Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig Diving

Over the years I have made several diving trips out to oil platforms that lie just offshore of Port Aransas.  The diving season here is short, with visibility only being good enough to justify forking over the gas money from late July to September.  I've never posted any information about these here because these afternoon adventures feel more like exploring in your backyard than actually going on a trip.  However my time here in Texas is short as I plan on finishing my masters within the next month, so I figured I would post some pictures from the last diving trip we did.  Diving at these oil rigs during the summer is an interesting experience, with a mix of pelagic fish and juvenile coral reef fish that probably don't survive through the winter.  As you're diving all of the fish congregate around the rig, and if you look off past the rig it is just blue open ocean with no visible forms of life.  If you live on the Gulf Coast and ever get a chance to go diving at one of these platforms I highly recommend it.  All pictures were taken by my fellow labmate Moises Bernal, and if you're interested in seeing any of his other pictures you can find them on his Flickr account here.