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Plan on making two
separate dives on either a wreck or oil platform/oil rig (pictured
above). Oil rigs and or wrecks are essentially artificial reefs. The
underwater structure of an oil rig located in 100 feet of water adds 2 -
4 acres
of hard surface to the water column. They are covered with barnacles,
encrusting sponges, bryzoans, and white hydroid or ivory coral and
literally attract thousands of various types of marine life. With the
typical 40 to 80 foot visibility you can expect to see: large schools of
plate sized spade fish, colorful angelfish, red snapper, ling,
barracuda, amberjacks, groupers, sheep head, dolphins, rays, turtles and occasionally whale sharks to name a few.
Rig
diving is considered to be the safest type of Texas Gulf diving due to
depth control. Oil rigs are massive structures that literally penetrate
the water column from top to bottom. You can dive at 10 feet or to 100 feet
and in either case, you will still have much to see and experience.
DAS BOAT:
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"The Carolyn Jane"
This boat is a 37 ft. (42ft.loa) dependable
scuba dive customized
Chris Craft sport fish/yacht. It has a large main
salon cabin, two state rooms, a full size
bathroom, full galley, custom made tank racks and spacious
fore and aft decks
which makes gearing up or removing equipment a breeze. She is
also equipped with a sofa, refrigerator, microwave,
large swim platform and a
retractable deep in-water ladder
complete with an experienced licensed U.S.C.G.
captain / Dive Master. The Carolyn Jane has
some of the latest navigational electronics, rescue and safety
equipment including O2 and
an Emergency Position Indicating
Radio Beacon or
EPIRB.
Most dive sites are within
15 to 30
miles offshore, so don't spend valuable dive time traveling on a slow
moving cattle dive boat or a smaller boat where you
may be cramped for space and exposed to the elements.
Instead, travel in style and comfort aboard "The
Carolyn Jane". In most cases, she can
get you to the dive site within one to one and a half
hours and without the crowd! Each trip has a maximum of only
six divers
plus Captain and Dive Master, allowing each diver ample room to
move and gear up.
EXPERIENCED CAPTAIN /
DIVE MASTER & CREW
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Pictured above, left to right: Captain
Al (left) with one of his PADI instructor/dive masters: Dr. Mike
(right). And in the second picture: Al is pictured with his good buddy
Captain Jean-Michel Cousteau, oceanographic explorer and son of Captain Jacques Cousteau, inventor of
the first scuba diving regulator and renowned oceanographic
explorer/scientist.
Captain Al is a licensed United States Coast Guard Captain / Merchant
Marine Officer and a PADI Dive Master with over 15 years professional
offshore and scuba diving experience.
In addition, Al has and continues to be involved
in numerous university research projects, ecological studies and
archeological shipwreck restoration
and mapping work involving
The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Captain Al
is also President of The Global
Under-Water Awareness Association (GUWAA),
United States/Texas Division. Ultra Dive's joint-venture mission, in association with
the GUWAA,
is to assist in the systematic cleaning and
protection of our seas,
lakes and rivers around the United States and
continents around the world.
In order to do these things,
we are taking one step at a time building up
important projects that directly have a valid and positive impact on the
earths ecology.
Please click on the GUWAA logo below for more
information about this exciting
organization.
SOME DAY TRIP PREPARATION:
These
day
trips have a departure time of 10:00 a.m. and
we typically return between
4:00 to
6:00 p.m. Please be at the dock by 9:30 a.m..
Once at the dive site, there will be a brief pre-dive
orientation, buddy team selection, and a review of general
safety procedures
by an experienced Ultra Dive dive master and Captain/dive master. No one
dives alone on these trips, so if you arrive without a dive buddy, you
will have one or more before you ever enter the water. When
you get into the water we ask that you stay with your buddy or buddy
group. And when
diving an oil platform, please stay within the four main legs of the oil
platform throughout the entire dive.
During the months
of
March through October, a 3mm
shorty or dive skin should provide adequate protection
and in the warmer months (May into September) in many cases a wetsuit
may not even be required.
However, during the more cooler months such as November through to
February of the following year, you may want to consider using a 3mm or
5mm wetsuit. If you don't have a wetsuit, Ultra Dive should have a
rental that you can use. Please keep in mind that these are only
recommendations and that each person's comfort level will be different.
Bring a light
lunch and a few nonalcoholic
beverages. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is
strictly prohibited on these dive trips. No
large coolers please, the
boat is equipped with both
a cooler and refrigerator.
In addition, we ask that you please not wear
shoes that could mark the deck of the boat.
Light color soled
tennis shoes, sandals,
boat shoes or bare feet are all good options but dark
colored or black rubber sole foot wear which can make
dark scuff marks to the white decking of the boat, is a
big
no–no.
Thank You
for your cooperation.
If you are at
all concerned that you may be susceptible to sea sickness, we suggest
that you take an over the counter medication as a precaution.
MAP & DIRECTIONS
TO THE MARINA
DIRECTIONS TO THE BRIDGE HARBOR YACHT CLUB
DOCK:
From points north of the marina: Travel 288
south to 332
east, stay on 332 until you get to the Inter
Coastal Waterway (ICW) Surfside Bridge then exit to the right just before the ICW
bridge.
Go to a stop sign then cross left under
the bridge onto:
Sailfish Ave and drive
about one quarter mile until you get to the
Bridge Harbor Yacht Club entrance
located at: (411
Sailfish Ave., Freeport, TX 77541).
Enter the marina and go to shed B. The trip will be departing out of shed B, slip 32. BHYC phone:
979-233-2101
From Galveston area:
Travel southwest along the Seawall
Blvd. (FM 3005) until you get to
the ICW
Surfside Bridge. Cross bridge and
then take your
first u-turn left. Go to a stop sign then cross left under
the bridge onto:
Sailfish Ave and drive
about one quarter mile until you get to the
Bridge Harbor Yacht Club entrance
located at: (411
Sailfish Ave., Freeport, TX 77541).
Enter the marina and go to shed B. The trip will be departing out of shed B, slip 32. BHYC phone:
979-233-2101
Additional accommodations
at the marina:
-
Showers - Clean rest rooms - Convenience store
- Ice - Restaurant located atop the third floor of the
marinas main building, - Outside wet bar and
occasional live entertainment on weekends.
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As is the case with all reputable offshore scuba diving charter boats, we
also require that all divers have their own personal inflatable "safety sausage".
In the event that you should drift too far away from the platform or dive
site, the use of this locating device will make you much more visible to us
and or other boaters that may be in the area. The average cost for one of
these items is only $25.00 and can be purchased at your local dive shop.
