Florida Keys
This isn’t Muck Diving! True, but that doesn’t mean those in the Midwest cannot treat themselves to some of the more exotic diving experiences. Because the traditional Muck Diver doesn’t dive in paradise everyday information on dive ops, hotels, what should I do and not do become essential when planning a trip to paradise. Because of all these questions, we thought we would give everybody a one-stop place to go to learn about these places and hopefully help with planning your next trip. Once again, the success of this relies upon those that have taken the journey. So, please help out and tell us about your trips and what worked and what did not work.
Just returned from Key West- great experience
Original Post by DiverDurf on ScubaToays 10/19/09
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Bud & I went to Key West this past weekend. Squeezed in a dive on the Vandenberg with 100′ viz and 84 degree water temps and another reef dive Friday afternoon. Returned on Saturday and did another 2 tank dive on the Vandenberg; viz reduced to a whopping 80-90′; same water temps. Seas kicked up a little with that cold front that moved in which made for fun times while boarding the boat (bucking bronco!). Each of these dives were with the Lost Reef charter and they were absolutely fantastic to dive with. They really go out of their way to move “ALL” of your equipment for you on/off the boat to/from the shop. They go over a thorough safety briefing and ensure everyone is listening to them. They are also very conscious about guiding divers on/off the boat as you waddle across the boat in your fins.
The Vandenberg: if you haven’t done it yet, you simply must! There are several lines tied off at various points making for an extremely easy descent/ascent. We had “NO” current on the ship and made several penetrations through the sides (clear openings to other side and a straight shot). There is an American flag attached at the rear of the ship that you can grab onto, dump your air, and pull down for an awesome photo op. The sea life is growing and the reef is starting to form around the ship, but it’s going to take some time yet- it’s a BIG ship.
Came up Sunday and dove the Duane and Snapper Reef with the FL Keys Dive Center in Tavernier, FL. Those guys were awesome as always and have the biggest of dive boats in the Keys (of the Newton series……theirs are 46′). There was a strong current descending to the Duane and the staying on the lines was a must, but after that it was smooth diving with little effort. Plenty of life, plenty of curious ‘Cudas, and two reef sharks in the 5-6′ range wandering around. Had about 80-90′ viz on that one and bath water temps.
I highly recommend both of these charters if you’re heading down. The only consideration you need for Lost Reef is that while they do air fills they do not have nitrox. You will need to get nitrox at another nearby shop, and you’ll find the fill prices to be around $10 per tank. Keep an eye on them though because a lot of shops like to fill them fast and hot, then dump air on top for when the tanks cool down. One fill resulted in 2800psi once the tank cooled off. However, an experienced diver on a 110′ dive will find that this is still plenty of air with great bottom time.
Vandenberg Trip Report with Keys Maritime Charters
Original Post by WaterRat on ScubaToys (8/17/09)
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Well, today is the first day back at work after a weeks worth of wreck diving in the Keys. E-mail can wait while I tell you about the Vandenberg trip.
Based on information from Chris at Silent World, we booked with Keys Maritime Charters Keys Maritime Charters – http://www.keysmaritimecharters.com – diving, snorkeling, fishing, and chandler service. Their boat is located at the Key West Harbor Yacht Club and has to be one of the fanciest marinas I have ever seen. No issue with parking and it is about a 30 foot walk from your car to the boat. The ladies only take out a maximum of six divers (we were the only 3 on the boat for this trip) and they have plenty of room for doubles, stages, scooters, etc…
If you happen to be the first person to schedule a trip for a specific day, you get to pick your departure time. Sine we were driving down from Tavernier, we picked 11am depature. That was nice being able to pick the time that best worked for me.
We headed out and the seas were great, just a light chop. Upon arriving at the wreck there was one commercial boat finishing up their second dive so we tied into the 4th ball which is mid ship at the radar dish. Upon getting tied in we could see there was a moderate current and visibility was great as we could see the radar dish from the boat. We dropped in for the first dive and did a survey from mid ship forward. Noticed a lot of bait fish schooling and there were a couple of big parrot fish on the deck. The wreck is impressive and there are a lot of places to explore.
Once back on deck from the first dive, Capt. Kathy had hot dogs cooked for our surface interval. So we sat around, swapped stories, ate hot dogs and they had fresh cut watermelon for desert. Really a first class surface interval.
On the second dive we went forward again and did some light penetration/swim through on the wheel house. Part of the ceiling had collapsed in the wheelhouse from the sinking. It’s pretty amazing what water pressure can do. All too soon we were hanging on the line again and waving goodbye to the Vandenberg. We’re going to try and get there once a year so we can see the progress as it becomes a reef.
