amw5g
Contributor
My wife, her brother, and I have just returned from a nice little trip down to Key Largo. The missus and I are beginner/intermediate divers at just over 3 years, and I think we crossed the 100-dive mark on this trip. Brother-in-law is newly minted, just coming off his certification in the local springs. Prior research lead us to book a 5-trip package with Silent World. It was a good choice.
Arrived Saturday and checked in at their marina location. We were told Sunday was not looking good, but to call in around 7:45 am to confirm. We did, and indeed we were blown out. Repeated the drill for Monday and were told the boat was going out, but it would be a little rough. Eager to get in the water, we hustled over and began the set-up process. Kelan was the captain with Chris as first mate. I think we had perhaps 7 other people on the boat, with a tech diver and his instructor, and then a few others who seemed to be experienced recreational divers. Boat briefing completed, we set off. It was indeed "sporty". We hit both City of Washington and Elbow/Fingers. Kelan and Chris worked very quickly to get my better-half in the water as fast as possible- she was not handling the rough seas very well. All she had to do was glance at Chris and he had her a cup of water in two shakes. They also took care of swapping her tanks so she could take it easy. The boat ran a line out was was benefit, but getting back on after the dives was quite tricky. Again, both Kelan and Chris worked together to assist from the moment we hit the ladder to touchdown on the seats. We decided not to go out for the afternoon dive.
Tuesday gifted us with much better weather. Full of Dramamine, bonine, and ginger, we showed up for the morning dive. The tech diver and his instructor were conducting a drift dive, so we dropped them off first. A Canadian couple and then a pair of gentlemen- one of whom said he had previously worked for Silent World- rounded out the boat for the reef dive. Great weather, and pleasant dives at Elbow Reef & Mike's Wreck. Our trio all agreed we'd complete the afternoon trip to Dry Rocks and North Dry Rocks, as well. Which we did, after rotating out the gentlemen pair and one-half of the Canadians. The tech diver's family also joined as snorkelers. One of the boys must have gotten a bit sick during the trip. To help take his mind off the discomfort, Kelan let the boys pilot us back to the marina- that seemed to do the trick. The young fellow was so engrossed that he seemed to perk right back up and never lost a smile.
I think Chris may have just recently joined the team. On a few occasions, he received instruction from Kelan on how to do one thing or another. Kelan was always concise, yet polite and constructive in his guidance. While it was great to see the crew be so positive and friendly with us paying customers, I was particularly impressed with how they treated each other.
Sadly, that was all the diving we were to do. The other days saw anywhere from 10-20knot winds, with seas 2'-4'+. Jonathan and Kelan at the shop stayed optimistic every time we called for conditions, but it was not to be. They always deferred to our comfort, offering to run the boat out for just us three either morning or afternoon. So now we have a couple of vouchers each for the next time we're down. Even without any remaining dives, we would definitely return to Silent World. And I hope they have a t-shirt in my size, because I feel bad I couldn't find one on this trip. My thanks to the entire team for their patience, their good cheer, their flexibility, and their attention to our personal comfort.
-Amw 5G
Arrived Saturday and checked in at their marina location. We were told Sunday was not looking good, but to call in around 7:45 am to confirm. We did, and indeed we were blown out. Repeated the drill for Monday and were told the boat was going out, but it would be a little rough. Eager to get in the water, we hustled over and began the set-up process. Kelan was the captain with Chris as first mate. I think we had perhaps 7 other people on the boat, with a tech diver and his instructor, and then a few others who seemed to be experienced recreational divers. Boat briefing completed, we set off. It was indeed "sporty". We hit both City of Washington and Elbow/Fingers. Kelan and Chris worked very quickly to get my better-half in the water as fast as possible- she was not handling the rough seas very well. All she had to do was glance at Chris and he had her a cup of water in two shakes. They also took care of swapping her tanks so she could take it easy. The boat ran a line out was was benefit, but getting back on after the dives was quite tricky. Again, both Kelan and Chris worked together to assist from the moment we hit the ladder to touchdown on the seats. We decided not to go out for the afternoon dive.
Tuesday gifted us with much better weather. Full of Dramamine, bonine, and ginger, we showed up for the morning dive. The tech diver and his instructor were conducting a drift dive, so we dropped them off first. A Canadian couple and then a pair of gentlemen- one of whom said he had previously worked for Silent World- rounded out the boat for the reef dive. Great weather, and pleasant dives at Elbow Reef & Mike's Wreck. Our trio all agreed we'd complete the afternoon trip to Dry Rocks and North Dry Rocks, as well. Which we did, after rotating out the gentlemen pair and one-half of the Canadians. The tech diver's family also joined as snorkelers. One of the boys must have gotten a bit sick during the trip. To help take his mind off the discomfort, Kelan let the boys pilot us back to the marina- that seemed to do the trick. The young fellow was so engrossed that he seemed to perk right back up and never lost a smile.
I think Chris may have just recently joined the team. On a few occasions, he received instruction from Kelan on how to do one thing or another. Kelan was always concise, yet polite and constructive in his guidance. While it was great to see the crew be so positive and friendly with us paying customers, I was particularly impressed with how they treated each other.
Sadly, that was all the diving we were to do. The other days saw anywhere from 10-20knot winds, with seas 2'-4'+. Jonathan and Kelan at the shop stayed optimistic every time we called for conditions, but it was not to be. They always deferred to our comfort, offering to run the boat out for just us three either morning or afternoon. So now we have a couple of vouchers each for the next time we're down. Even without any remaining dives, we would definitely return to Silent World. And I hope they have a t-shirt in my size, because I feel bad I couldn't find one on this trip. My thanks to the entire team for their patience, their good cheer, their flexibility, and their attention to our personal comfort.
-Amw 5G
