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We were delayed by Hurricane Humburto’s
untimely appearance in the Gulf on
Wednesday. That is the second time this year
I have been caught in a tropical storm that
formed on top of me. I’d like to stop that,
please. We got underway for Sonnier Bank on
Thursday at about 2 PM, arriving at 0600
Friday morning. We tied to the mooring sand
started diving. Everyone thought it was
pretty cool, then I went in. I hadn’t dived
Sonnier in about 5 years, and Rita wiped it
out. There were very few sponges, some fish,
no coral, a little algae, but the pelagic
fish were there. We saw Wahoo circling the
reef, as well as a flying gurnard. I never
saw it, but I saw pictures, so it must have
been there. The current was mild in the
morning, a little stiffer n the afternoon,
water temp was 86, vis was 30 feet on the
surface, 60 at the bottom (runoff from
Humburto's, maybe), and seas were 3 feet in
the morning, and calm in the afternoon.
Friday morning we arrived at the East Bank
for 2 dives. Conditions started out good,
and quickly got challenging as the cold
front moved through. The reef was nice,
manta’s and a dusky shark were seen, as well
as the usual, but the coral is showing
signs of temperature stress, as in
bleaching. Hopefully the cold fronts will
start to move through cooling the water off.
Temp was 86, seas 3-4, current mild, and
visibility 100+. After the East bank, we
dove the platform HI-572C. The usual grouper
and hogfish were seen, as well as the
blennies and hard stuff the platform is
known for.
We arrived at Stetson for an afternoon and
evening dive. Current was again mild, seas
3-5 feet, and the ladders were challenging.
All of the Stetson stuff was there,
including eels, monster angelfish, and a big
loggerhead. In the morning, a big manta was
spotted, as well as the same turtle, some
small sharks, and some big waves. We came
home in 5-6’s.
Capt Frank
M/V Spree
Freeport, TX |
