down completely unprepared). If my daughter changes her mind, I'll let you know.

Cool beans on the meg tooth, that's what I was after!!

I did bring the metal detector, so maybe I'll have better luck there.

Thanks again,
Gene

 

[CBulla]

I can tell yawl without a doubt that if at ALL possible I am looking to dive Thursday or the next Monday.. this kind of water roll over on the beach makes for good huntin!