After
an uneventful trip out, we tied to
WFG #5. The crew was on a mission to
set a mooring, so we didn’t do any
fun diving, but when RB went looking
for the #2 mooring site, a large,
dark, striped shadow passed over him
twice. They like smoked meat, you
know. Anyway, Dennis saw a large
manta at the stern of the boat on
the second dive. The passengers
didn’t see much because they
wouldn’t look up. We explained that
sharks didn’t hang out in the sand
patches, but to no avail. The seas
were running 3 feet, water temp is
at 71, the current was running
steady against the wind (not fun),
and the air was 85, and visibility
was awesome.
After 2 dives at the west bank, we
headed east to meet up with the
Fling, who promptly left when we got
there. They reported Tiger Sharks,
Reef Sharks, big sharks, little
sharks, so they were going to a rig
to check it out. We tied to buoy #7,
and a hammerhead promptly swam past
the bow while the crew was tying in.
Our passengers knew they had lost
the night dive, and did eventually
start looking up. A large school of
Mobula Rays (see
the photo gallery) was seen, as
well as mantas and hammers, but no
tiger. We opted not to night dive
anyway. The seas were building by
nightfall, and got over 5 feet in
the night. The water temp was still
71, seas 3-5, current still against
the wind, and air temp 85,
visibility was awesome.
We got underway for Stetson at 0230,
and with the seas behind us,
everyone slept like a baby. We got
to Stetson in 5 footers, but little
wind/whitecaps, and the period had
stretched to about 6 seconds. Much
more comfortable. The current was
slack. Many of the usual Stetson
critters were seen, including eels,
lobster, and rays, but no sharks.
The wind had freshened by the second
dive; seas were 5 feet, temp 70, no
current, visibility 75 feet.
Captain Frank
M/V Spree |
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