OP
- Messages
- 19,807
- Reaction score
- 18,675
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
Hopefully, going out with Narcosis in West Palm tomorrow, will let you know.
SE Florida post Irma
- Thread starter scubadada
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
OK. Maybe it was 20 ft. . Anyhow, call the dive shop and ask what they've seen for viz. With Jose passing offshore and all the big wave action, I'm guessing the viz is not great. That's why I'm boarding a plane in awhile for Cozumel.
OP
- Messages
- 19,807
- Reaction score
- 18,675
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
So.... I got out with Narcosis today in West Palm. Sea conditions were far better than advertised, maybe 1-3 feet. Beautiful warm sunny day with fluffy white clouds. I met Capt Alex for the 1st time and dived with my old friend, Finch, with only 2 other divers. First dive was Double Ledges, it didn't turn out so good. Visibility was 10-15 feet at best. I think we were dropped west of the big eastward cutout of the reef. We never made the ledges, bagged it after half an hour. Ocean temp was 83.
The 2nd dive was much, much better. We did the Mitzpah Corridor, backwards, as the current was south. We hit the Rock Pile, the PC1174, and then the Mitzpah. Visibilty was a bit better, 15-20 feet, water 83 degrees. A couple of big Southern Rays, a couple of Green Morays, a good number of big Goliath Grouper, couple small schools of Barracuda, and many of the usual reef fish. Other 2 divers finished at 30-35 minutes and I had Finch to myself. Went on a nice interior tour of the Mitzvah including the long central corridor. Apparently some relatively major changes to the Mitzpah after Irma. A few beautiful views of multiple GG framed against outside openings. Dive a little over an hour, a couple of minutes into deco, it was over too soon.
Still trying to line up a ride for tomorrow...
The 2nd dive was much, much better. We did the Mitzpah Corridor, backwards, as the current was south. We hit the Rock Pile, the PC1174, and then the Mitzpah. Visibilty was a bit better, 15-20 feet, water 83 degrees. A couple of big Southern Rays, a couple of Green Morays, a good number of big Goliath Grouper, couple small schools of Barracuda, and many of the usual reef fish. Other 2 divers finished at 30-35 minutes and I had Finch to myself. Went on a nice interior tour of the Mitzvah including the long central corridor. Apparently some relatively major changes to the Mitzpah after Irma. A few beautiful views of multiple GG framed against outside openings. Dive a little over an hour, a couple of minutes into deco, it was over too soon.
Still trying to line up a ride for tomorrow...
OP
- Messages
- 19,807
- Reaction score
- 18,675
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
I'm going to Cayman Brac for a week, starting Oct 23
OP
- Messages
- 19,807
- Reaction score
- 18,675
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
Nobody going out tomorrow, , I'll try again Thursday. Seem like the vis is slowly improving.
, I'll try again Thursday. Seem like the vis is slowly improving.
Ghetto Diver
Contributor
I am holding off boat trips until it clears up a bit.
I did make a shore dive Sunday at LBTS. Vis was about 2-3. I had planned to do 2nd reef but that poor viz I bagged that idea and hung around 1st reef...or whats left of it. A lot of it is burried.
Lobster everywhere
I did make a shore dive Sunday at LBTS. Vis was about 2-3. I had planned to do 2nd reef but that poor viz I bagged that idea and hung around 1st reef...or whats left of it. A lot of it is burried.
Lobster everywhere
Last edited:
OP
- Messages
- 19,807
- Reaction score
- 18,675
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
Got out today from Boynton Beach on Starfish with backup Capt Alex. Had 2 really good dives on two of Boynton's premier sites, Clubhouse and Black Condo. Visibility was about 20 ft, maybe a little more at times and water temp was 83-4 degrees. The reefs suffered during Irma with severed sponges and downed fans. There was a fair amount of sand on the reef. Worst damage was the finger coral field at the end of Clubhouse, which was decimated. On the other hand, there were tons of fish, all the usuals were there in numbers. Saw just one big Loggerhead.
Going out again tomorrow on Starfish, may get lucky and do the Castor. I hear form Alex that there are big changes on Boynton's 3 wrecks...
Going out again tomorrow on Starfish, may get lucky and do the Castor. I hear form Alex that there are big changes on Boynton's 3 wrecks...
Thanks for the updates Craig! Much appreciated!
