Attention: Florida Gulf Coast & Keys Divers

[jeandiver]

Ouch. I really don't care if the dive is deep or shallow. $100 a pop is a bit pricey, especially for a poor Canuck.

Specifically, I'm looking for 'spectacular' views and abundant marine life. After diving coldwater lakes (36 to 62 degrees F) with 15-20ft visibility and no light at about 80 feet, it's nice to dive sunny warm crystal clear waters with plenty of critters to see.

Gads , sounds like Minnesota lakes too !!!! :11:
Except we would get no light at 30 feet in some cases ... Spooookie !!!

Jean

 

[jhelmuth]

March will be cold (to me) and just about 68 deg. f. off the west coast (only slightly better down in the upper Keys). The MacDaddy outta Clearwater (www.reeftours.com) is a nice boat. Weather will dictate the activity and distance out, but I wouldn't count on terriffic diving here. The Sherridan and Mexican Pride are the best diving locally (if you can get out there). Mac likes spear fishing trips, so if you'd be interested in that, then maybe we can put a group together (but it will cost you some $)
If time and $ are available, I'd be very willing to take a trip down to Key Largo for some recreational diving over a weekend. PM me if you are interested.

... might cost you some Tim-bits though!

 

[Canadian_Diver]

$100.... That's about a zillion Canadian, right?

I used to dive the west end of Lake Erie, so to me everything down here is "spectacular". If you looking for beautiful coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, you're in the wrong place. We do however, have lots of artificial reefs (everything from old concrete to M60 tanks to old ships) ledges and wrecks. As said in a previous post, most good dives are 15-20 miles out.

It helps if you know someone in the area with a boat. I live about 20 minutes south of Isla del Sol, so send me a message a couple of weeks before you come down.

Hi Rich. Yeah, that's about it.... $1000 CDN for $1 USD.

I couldn't care less what type of diving, as long as I get wet and have something to look at. I'm not sure if the wife is going to certify or not this year, so there's a great possibility that I'd like to go out and blow some bubbles with you! Thanks for the offer.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

Gads , sounds like Minnesota lakes too !!!! :11:
Except we would get no light at 30 feet in some cases ... Spooookie !!!

Jean, Minnesota borders on the Province I live in, the border is less than an hour drive from where I live up here in Canuckistan.

I can totally relate to the 'no light at 30 feet' situation. And eerie it is. But I've come to accept, enjoy, and even embrace it... I feel very comfy down deep in the dark and dirty.

 

[Big Mike]

My response to some of the other posts:

RE: Water Temp in MARCH........I usually make at least 1 trip to Keys in the winter months. I was down there in early FEB this year. Water temp was 70. (Which is NORMAL for that time of year. Rarely goes much lower than that.) Air temp was mid-80's. I dive in a skin w/ a shorty over it w/hood & gloves in this temp and am comfortable. If you are used to lakes in Canada, you can probably dive in a t-shirt in that temp! In MARCH it might be mid 70's or higher...depending on early or late March. (I was in KL over Memorial Day weekend and water temp was 80+...air temp was 92.)

RE: Gulf diving.....you can go 20 or 40 miles + out in the gulf and spend ALL DAY doing 2 tanks. Taking a chance on ROUGH RIDE out & back. Or you can drive to the Keys and take a 6 mile ride to the reef. Weather (WIND) can vary alot in winter, but you have the chance (better chance) of having decent weather. If it is a "snotty" day, at least you only have a 6 mile ride! Also you can do 2 trips (4 tanks) in a day...plus a night dive if you are gung ho. To me that beats a 40 mile oneway boat ride ANY DAY!


IMHO the Keys are your most "bang for diving buck" in FL. Many sites & quality dive operations at reasonable rates...$43 per trip (with your tanks & weights) up to around $65. In "off season" (April thru early December) you can find rooms at "mom & pop" joints (aka..Keys Style) for about $50. Double that on Holiday weekends. Lots of restaurants & bars. Weather is going to be 10 or 15 degrees WARMER in MARCH then you will get in Ft. Myers. WHAT THEY ARE MISSING IS BEACHES. No beaches to walk along like you can in Ft Myers. Most waterfrontage is owned privately by restaurants, marinas or individuals. Only a couple of public beaches...Pennekamp Park & Founder's Park...that I'm aware of in upper Keys. Those beaches are MAYBE 200 FEET long & do not have waves...as they are not directly on the ocean.

March 2006 is too far away for me to plan! I'm working on anoter Keys run for early August & maybe Labor Day. Nothing firm yet.



Mike

 

[Big Mike]

Substitute ST. PETE for Ft. Myers. Approx same weather & beach types.

Mike

 

[Big Mike]

Oh yeah, VIZ...I forgot to comment on that.

When I was down there (KL) in Feb 2004, the boat captained apologized for the estimated 35 foot viz. I'm used to diving quarries in Indiana with 4 or 6 foot viz, so 35 was looking mighty nice! It can vary (viz) quite abit, but I'd say 35 is about as bad as it will get and 70 or 80 is on the upper end during the summer months.

It varied the most I've seen when I was there in May 2005. Same dive sites went from a great 80 foot and then swim a little further it would drop to 35 or 40. It was like that the whole 4 days. First time I've experience that. It is usually really clear or cloudy on a dive.

Mike

 

[frogman_5]

Jeez, Mike...

