Towing to the Gulf

M

mpmccoy

New member
I'm considering towing down to the Gulf of Mexico for some diving. Can C-Brats in Pensicola, Apalachacola, Eastpoint, Panama City and the like chime in here for some recomendations?

I'll need a place to launch and stow the trailer.
Some nice places to visit.
Some easy dive spots to re-aquaint my wife with her equipment.
And most of all some encouragement (or discouragement if waranted)
Routes to take and avoid from L.A.

I'm targeting the first week in April for launch.

Thanks
Mike
 
I go back and forth to Los Angeles (assume that is what you mean rather than Lower Alabama, or Lousiania)--which are both refered to L.A. around here in Pensacola.

We have found that there is only a couple of miles difference between going thru Houston on I 10 and Dallas on I 20. Our motor home does not like the Lousianina I 10 freeway, with the causeway bumps--and Houston Traffic is terriable (we try and hit it Saturday or Sunday).

There are a number of diving sites in the Gulf off of Pensacola and Destin. In April, we are still subject to Northers--and it can get rough offshore--even 20 miles or less. Also in April the water is still farily cool; it will be high 60's to 70 the first week of April. (Similar to summer conditions in S. Calif. I should be home the first or second week of April, if not Marie will be here, so give us a call.

I recommend Pensacola Shipyard Marine Complex. It is $5 in and out to launch. The security is good there, and I suggest it over any public ramp (actually the ramp was paid for by the country) and adminstrated by the shipyard.

The aircraft carrier Oriskany is the most famous dive site we have--it is 67 feet to the top of the Island. The deck is more of a techinal dive at 120 to 130 feet. There are many other dive sites locally, some inside the pass and some right at the pass.

Cruising this time of the year is excellent. The temps can vary, and there can be thunderstorms, but the average low is in the high 50's and the average high is in the mid to upper 70's.

http://www.visitpensacola.com/static/in ... tentID=125

We will be happy to fill you in on specifics of places to go and things to do when you arrive in this area. I am sure that Marc will tout the virtues of "old Flordia" in Apalachicola--and we love it down there. I like to think that the diving is better up here, but both have virtues. Most of our diving is on artificial reefs.

A couple of dive shops: http://www.mbtdivers.com/

http://www.florida-divepros.com/ (click on the dive sites link)

http://www.scubashackpensacola.com/sdm. ... dive_sites (links to sites)

http://www.divespots.com/scuba/site-pen ... spots.info

PM for our phone number and other details.
 
Thanks Bob...will PM you later.

Is there a best time to visit the Gulf? Storms with names scare me but when I drove through 10 years ago I really fell in love with the area.

My motorhome didn't like Louisiana either. Maybe if we ever get together I'll tell you the story of when my rig broke and I was towed to some swamp town in the middle of the night to a mechanic the locals called Caveman. Caveman had an 12 foot alligator that lived in a kiddy pool outside his trailer. It might take a few beers to get all the facts straight.
 
Bob provided you with good information. I owned a dive shop here for a few years and did a lot of dive charters. One of the most popular dive sites here has always been the Russian Freighter. Its only about a 10 mile run from the pass. Its a 60 ft dive. Another regular is the 3 barges, a 45 ft dive. Let me know and I can give you the numbers on these and other dive locations.

It's about a 7 mile run from the launch that Bob told you about to the pass. If you want to spend the night out on the boat there is a fantastic spot just west of the pass. If you have military privileges there is a launch on the Navy base that is only about 1 mile for the pass. There again if any of this is of interest I can give you full details. Glad to have you in the area. So come on down.

Roger

ps my son lives in Panama City so I have dive spots for there as well. If your a fisherman thats good at that time also.
 
Mike as I told you in my e mail , we will have a new dive shop in Apalachicola soon . Let me know which way you are considering and we will do everything we can to make your trip to the Panhandle great ! Most of our divers here are fish killers .We dont have the water clarity sometimes but boy do we have the fish , very little pressure here.They never come back empty stringered ........We will take care of slip, and vehicle/trailer storage and oysters while you are here .
Marc
 
I think that the best times for boating are March thru June and Mid Sept thru mid December. These are the cooler months, but not cold--we get a little "cold" in Dec thru early March. But there are lots of days in the 70's even in the winter. Day by day, the temps here in the "winter" are about the same as S. Calif--or maybe slightly warmer, with an occasionally cooler night.

We boat all summer--and sleep at anchor without AC. We may use AC to cool the boat down, then open the hatches at night and let the breeze go thru (with misquito screens in place). I cannot say that there is a bad month here.

