The Tampa Bay Times
Cold water and repetitive strong cold fronts barreling towards us from the northwest are making it very hard to have a save and enjoyable scuba dive in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). As you are probably aware, these back to back strong winds from the northwest arrive without a break in between. This weather outbreak can force divers from the west coast of Florida to take a few days and dive on the east coast of Florida to escape the pounding winds and waves. The water is also warmer on the east coast and those two benefits draw local divers across the state. Lobster season is still open until the last day of March, and there are more of them on the East coast. We always have a couple lobster hunting trips available to our customers on the east coast this time of year, just for this reason. The key is to stay low in the state so you don’t have to go far offshore and the land mass will block most of the fury of the northwest winds. If you’re not sure where to go, some local dive shops plan these trips too and all you have to do is sign up and do the three to four hour car drive across the state. Most of these trips include half a day of dives on Saturday, overnight accommodations and half a day of diving on Sunday. Most divers are home by 6pm and hopefully they arrive with some lobsters in their cooler.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