So if anyone is looking to dive the Vandenberg, I highly recommend Keys Maritime Charters. They really run a great operation.
Oh and for the rest of the week, we dove with Conch Republic Divers. We got to do the Eagle (double dip), Spiegle/Benwood, Duane (double dip) and finally Spiegle (double dip). Seas were near flat on most days, current was light and viz was great. Really a fun trip with lots-o-wrecks!!!
Thanks,
Ron
Great trip to Key Largo
Original Post by IndyDiver on ScubaToys (6/2/09)
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Just got back on Saturday from 5 days in Key Largo. Awesome trip, some great dives and beautiful weather almost the whole time. Turned out to be a very sparse week tourist-wise as well.
We got there about 9pm Sunday night, which was pretty good timing because they had a severe thunderstorm come through late Sunday afternoon with 45-50 mph winds. They were still cleaning up blown-over chairs and trash from the beach when we got up Monday morning.
Monday we just hung around on the beach, went to lunch, and did some shopping. I always like to spend the first day of a vacation just unwinding ,relaxing, and reaquainting myself with beverages that contain fruit and rum.
Tuesday morning we dove the Benwood and French Reef. Lots of critters in both places, but the coolest part of the dive was on French Reef. I’m just floating along at about 25 fsw when this bird goes flashing by in front of me, grabs a fish, and heads back up to the surface. A bird 25 feet underwater, not exactly what I had expected to see on the dive. Figured out later that it was probably a loon. They can hold their breath for up to 3 minutes and can dive over 100 feet deep.
Wednesday morning we only had four divers and an instructor on the boat. A Father/Son pair that were taking AOW and us were it. They both had been certified for several years and were only taking AOW because some charters were requiring it to make deeper dives. We did a shallow dive on Davy Crocker (15-20 ft) and a dive on a slope that went from 30 to 90 feet, so that the AOW class could do their deep dive and we could stay shallower with the critters.
Davy Crocker was one of the best creature dives I have ever done. We saw a couple of 6ft nurse sharks, one of which just came out from under a ledge about 4 feet in front of me. There was a large ray, about four feet in diameter; and the largest Morey eel I have ever seen. I thought they only got about 5 feet long, but this guy must have been 6-7 feet and 14 inches high in the middle. Great stuff – lots of other fish too, even a turtle in the distance.
The dive on the slope had a lot less fish to see, but it was interesting because it turned into a mini drift dive. The boat tied up to a buoy on the middle of the slope and everyone went down the line. The AOW pair and their instructor went straight ahead into deep water and we went to the right swimming perpendicular to the slope at a steady depth of 55 feet. There was zero current and the water temp was 79 degrees. A little less than 20 minutes into the dive, just after we turned around and started to head back, an upwelling of 70 degree water started coming up the slope from deep water. It picked up speed until it was pushing us up slope even though we were angled about 30 degrees into it. By the time we got back to where I thought the boat should be, we were in 35 feet of water, so I knew we were well behind it. We ascended to 15 feet to do our safety stop and found the current there at 20 feet off the bottom was still pretty close to zero, so we just hung out and had a relaxing time. When we surfaced, we came up about 400 feet dead astern of the boat. Since there was very little surface current, we just flipped over on our backs and swam back. When we got there, the AOW group had just got on board ahead of us. Since they had gone down the slope, the incoming current just pushed them back up the way they came. They spotted the buoy mooring on their way past and came up the line.
I can now give a strong +1 to Splitlip’s advice that you always carry an SMB with you whenever you do an ocean dive. You never know when you are going to suddenly find yourself heading away from the boat when that is not part of the plan. I felt much more comfortable with my SMB last week than I would have surfacing without it.
Thursday was my wife’s birthday, and we did something she has wanted to do for a while – we went swimming with the dolphins. If you have never done this, I highly recommend it. They are really amazing creatures and we had a blast. Once again, it was a very small group there that day – only 5 people for the 3 dolphins in the lagoon. We were in the water with them for about 40 minutes and got to pet them, be pushed through the water with their noses, work with them on their tricks, and hold onto their dorsal fins for rides. Great stuff.
Friday morning got rained out with thunder storms and we decided not to dive. But, I managed to find consolation by having a fortified fruit beverage lunch in the Tiki bar next to the hotel. Actually, it turned out to be a pretty sunny afternoon, so I worked on the tan that friends expect when you get back from Florida