Maritime_Eng

Hey Everyone-

The weather looks good for the weekend. I will be out with some friends on Saturday. Anyone from the area going out? If so let me know!

Don

warbird

Are you gonna watch the CC Christmas Boat Parade from the water on Sunday night? Weather's supposed to be perfect. There won't be much moon, but clear.

Maritime_Eng

I don't think so. I have to get up early for work so trying to put the boat away after the parade would be too much. I will be there by land.

dukenrock

It's gonna be close to 60 here in Indiana ...Don't get us going

warbird

Well heck, it's supposed to be only 10* warmer than that here at 7:00PM. We will have our cold weather gear out...

Y'all got nuthin to complain about!

Specialized

Hope to maybe do some diving out at the Blue Hole and R tower if clarity stays good.

John

Bobthebuilder

John,

Do you or anyone know exactly how many and for what purpose those towers out in the Gulf serve? I go by "D" tower which is 25 miles south/south west of Marco when I straight shot it to Key West. Communications? Where is "R" tower?
Bob

Specialized

Bob,

If I am not mistaken, The R-Tower and D-Tower are part of the ACMI(Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation) system that our military uses. There are overwater training ranges in several different areas of the Gulf. This system was originally put into service by Homestead Air Force Base but is know used mostly by Key West NAS, Eglin AFB and I believe MacDill AFB The system works similar to GPS, but more localized, for review of their training maneuvers. The R-Tower is further North than the D-Tower approx. 25-30 miles WSW from Marco Island. We dive out there as a second dive due to its close proximity to the Black/Blue Hole which is a 75' diameter sink hole in 65 feet of water that drops down to 220' in the shape of a bell. The towers seem to be good fishing destinations for some. The R-Tower is home to 7 huge Jewfish and what seems to be a thousand Barracuda also many sport fish.

Oh don't let me forget,The R-Tower is the best damn tree swing in the gulf.

John

Bobthebuilder

That is interesting. Knew that there had to be a story there. I was also once told for military use but have never seen any military aircraft anywhere near there in all the trips I've made so thought something else. Have seen lots of fighter jets of coarse down near Key West.
I'm not a diver but always thought that would be an interesting hobby to have. Sounds interesting. Hans and Marc on Marco dive. They offered to look for a prop I threw off a couple of weeks ago.
Bob

Specialized

Ouch that sounds expensive. Especially on your boat. If you need any additional help let me know. Needle in a haystack, sounds fun. If you have ever thought about diving you should do it. You'll never look at the water the same again.

John