For someone from Indiana, you sure are trashing my part of world. There is some great diving in the Gulf around Tampa Bay, if you know where to look. I've been at it for 5 years and am still discovering great spots. There are even wrecks and art. reefs inside the bay for days when the waters get ugly. My typical dive day is about the same as 1/2 day charter, or can be all day long if I just don't feel like going back yet and doing some more diving.

Weather is a factor where ever you dive, which is why my worst day of diving ever was in the Florida Keys (and I really would have rather gone to work that day!!!)

 

[cdiver2]

My response to some of the other posts:

RE: Water Temp in MARCH........I usually make at least 1 trip to Keys in the winter months. I was down there in early FEB this year. Water temp was 70. (Which is NORMAL for that time of year. Rarely goes much lower than that.) Air temp was mid-80's. I dive in a skin w/ a shorty over it w/hood & gloves in this temp and am comfortable. If you are used to lakes in Canada, you can probably dive in a t-shirt in that temp! In MARCH it might be mid 70's or higher...depending on early or late March. (I was in KL over Memorial Day weekend and water temp was 80+...air temp was 92.)

RE: Gulf diving.....you can go 20 or 40 miles + out in the gulf and spend ALL DAY doing 2 tanks. Taking a chance on ROUGH RIDE out & back. Or you can drive to the Keys and take a 6 mile ride to the reef. Weather (WIND) can vary alot in winter, but you have the chance (better chance) of having decent weather. If it is a "snotty" day, at least you only have a 6 mile ride! Also you can do 2 trips (4 tanks) in a day...plus a night dive if you are gung ho. To me that beats a 40 mile oneway boat ride ANY DAY!


IMHO the Keys are your most "bang for diving buck" in FL. Many sites & quality dive operations at reasonable rates...$43 per trip (with your tanks & weights) up to around $65. In "off season" (April thru early December) you can find rooms at "mom & pop" joints (aka..Keys Style) for about $50. Double that on Holiday weekends. Lots of restaurants & bars. Weather is going to be 10 or 15 degrees WARMER in MARCH then you will get in Ft. Myers. WHAT THEY ARE MISSING IS BEACHES. No beaches to walk along like you can in Ft Myers. Most waterfrontage is owned privately by restaurants, marinas or individuals. Only a couple of public beaches...Pennekamp Park & Founder's Park...that I'm aware of in upper Keys. Those beaches are MAYBE 200 FEET long & do not have waves...as they are not directly on the ocean.

March 2006 is too far away for me to plan! I'm working on anoter Keys run for early August & maybe Labor Day. Nothing firm yet.



Mike

He is stayng in st Pete so how is driving to the keys any better than doing a 20-40 mile boat trip?

 

[matts1w]

My response to some of the other posts:

RE: Water Temp in MARCH........I usually make at least 1 trip to Keys in the winter months. I was down there in early FEB this year. Water temp was 70. (Which is NORMAL for that time of year. Rarely goes much lower than that.) Air temp was mid-80's. I dive in a skin w/ a shorty over it w/hood & gloves in this temp and am comfortable. If you are used to lakes in Canada, you can probably dive in a t-shirt in that temp! In MARCH it might be mid 70's or higher...depending on early or late March. (I was in KL over Memorial Day weekend and water temp was 80+...air temp was 92.)

RE: Gulf diving.....you can go 20 or 40 miles + out in the gulf and spend ALL DAY doing 2 tanks. Taking a chance on ROUGH RIDE out & back. Or you can drive to the Keys and take a 6 mile ride to the reef. Weather (WIND) can vary alot in winter, but you have the chance (better chance) of having decent weather. If it is a "snotty" day, at least you only have a 6 mile ride! Also you can do 2 trips (4 tanks) in a day...plus a night dive if you are gung ho. To me that beats a 40 mile oneway boat ride ANY DAY!


IMHO the Keys are your most "bang for diving buck" in FL. Many sites & quality dive operations at reasonable rates...$43 per trip (with your tanks & weights) up to around $65. In "off season" (April thru early December) you can find rooms at "mom & pop" joints (aka..Keys Style) for about $50. Double that on Holiday weekends. Lots of restaurants & bars. Weather is going to be 10 or 15 degrees WARMER in MARCH then you will get in Ft. Myers. WHAT THEY ARE MISSING IS BEACHES. No beaches to walk along like you can in Ft Myers. Most waterfrontage is owned privately by restaurants, marinas or individuals. Only a couple of public beaches...Pennekamp Park & Founder's Park...that I'm aware of in upper Keys. Those beaches are MAYBE 200 FEET long & do not have waves...as they are not directly on the ocean.

March 2006 is too far away for me to plan! I'm working on anoter Keys run for early August & maybe Labor Day. Nothing firm yet.



Mike

Mike-

Diving off Fort Myers Beach is amazing if you know where to go. Where else are you going to see 5-10 goliath grouper, schools and schools of giant permit, a loggerhead, layers of snook, and a usual shark or two or three on the same site? If you want pretty colors go to the East Coast. If you want giant animals that will get your heart pounding dive the gulf. By the way, the artificial reef I just described is about thirteen miles off shore in fifty feet of water. Vis to fifty feet is not uncommon in the summer. I do the run in my 18 foot boat in about 35 minutes on a clam day.

By the way, I was certified at Hidden Paradise (cough, cough) in St. Paul, Indiana in 1984. I lived in Broad Ripple all my life until moving here at 31. I doubt Indianapolis misses me either.