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Old 07-30-2014, 07:12 AM
 
34,619 posts, read 21,615,505 times
Reputation: 22232

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Quote:
Originally Posted by TVC15 View Post
Wow have you done this? I just became a Certified Open Water Scuba Diver and I loved being in/under the ocean...with the ability to see and breath with zero problems!

What does it look like 20 miles out?
I guess I need to clarify on this a bit.

First, no regular "dive boats" do this kind of trip, so you can't go into a dive shop and sign up. You have to either get in with a group that privately charters a boat or know someone with an offshore boat. I'm lucky enough to know a couple of people with boats.

Secondly, the conditions have to be right for the 20 mile rigs. It must be a sunny, calm day without much of a current. The general rule is the further out you go, the greater chance of good conditions.

At 20 miles out, you can have vis at 30 to 60 feet. At 40 to 50 miles out, I've been at the bottom at 130 feet and could see the bottom of the boat. I've also been that far out with 30 feet of vis and a dangerous current.

There is a ton of life on those rigs. My main reason for going to the rigs is to spear fish, but you can see all sorts of cool stuff.

I've only done the flower gardens once. I've signed up to go either 5 or 6 times, but the trip has only made once, and it was cut short due to conditions. I must be bad luck for that trip; however, I always tried to do the early season trips in hopes of seeing the schooling hammerheads. On the trip I made, I saw a total of 3 hammerheads. I did see a bunch of large eagle rays. And it seems that everyone on the boat but me and my dive buddy got to see the manta rays doing their barrel rolls.

Another dive spot off of our coast (further south) is the liberty ship. I have not made that dive yet.

Additionally, they are about to sink another ship to make an artificial reef.
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Old 07-30-2014, 07:41 AM
 
Location: Breckenridge
2,367 posts, read 4,696,041 times
Reputation: 1650
Houston is flat, the surrounding lakes suck, the rivers are nasty, and the beaches are nasty. There are lots of outdoorsy urban things to do. Houston was built on a swamp. This is just geography. I think moving is your best bet. There is tons to do in Houston which is why most love it, but if you are a serious outdoors person. This area sucks. I find Austin is kind of the reverse of Houston in this aspect. Before I hurt my back in a car accident I was going to move to Denver.
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Old 07-30-2014, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
240 posts, read 808,131 times
Reputation: 199
I agree with what TVS15 said above about exploring the city like a misfit. What an excellent point! One of the things I love about Houston is it's quirkiness. There are SO many fun things to do in this town. If you are looking for activities besides the outdoors to escape the heat then the Houston Press has a good calendar on their website. I also like the FB page 365 Things to do in Houston. I always find off beat fun.
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Old 07-30-2014, 08:22 AM
 
38 posts, read 89,302 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 979Texan View Post
Sorry, Houston offers no outdoor recreational opportunities according to people from Colorado and California. You're just sh t out of luck unfortunately.
Also according the people from Austin, apparently.
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Old 07-30-2014, 08:26 AM
 
Location: Houston area
838 posts, read 1,120,197 times
Reputation: 1861
Check out bayou city outdoors Membership Management Software by Memberize.com

They do a variety of outdoor and indoor activities.
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Old 07-30-2014, 09:51 AM
 
83 posts, read 187,375 times
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A bit more than 20 miles out -- try 90-100 mile each way. I would not recommend this dive trip to a beginner (due to strong currents) or someone that has not proven that they can handle being on rough water for long periods of time (due to seasicknesses)
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Old 07-30-2014, 12:18 PM
 
34,619 posts, read 21,615,505 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumacher713 View Post
the surrounding lakes suck.
Yes, they do. So it's best if everybody avoids going to them so that there isn't much boat traffic and plenty of 'parking' places at the restaurants, I mean, because they suck so bad.

I took this photo a week or so ago when my buddy asked how the conditions were. Taken while going over the 1960 bridge.
Attached Thumbnails
Things to Do for the Outdoorsy Type-lakeh.jpg  
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Old 07-30-2014, 12:19 PM
 
34,619 posts, read 21,615,505 times
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Apparently I was upside down when I took it.
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Old 07-30-2014, 12:24 PM
 
34,619 posts, read 21,615,505 times
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Last Sunday having a miserable time with my daughter on the sucky lake.

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Old 07-30-2014, 01:47 PM
 
83 posts, read 187,375 times
Reputation: 66
Quote:
Originally Posted by PedroMartinez View Post
Last Sunday having a miserable time with my daughter on the sucky lake.
Pedro, not everybody can afford to pay tens of thousands for a boat and these lakes are a lot less enjoyable without one.

OP: As far as short day hikes, IMO Brazos Bend is as good as it gets within a couple hours drive. That is where we take people that visit from out-of-town during the non-summer months. Unless you get into watersports or travel, you might have a hard time finding what you are looking for. I find that the freespirit "outdoorsy" types have the toughest time adapting to Houston.
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