We left Los Angeles after spending the majority of our life in Long Beach CA for Pensacola and have never regreted it. We have 5 other couples we have sailed with for over 45 years who also live here from. S. Calif. The living costs are far lower. Just a few weeks ago, a house down the street on the water sold for somewhere in the mid 200K range. Lots of waterfront homes for sale and nothing is selling. We have had several friends who "came for a visit"--and then went back to LA and sold the house, to retire here.
 
Can I hire you to tell my wife that it's a medical necessity that I leave southern California? (insert coughing smiley here)

Much of the traveling we are doing is to show my wife there are beautiful places with clean air. We just spent three months in Point Arena California. Great air very beautiful...seasick seas and high land prices.

Sounds like an April trip to the gulf is on the short list and heading for the top!
 
Absolutely. My great grandfather, grandfather and father all died form the environmental conditions in California! Even in the early 20th century the smog was bad.

I found that the majority of people who lived within a mile of a freeway or drove the freeway more than 10 minutes a day, had elevated carbon monoxide levels.

Stress is about twice that of the South (pace of life is half in the South).

Medical necessity to at least got of that environment for a month or two a year.

Have fun driving!
 
Hey Bob

How much time do you allot for towing from Calfiornia to Pensacola?
MapQuest says 30 hours. 4,5,6 days?

If I understand you correctly your prefered route is through Dallas...where do head south from I20?

I'll probably fly my wife out so she can stay with the "kids" (two Huskies and a cat) for as long as possible...we have a bit of a problem finding quality sitters.
 
Depending on the Traffic/time we get away, first day stay from Gila AZ to Benson AZ. (We bypass Phoenix on Az 85 to Gila and take 8 to Tuscon). It is about 500 miles to Tuscon. Next night we usually get past El Paso, often to Van Horn TX. Another about 500 miles. Then up by Dallas (we stay with friends in the area). From Dallas, we go 20 to Jackson Ms and stay near there. From just beyond Jackson MS we hit MS 49 (mostly 4 lane) to I 59 and bypass Hattisburg, and pick up 98 to I 65, South to I 10 and then to Pensacola.

If you are solo driving plan on at least 4 days. We have made it in 2.5 days--but that is really hauling in a car. Our average is 4 days, with both of us driving 2 on and 2 off. This is with a 30 foot RV towing a SUV or a boat. We run at 57 mph.

If going I 10, we usually get somewhere beyond San Antanio, then Orange or even Slidell to Pensacola. We try and go thru Houston on a weekend.

Total distance is about 2100 miles.
 
Thanks for all the info southern folk. We are at 98% for the first two weeks in April. I should know for sure by the end of the weekend.

I have to raise this issue so I'm prepared to make the trip enjoyable for the 1st mate.

WIFE HATES MOSQUITOS

What can I do to keep her exposure to a minimum?
 
We had an interesting experience on our first night on the Gulf Coast (near Galveston, Texas on the GICW). We set out anchor in a delightful little niche off the waterway, and were doing our usual 'sit in the cockpit' for a sundowner, when suddenly we noticed two interesting phenomena -- all the folks (locals out for the weekend) who had been outside on their boats, had disappeared inside and secondly a great flock of swallows suddenly had descended on our cove and were excitedly flying about.

Then came the dawning (remember, we're a little slow and this was our first night on the Gulf) -- or perhaps I should say, then came the droning! Skaty-eight zillion mosquitos hit us. We tumbled over each other to get inside (and brought in skaty-seven zillion with us).

Moral to story: Although mossies can be around any ol' time down along the swamplands of the Gulf, GET BUTTS INSIDE BEFORE SUNDOWN! Have all screens in place (we have one for the hatch in the V-berth also) and let the buggers have the night.

We found, after about a week of adjusting, that moving along in the daytime, the bugs were rarely a problem. We always left the evening to the feeding swallows and swarming bugs. The steady drone of zillions of wings (outside the screens) made a nice accompaniment to put us off to la-la land and a good sleep every night.
 
Mike,

A beautiful place to spend an afternoon is crab island (really a shallow area) which is located directly north of US98 (Destin bridge) north of the East pass (pass into the Gulf of Mexico) in Destin. Lot's of good people watching, tourist renting pontoon boats, etc on the weekends.

The picture of our boat in this post is on the water at crab island. Water can be ankle, waist and knee deep. Lots of blue crabs also.
Beautiful white sand.......
 
We're booked and packing.
Sona (first and only mate) will be flying into Houston on Sunday the 6th of April. We have friends there to visit.
I'll be driving and plan to meet her there.
She'll fly out of Pensacola on the 15th and I'll...make a decision later.;)

Keep your input coming my way we hope to see atleast the stretch of coast between Pensacola and Apalachacola. Hoping to meet all you fine folks down there to share stories.

See you soon.

Mike
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