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8 NOAA researchers and 6 crew went out to
the Flower Gardens this weekend to download
the instruments mounted out there and add
new instruments to the stack. We left
Freeport at the regular time and found
ourselves at the East Bank at 0700 for a
0800 dive. The ride out was sloppy, and
conditions at the East Bank were a little
yecchy, but not too bad. Seas were 2-4 feet,
air temp was 70, current was slack, Water
temp was 68 (Brrr), and visibility was over
100 feet. We were greeted by a tiger shark,
tiger grouper, goliath grouper (a big one),
and schooling mackerel and AJ’s. A lone
spotted eagle ray was spotted, too. Other
sharks were thought to be there, but only
shadows in the distance were seen. During
lunch, we went over to the West Bank. We
tied up on Buoy 5. The air temp was 72,
water temp 68, seas 2-4 feet, current
slightly zippy, and visibility was about 40
feet. Huge schools of Kings were seen, but
no wahoos, and nothing big. We left for
Stetson about 1530 and tied up there for the
night. In the morning, conditions were
seas 3-5, Air temp 74, water temp 68,
current slack, visibility was about 50 feet
and here there be sharks. Mostly silkies
were spotted, as well as schools of big king
mackerel. There were a few fishing boats
out, but not as many as I’d expected. It was
a nice shakedown for the mighty vessel Spree
and her crew. Now I have a week to fix the
broken stuff before our first load of sport
divers next weekend. Keep your fingers
crossed that the weather forecast holds.
Captain Frank
M/V Spree
Freeport, TX |
