Free Dive Bottom Traverse Tenneco Tower & Camera Comparison

[ricki]

The following video taken with two GoPro Cameras, one standard (hand held) and one in an eyeofmine.com housing (chest mount) with corrective flat port. The video covers the trip to the bottom, traversing beneath the tower in around 110 ft. and ascent. The less clear imagery is out of the standard housed camera. I was scooter free diving while shooting the video. Visibility was not so great at around 50 to 60 ft. and turbid. Light levels were also low due to cloud cover and reduced visibility. Thanks again to Goldcoast SCUBA's meet up group (http://www.meetup.com/goldcoastscuba/) for setting up this great dive and to Sea Experience II (http://www.seaxp.com/) for carrying us out there!


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album526/t1.jpg
A still photo capture from one of the video clips. Descending beneath divers on safety stop.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album526/t2.jpg
Passing beneath the platform.



Here's the video ...

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http://www.fksa.org/albums/album526/t3a.jpg
Ascending with some spadefish between myself and the sun.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album526/t4.jpg
Sliding above deck level.


http://www.dixiediver.com/images/TOWERS.jpg
This tower or platform that is the subject of this dive may be the one shown being lowered over the side.
http://www.dixiediver.com/shipwreck.htm


As always, don't attempt scooter free diving without proper professional training, skill development, use of appropriate gear and safety procedures. Even with all that in place you can still be severely injured or killed by doing this.

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[ricki]

I should have merged these two posts a while back, sorry for the oversight.

FINALLY made it back out to the Tenneco platforms after almost 4 1/2 years. Big thanks to Goldcoast SCUBA Divers and their real active diver meetup group (http://www.meetup.com/goldcoastscuba/) for arranging this long overdue trip!

We went out with Capt. Mark and Mateo on the Sea Experience II (http://www.seaxp.com/) out of Bahia Mar in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. A great operation with friendly capable staff.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album523/boat_GOPR0006.jpg
Capt. Mark cons the Sea Experience II while some of the Meetup group including Tom on the starboard with the rest of the guys aft, hang out on the way to the platforms.


We were concerned NAVY operations including ships from other nations in some "mysterious" maneuvers in the area might have barred our access to the platforms. Luck was with us though and operations in that particular area had been suspended for a while.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album523/mask.jpg
Time to hit the water. Shot only video with two GoPro HD cameras, one equiped with an Eyeofmine.com UW corrective flat port housing to improve image quality. This auto shot was done using the corrective port, some difference! So, did several still shot captures from some of the video clips. It looks like you need a lot of light and good viz. for such clear results with the corrective housing. All of the underwater shots are captures from the eyeofmine.com housed GoPro HD camera while the topside shots were from an ordinary GoPro HD housed camera.


Seas were very calm with building side shore thermal winds but the squalls building them were still far inland. Even better there was no current for the first dive and just a little for the second. The top of the platform we were tied to came up to around 60 ft. with the bottom at 110 ft.. Visibility was limited to where you really couldn't quite see the top of the tower from the surface. This complicates drops for scooter free diving. Got some useable video anyway.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album523/Sun_surface.jpg
John Blake of Scuba Outfitters had brought some diving student over from Naples to checkout the platform. Heading down.

Met Piotr all the way over from France with his family for holiday. He has been diving all over, it was fun to swap diving stories.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album523/Deck.jpg
Running off the edge of the upper platform deck to drop over the side towards the bottom. Lots of life on the platforms, fish love the place.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album523/below_decks.jpg
Running across below decks. It is an interesting artificial reef and the only platform sunk off South Florida at present.



Here's a short cllp of a scooter free dive into the mid deck area of the platform. As always, you can get killed doing this so take proper training, use appropriate gear and procedures for scooter free diving. This was shot with the regular GoPro housing with out corrective port.

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Complete processed video to follow from almost 60 clips with lots of intriguing perspectives below, within and over the platform. Stay tuned for that.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album523/Surface_sun.jpg
Coming back up the side of the platform towards old Sol portrayed in classic GoPro underwater fashion.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album523/dock_GOPR0085.jpg
Back to the dock. Looking forward to heading out on the Sea Experience again and hopefully one of these days catching the Tenneco Platforms in about 100 viz. in blue water for a reshoot!

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