A Shipwreck to be Proud of in our Area

Summer is here and so many local dives are planned in June and August! I had heard so many times, like most of us, that the visibility is horrible in the Gulf of Mexico so you can't really do local dives here.

It took me and my husband three years of diving everywhere else but here in Tampa Bay before we tried it for the first time. We went out with a dive charter in Clearwater to this area's most known dive site: the shipwreck of Sheridan! It took about one relaxing hour to get there with the boat from Seminole Boat Ramp, and we were not disappointed! I got really impressed when I saw the shipwreck lying there on the sandy bottom, upright and intact! Most shipwrecks I had been to so far was either broken in pieces or it was so worn out of the constantly flowing water that not left of the shipwrecks were there. Sheridan is a beautiful shipwreck and a great dive that probably more visitors to our area have visited than our local divers themselves! This is one of our first planned local dive sites in June, the shipwrecks of Sheridan and Blackthorn!

The Sheridan was a 180 ft long ocean tug boat that was sank inside the Pinellas #2 Artifial Reef Site near Clearwater. It´s deepest section is at 75 ft of water while the top can be found only forty feet below the surface. She has many openings for entering the wreck, which was advised for experienced wreck divers only, which I wasn't at the time. I did see a shark though, a Blacktip Shark, which made me so happy since the only shark I had seen before that was Nurse Sharks. This was more of a real shark to me, and even better, I was the only one that saw it, my husband didn´t!!

 The Sheridan is home to several Goliath Grouper, barracuda and always has lots of marine life to observe. Spanish mackerel, amberjack, crevelle jack, trigger fish, snapper, and even the occasional shark can be seen at the reef site. This is a great spot to take pictures of some large grouper. 

If you want to join us there the morning of the 9th of June, either sign up here:

http://www.meetup.com/Club-Azure-Gulfport-Dive-Centers-dive-club-FL/events/120888732/

or call Gulfport Dive Center at phone number 727-498-8702.

Want to know more about the Sheridan, Blackthorn, the shipwreck Gulfport (yes, there is one with that name) and other dive sites in our close waters? Follow this link and dont miss to watch the video of Gulfport and Sheridan!!: http://www.floridagofishing.com/locations/cw/cw-reefs-and-shipwrecks.html#.UafJOUBwqSo

Anette Monroe

www.divegulfport.com

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