Bison
Contributor
Just received a Post Irma report from Ocean Divers:
Hey OD Family, As some of you may already know, we did some exploring yesterday. We went to the USCG Duane, The Spiegel Grove, and Molasses Reef. The purpose of this trip was to see what impact Hurricane Irma had on our wrecks and reefs. We've been asked by several of you to post or describe what they look like. The honest answer is that they look different. The Wrecks saw some cosmetic changes. The Duane's smokestack, for example is sitting in the sand. It was actually pretty cool how it was already a very popular hangout for some of the larger fish on the wreck. We then did the Spiegel Grove and she has also had some work done. One of the crane arms was moved and she has a large crack on her bow from the force of the anchor chain. What amazes me the most is the sheer amount of fish we saw on both of these wrecks. We then did a Drift through Molasses Reef. The most obvious change that we saw was that Molasses is a few feet deeper. The storm moved most of the floor sand off of the reef and uncovered mounds of fossilized corals and limestone. These structures haven't seen the light of day in quite sometime because, they are bone white. What was cool is that they were already being used as hiding places by Fish, Eels, and Lobster. As some of you might imagine, there was some displaced soft and hard corals. Contrary to other reports, we saw lots of sea fans and sea whips still attached and in good condition. One of the coolest changes that we saw was that because of the removed sand, we were able to dive at least three new swim-through's that weren't there before. These too were packed full of fish.. Here's a quick video shot by Lew Bellows on our trip
Hey OD Family, As some of you may already know, we did some exploring yesterday. We went to the USCG Duane, The Spiegel Grove, and Molasses Reef. The purpose of this trip was to see what impact Hurricane Irma had on our wrecks and reefs. We've been asked by several of you to post or describe what they look like. The honest answer is that they look different. The Wrecks saw some cosmetic changes. The Duane's smokestack, for example is sitting in the sand. It was actually pretty cool how it was already a very popular hangout for some of the larger fish on the wreck. We then did the Spiegel Grove and she has also had some work done. One of the crane arms was moved and she has a large crack on her bow from the force of the anchor chain. What amazes me the most is the sheer amount of fish we saw on both of these wrecks. We then did a Drift through Molasses Reef. The most obvious change that we saw was that Molasses is a few feet deeper. The storm moved most of the floor sand off of the reef and uncovered mounds of fossilized corals and limestone. These structures haven't seen the light of day in quite sometime because, they are bone white. What was cool is that they were already being used as hiding places by Fish, Eels, and Lobster. As some of you might imagine, there was some displaced soft and hard corals. Contrary to other reports, we saw lots of sea fans and sea whips still attached and in good condition. One of the coolest changes that we saw was that because of the removed sand, we were able to dive at least three new swim-through's that weren't there before. These too were packed full of fish.. Here's a quick video shot by Lew Bellows on our trip
OP
- Messages
- 19,807
- Reaction score
- 18,675
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
Got out of Boynton again yesterday on Stafish with Alex and Jason. Had two great dives on the Castor and then 007 outside to Clubhouse inside. Visibility is slowly improving, 20-25 feet, water 84 degrees
Not too much damage to the Castor as Sandy had already knocked off the stern to the starboard in 2012 and Matthew did the same to the bow in 2016. The structure on the stern over the entrance to the engine room has collapsed, not sure it is still accessible, did not try it this dive. It is usually a nice swim through, especially during aggregation. There were 20-25 Goliath Grouper at the stern, same number at the bow. Lots of Horse Eye Jacks and Bar Jacks and several small bait balls. Bonus was the Bull Shark over the cargo area on the way back to the stern.
It was nice getting a glimpse of the outside reef. Not too much damage, severed sponges, flattened fans, some debris and sand on the reef. The Finger Coral on the outside did much better than that on the inside. Lots of fish, nice Nurse Shark and a Loggerhead.
So far, looks like I will be getting out of Boynton again today, maybe even 4 dives, we'll see
Not too much damage to the Castor as Sandy had already knocked off the stern to the starboard in 2012 and Matthew did the same to the bow in 2016. The structure on the stern over the entrance to the engine room has collapsed, not sure it is still accessible, did not try it this dive. It is usually a nice swim through, especially during aggregation. There were 20-25 Goliath Grouper at the stern, same number at the bow. Lots of Horse Eye Jacks and Bar Jacks and several small bait balls. Bonus was the Bull Shark over the cargo area on the way back to the stern.
It was nice getting a glimpse of the outside reef. Not too much damage, severed sponges, flattened fans, some debris and sand on the reef. The Finger Coral on the outside did much better than that on the inside. Lots of fish, nice Nurse Shark and a Loggerhead.
So far, looks like I will be getting out of Boynton again today, maybe even 4 dives, we'll see
Similar threads
