Scubatech Of NW Florida, United States

Fletcherlives

15/07/17 at 10:15

This was my first dive experience in the Gulf. I haven't been nervous before a dive in a long time, but the strong currents, low visibility and lack of experience in these waters left me with a case of the butterflies. I entered the water off the starboard side with a Giant Stride and immediately found the yellow line that would guide me to the anchor line towards the front of the boat. The current was evident as I pulled myself along the line and only became stronger as we descended along the anchor line. The visibility was an eerie 30 feet on the way down and it became immediately evident why they call this the "Emerald Coast" as the greenish hue to the water seems to keep things hidden from plain view. The Reef at the floor bottom lacked the vibrance and color that I'm used to seeing in the Bahamas and Caribbean however it is still teeming with life. My Dive Buddy is an avid spear fisherman and had coordinated with the boat captain to select a dive spot where there was known to be plenty of Lion Fish (a fish that is apparently ruining the reef because of their numbers). I clung fairly close to Tim due to the low visibility and we began our search almost immediately. Tim showed me how the spear worked by hooking a few LFs before handing it over to me. I hit the first two but not squarely and they were able to squirm free. The third LF was not so lucky... it hit him squarely and he ended up in Tims specially designed container. I quickly caught the hang of it and collected one more LF before handing the spear back to Tim. I understand now how spear fisherman consider SCUBA spearing cheating... with enough time it's like shooting fish in a barrel! There were quite a few fish however my overall impression was of a barren reef probably because it was much different than the Caribbean diving I've done most of my career. The ascent and safety stops were relatively easy with the guidance of the anchor line.

Mako

18/07/15 at 09:54

Seen 4' turtle