Diving Profile: Rig diving can be relaxing and an enjoyable dive experience. Most of the dive sites of rigs and wrecks are in depths of 90 feet to 120 feet. The structures have nice levels of concentration of fish at three distinct levels. These are located at the bottom around 80 to 110 feet and extends from the bottom 5 to 20 feet of colder and murker water. The middle zone ranges from the 30 foot to 80 foot of depth. and has the best visibility with schools of pelgic fish swarming in and out as if an Underwater marching band. The surface zone of 40 feet to the surface is affected by surface waves and currents. With these distinct zones of marine life the dive profile can be established using the PADI Wheel for planning multilevel dives. This pre-dive planning allows the diver to review the marine life located at the different levels before the dive and be able to recognize the distinct distribution of corals, sponges, shellfish, crabs and reef fish.

Most of the dives that I plan are as follows:

First dive, 100 to 110 feet for 10 minutes, then second level of 60 feet for 15 minutes, then third level 40 feet for 10 to 15 minutes with a safety stop at 15 feet for 3 minutes. At the first depth, a diver can observe the bottom dwelling marine life like the octopus, the rare red cone shell (warning this is a no touch deadly sea shell), the freshwater eel's which burrow in the oyster shells, flounder, schools of 50 to 100 Glass eye snapper and then the carnivorous Ivory Coral. In the next 15 minutes in the middle zone, encrusting sponges cover barnicles in boldness of colors with cleaner fish and arrow crabs hiding in its cover. The pelgic fish overwelm you with the shear numbers and speed as they march rythmatcily about the divers. The parade of the French anglefish, Queen Angle fish, Gasby's and Coney type groupers reveals that a closer look reveals the wonders of a complete reef community. In the last fifteen minutes of the dive at the upper zone, the smaller reef fish of Warsse, Sergent Majors, Damsels, and filefish intrigue the diver with the scurry nature of these cleaner fish always being a busy swarm of bees. Watch where you place your hands, there are three real dangers in this zone. First is the Soapfish which lays still and in a lazy attitude. The skin produces an irrantant chemical which burns the skin. Second is the well hidden mater of camaflouge, the stone fish with its posinous spines of nerotoxins. And lastly the barnicles are razor sharp and can cut a thick Scuba Diving Texas Open Water with ease and the infections from these cuts are rapid.

Remember to wear gloves, maintain your bouyancy and don't touch anything to prevent injuries.

Understanding of Artifical Reef Ecology
Elements of Understanding Artifical Reef Communities
Texas Artifical Reefs Oil Rigs How to Dive them and Observe
Texas Artifical Reef Marine Park & VA Fogg Wreck : How Dive them and Observe
Understandng the Texas Gulf: Planning Dives with Moon phases & Tides.
Diver Awarenesss: Texas Gulf and Posionous Marine Life
Nationial Marine Sancturay: Flowergarden Banks
Texas Gulf shelf and 36 banks
Seven & One-half Fathom Reef
Texas Ship Wreck Act and History
The Ship wrecks of 1554 Port Mansfield
The ship wreck of the USS Contitution 1864: Galveston Jetties
The Discovery of the La Salle's Ship in Matagordia Bay.
Spearfishing the Texas Gulf Rigs
The Return Of the Turtle to Texas Beaches: History & Farm
The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network
THe Hypersaline Lagoon Under Attack : The Laguna Madre & the battle between development.
Charter Boat Mall
Form for Registing Charter Boat

Photo of Monte at Pirates Week Festivale 2008

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Web site first created 14 March, 1996