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| The Surface Interval |
| February 2005 - Part 1 in a 2 part series |
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Southwest Florida is my home. It’s the place where I grew up.
It’s the place I fell in love with as a boy and still love
today. It’s also the place where I discovered my great passion
for scuba diving. Where I learned to dive and continue to
dive. In this month’s and next month’s column I’ve decided to
defend my home as an excellent place for divers to live. Yes,
it needs defending.
The Fort Myers/Cape Coral area is recognized by many as a
haven for boaters and fishermen. It is considered an excellent
place to relax on the water. Wave-runners line the beaches.
Shell collectors pace Sanibel’s shoreline. Snook fishermen
wade the mangroves. From sailboats to airboats, we’ve got it
all. Very few regions can offer as much diversity around the
waterways, yet the local scuba diving often gets a bad rap.
It’s a shame because we are located in an area with so much to
offer to divers.
Let’s start with our backyard- the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf diving
is unique and even while defending it I will admit that it
isn’t always spectacular. I will maintain that it is one of my
favorite places to dive. Unfortunately, when a diver’s first
experience in an area isn’t a good one, they often will not
dive that area again. The Gulf isn’t consistent but when you
get it at the right time it is definitely worth it.
Many people believe that the visibility in the Gulf is always
murky. Most of the time this rumor is spread by people who are
not local divers, or divers who have experienced the Gulf on a
bad day. The usual lack of strong currents in the Gulf makes
it easy diving but the visibility pays the price for it. Silt
doesn’t get washed out like it does in many places with a
stronger current.
The Gulf has a more consistent and slower changing temperature
due to the slower movement of the water. The water in the Gulf
gets warmer in the summer than the Atlantic off Florida’s east
coast does. The temperature coupled with river runoff enhances
algae and plankton blooms. These blooms can be detrimental to
the visibility.
In the winter the gulf gets much colder than most people
realize. Every year in January and February I gauge water in
the low 50’s °f. During this same
time period, without fail, several of my customers will
mention to me that they saw on TV. that the water temp was
still in the low 70’s °f. What
often happens to get this number is a reading in a canal. The
reading is measuring stagnant, sun-cooked, surface water. Many
divers have found themselves surprised and unprepared on
winter dive trips in the Gulf. Also, while there are usually
fewer blooms in the winter months, increased winds can stir up
the bottom silt.
So, does the Gulf have its share of bad days? Absolutely, but
I wouldn’t trade the good days for anything.
I have had a few Gulf experiences where I jumped in the water
in a depth of 90-100 ft. and could see the bottom. Just a few.
Most of my good days in the Gulf I’ve experienced between 20
and 30 feet of horizontal visibility. I can usually see more
marine life in those 20-30 feet than I can see in 60ft. of
visibility on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
The Gulf offers a chance to see some of the densest clouds of
bottom fish you could see anywhere. Bigger fish. Since the ban
on the Goliath Grouper (Jewfish) in 1990, divers see more and
more of these huge fish every year. The Goliath Grouper can
reach 8 ft. in length and grow to 1,000 lbs! More commonly we
see them between 4 and 6 feet in length. When diving off
Florida’s east coast and in the Keys I’ve seen huge stirs of
excitement if someone sees one of these enormous creatures.
Here in the Gulf though, it’s a common occurrence. All of Lee
County’s artificial reefs hold populations of Goliath Grouper.
On some wrecks here in the Gulf I’ve encountered 20 to 30 of
them on one dive!
Spear fishing is a common sport among divers in the Gulf and
with the large population of snapper and grouper it’s no
surprise. Cobia, mackerel, amberjack, and hogfish are also
sought after. Spiny lobsters are far and few between but
usually when someone finds a spiny lobster in the Gulf it’s a
big one.
Photography is also popular among divers in the Gulf of
Mexico. With the attractions I’ve just listed I’m sure you can
see why. It’s a challenge and with some practice can produce
fantastic results.
Where does a person go to dive in the Gulf?
There isn’t much to see from shore off of Ft. Myers/Cape Coral
unless you meet someone with a secret spot. With a boat
however, you have many possibilities. Hard rocky bottom will
yield a lot more life than sand. There are many limestone
ledges off our coast that hold an abundance of marine life.
Most of the places that you catch grouper and snapper offshore
make great dive sites.
The Gulf of Mexico is home to many natural shipwrecks that
make great dives. Information on these can be found in
shipwreck books and online. Many of these wrecks are
considered advanced dives. Our area is the final resting place
for the Fantastico, the Bayronto, the Roatan Express, the
Stoney Point, and numerous other ships, shrimp boats, and
small vessels.
The most popular dive sites off the shores of Ft. Myers/Cape
Coral are the artificial reefs. These are areas that were sand
bottom and pretty much void of life originally. Lee County
secures permits to dump environmentally safe rubble on these
sites. This is an environmentally sound way to provide
structure for fish habitat. I can’t say enough good things
about the artificial reef program. Some of these sites are
made up of concrete culverts, cranes, and old railroad cars.
Other sites are formed using steel or concrete boats (wood
doesn’t last). That’s just to name a few. These sites are
usually easy to find and hold an abundance of life. The gps
coordinates to these sites can be found right here, every
month, in the Nautical Mile. Some of my favorite sites
include: the School Bus Reef, the Power Pole Reef, and the
Hopper Cars/Pegasus wreck both found on Charlie’s reef.
Remember to grab the March issue of the Nautical Mile for the
second half of this two part series. We are in close proximity
to plenty of other worthwhile dive sites in Florida and I will
cover a lot of it.
Capt. Pete is interested in your diving questions for future
articles. Please email those questions to
scubashop@captpetes.com.
If you would like to be on Capt. Pete’s mailing list for
exciting trips and specials, please email your name and
address. |
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Capt. Pete's
Diving Outfitters, Fort Myers, FL, Email:
scubashop@captpetes.com |
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Photo by
Capt. Pete |
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Early
April Gulf Dive
Photo by Gary Wood |
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Goliath
Grouper
Photo by Cherri Wood |
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School
of fish on the Pegasus
Photo by Gary Wood |
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