Blue Grotto - The Good and The Bad

[Fox-Cousteau]

Fox-C:
I live on the gulf coast and a very LOW gulf charter is $75.00 so I didnt even think about the cost of getting into two different dive sites.

I did my OW cert in these caverns (BG and DD) and they dont hold too much fascination for me any longer. This is why I suggested to do them both in a day so you can get out to another part of the state another day. In my opinion they are so close it isnt hardly worth a second trip just to do one.

I understand your point, Sea Dogs in Daytona charges even more than $75 because it takes more fuel to go farther out (I didn't post their price since with fuel going down, their prices probably will also), just like it is cheaper than $75 to dive with a Venice charter or out of Ft.Lauderdale.
I wasn't trying to refute your opinion, just present an alternative.
I've met several people here on vacation who did exactly what you suggest.
By the way, I feel the same way about the ballroom at Ginnie, once and done, but I'll still recommend it.
what makes living and diving in CFL so great is the variety of dive sites available and it's appeal to various diver's taste. By the way, no one has mentioned Rainbow River or Crystal River drift dives in this discussion...

one reason I love living in East Central Florida because I never have to drive more than 3 hours for a GREAT dive. Regardless of if I choose a single or a double or even a triple dip.

 

[underthesea.john]

What Scuba Steve says about Blue Grotto is true. A group of us dove there regularly (a short distance from where I live). We would make sure that we got there very early, get a couple of dives in and get out. One time the vis in the ballroom was reduced to less than 10 feet. There were two classes and probably fifty divers. When you are paying 40 dollars for a dive, you don't expect that many divers.

Since this incident we haven't been back. The owner can be rude. Yes, that is probably the owner. If you get him talking about the house he has in the islands, you might get him to loosen up a bit.

Bring tanks. Air fills and Nitrox are very expensive.

 

[Fox-Cousteau]

Bring tanks. Air fills and Nitrox are very expensive.

You got that right!:doh2:

 

[PalatkaBoy]

I use 2 hard and fast rules when diving BG:

1. Bring your own air.
2. Never dive it on the weekend.

I've dove BG about 5 times and never seen more the 3 other divers there on a weekday. One time my buddy and I had it to ourselves.

I don't mind diving there at all. Guy behind the counter has never been a problem for me.

 

[AcDriver]

Hi,

Thanks again to all who provided feedback for my trip to the "Springs" area.

Here's my quick take on the two springs I have dove so far.

Ginnie springs is a great "first springs" experience. They have a first class operation, that is well run and "reasonably" priced. The spring (I only dove the ballroom) is very fun, very clear (and stays that way even with lot's of divers in the water). The kids behind the counter were friendly and helpful. Since I am traveling I had to rent a tank and buy fills. If memory serves, the tank was 10$ and the fill 7$. A great dive in every way. More then two dives in the ballroom though would be, well, not boring, but repetitive?

I also had a great experience at The Blue Grotto. This, in my highly trained and experienced overhead experience (two dives...lol) has a much more cave-like possibility than Ginnnie. You can stay in the cavern area and there's plenty to look at. The loop around the base of the Grotto though, has several very dark overhead passages. Which I loved! But which one of the other divers I was buddies with, did NOT like at ALL.

The grotto has a fine silty bottom which could easily ruin a dive if you got there at the wrong time. We got into the water ahead of a group of 8 very young nervous girls diving with one instructor. (You draw your own conclusions, but that made me nervous as a cat watching them head down the lead line.) Since we were ahead of this group the water was almost as clear as Ginnie. Still absolutely beautiful! There is lot's to look at...it's much bigger than Ginnie. I could do another day there without any problem.

It's pricey for everything though. 15$ for a tank rental, 10$ for a fill. 40$ to get in. And it's definitely not as polished as Ginnie. One of the platforms is busted in, the steps are a little worn. But I would recommend it at least once. Very cool! I probably wouldn't go on the weekend for fear the bottom had been churned up.

The owner is from the Boston area and I originally am from NH so I picked up on his accent and we got along great. I thought he was a hoot.....but I can be a grumpy bastard too. So maybe some of you are hitting him on one of those days.

I am planning on doing Devils Den today....I will report back.

 

[ramfan_08]

Devil's Den is most unique dive I've experienced. It is underground and Open water (kinda) I've heard some people call it underwater rock climbing. You'll need a good light
Blue Grotto--it's already described in this thread
Ginnie has a fun cavern that Open Water divers are allowed to enter and that is kinda cool.
I've never dove Hudson.

fox-cousteau has good point. its a great place to go for skill work. but this whole thread is right that at $40.00 a person, they are making bank. dive charters arent much better on the price, but at least with the paying that much for a whole in the ground and driving that far, you always know the temp of the water and basically what the vis is going to be. yeah i feel you on the paying alot, but dont you kinda get what you pay for? and yeah bring extra tanks cause the air fill will kill you. :chairfight:

 

[SpaceGeek]

I echo the earlier description of Devil's Den as "underwater rock climbing." The Den has some very tight spots. I went there last weekend. The vis on the first dive was good (30+ feet). By the second dive, it was about 10 feet.

I called ahead for a description, but it was not what I experienced. What they call swim throughs are sort of that for folks with excellent buoyancy control. But, I had two recently OW certified divers (see earlier rock climbing description). One of whom was uncomfortable in tight spaces. She didn't enjoy the dive much and ended her second dive early.

I thought it was neat and pretty fun. But, it's not good for most new OW divers.

Also, the rental gear was so-so. One of my group needed full rental. The wetsuit was high quality (Henderson 5m Thermoprene), but should have been trashed or severely repaired. The knees were both ripped out completely above the kneepad. The crotch was torn and had a 3-4 inch hole. The lady (Rowina?) said something like 'you get what you get with rental gear, don't expect much.' Not sure how that wetsuit can be called an "exposure suit" to protect from temperature and abrasion.

The weightbelt had no keepers. Just the soft side of velcro to sorta keep the weights in place. I had a spare weight belt that she ended up using. The BC and Reg were top knotch and worked very well. The rental light was mediocre. She used one of my spares instead. No hood or gloves were supplied.

- Bri

 

[netmage]

Blue Grotto was a nice place to do dives when I did rebreather training.
It was a new place for me, and certainly added to the stress involved w/ learning the meg...

I wouldn't go back for 'fun'... but I'll admit partially because I go into caves... springs\cavern dives don't do anything for me. I'm a nice guy, but I can be a bit of a dive snob...

-Tim

 

[deepstops]

I'm a nice guy
-Tim

Did I miss a poll on this??

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Brian --

Where do we vote for Tim's degree of "dive snobbery" ?

Maybe we should decide if he gets 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 "Hello Kitty's".

BTW, I was just at Blue Grotto yesterday with CCR students. I agree that the entrance fee and the fill prices are a little high but it's a great place for training in a very controlled area.

Doug