Diving the Keys from my boat - need advice and information

[tcpip95]

I've been down many times diving in the Keys, but it has always been on a charter dive boat. This time we're taking our own boat over (we live in Ft. Myers) and planning on diving and snorkeling from it. I've watched the charter boats hook up to mooring buoys etc, and have good boating skills and etiquette, which is mainly why I'm asking these questions. I've also seen and heard some comments about how others handle their boats - mostly from the charter boat crews.

What advice can you give to someone for their first time boating and diving in the Keys? I'm particularly interested in hearing advice regarding boating. We'll be there the first week in May.

My boat is a 24' pontoon (tritoon) w/150 hp Yamaha so I'm good in about 18" of water. I know from looking at the charts and talking to people that there's some very skinny water there.

There will be 6 of us in the group. We will be mostly diving off of Marathon, but will also go as far north as Islamorada and as far south as Looe Key.

I'll be paying close attention for diver flags as well as monitoring Ch. 16. We'll have someone topside at all times. Not doing anything deep - 30' or less, a lot of snorkeling as everyone except myself and one other are scuba divers.

Appreciate any help you can give me to keep it fun and safe.

JP

 

[scubastingray]

In my experience most of the shallow key sites people don't bother with the dive flags on the reef. By that I mean, they put a flag on the boat but I've never seen a towable on the reef. Come in slow and look for bubbles.
When are you going down? a 24' pontoon boat is not something I'd want to be on in some of the rougher Keys weather.

 

[tcpip95]

Going down first week of May. How large are the seas on the reefs on any given day in May? If it's anything bigger than 2-3' I won't go out in it.

 

[chrispete]

We did Key Largo area, Marathon area and Looe Key quite a bit while we were in the Keys for 9 months a couple of years ago. We had our little 16' runabout and would putter out to the reefs on calm days. I would swing out into deeper water and approach the reef from the offshore side while watching carefully for bubbles, going slow from a ways out (basically when I got to the yellow buoys) but really creeping the last 100 yards to the mooring buoys. This keeps you out of the massive tangles of snorkelers, SNUBA'ers, etc. that are on the inshore side. Monitor VHF 16. The buoys are easy to tie off to - gaff the line and tie in.

We loved having our own boat, if it got too crowded we'd pull out the map and "head on down the road" to a different site.

Being from FL, you probably don't need the "all the other boaters are frigging insane" bit of advice. We nearly got killed half a dozen ways before we figured that out.

 

[SubMariner]

I've been down many times diving in the Keys, but it has always been on a charter dive boat. This time we're taking our own boat over (we live in Ft. Myers) and planning on diving and snorkeling from it. I've watched the charter boats hook up to mooring buoys etc, and have good boating skills and etiquette, which is mainly why I'm asking these questions. I've also seen and heard some comments about how others handle their boats - mostly from the charter boat crews.

What advice can you give to someone for their first time boating and diving in the Keys? I'm particularly interested in hearing advice regarding boating. We'll be there the first week in May.

My boat is a 24' pontoon (tritoon) w/150 hp Yamaha so I'm good in about 18" of water. I know from looking at the charts and talking to people that there's some very skinny water there.

There will be 6 of us in the group. We will be mostly diving off of Marathon, but will also go as far north as Islamorada and as far south as Looe Key.

I'll be paying close attention for diver flags as well as monitoring Ch. 16. We'll have someone topside at all times. Not doing anything deep - 30' or less, a lot of snorkeling as everyone except myself and one other are scuba divers.

Appreciate any help you can give me to keep it fun and safe.

JP

How good are you at handling your vessel in offshore conditions & at navigation by reading water colour & using a chart? Do you know the nautical "Rules of the Road"? If you are weak in these areas I suggest taking a mini course on these topics as they will help you know where to go (probably more importantly importantly where NOT to go) in the Keys. You will also learn what other equipment you may need in terms of an anchor & rode, rescue equipment, first aid supplies, etc.

You might also want to invest in the latest edition of Ned DeLoach's Diving Guide to Underwater Florida, which will tell you about where the "good" dive sites are in those parts of the Keys.

My biggest peeve in FL waters is the !$!%#$E@ personal water craft AKA jet skis. They are scourge to sailors & divers alike and love nothing better than to play chicken with you while you are underway, anchoring, or have people in the water. Even when you are flying a diver down flag & tow one while underwater, you still need to be wary of them.

Be safe & have fun,

 

[tcpip95]

Hi SubMariner, very comfortable with charts & boat handling. Boat has two Fortress anchors each with 150' rode, ditch bag w/full first aid kit, primary fixed VHF w/GPS tied into it, backup handheld VHF w/built-in GPS, PLB, plenty of nylon dock lines, etc. My concern is just being unfamiliar with the local waters; things like currents & bridges, as well as how to approach the reefs (thanks @chrispete for that info). Things like that.

As much as I enjoy riding on jet skis, I hate the way some people use them.

 

[HIGHwing]

Often the problem with using our own boat is it's simply too much trouble versus a charter. Not only do you have to get the scuba gear ready, but also the boat. Not only do you have to wash/rinse the scuba gear, you also have to put the boat away. Don't forget that someone reasonably qualified to operate the boat really has to stay on the boat while everyone else is diving. During our week long mission to the Keys with our boat, we noted that rental tanks were priced so high that we just ended up buying cylinders at Divers Direct. We had to get fills as soon as we got off the water or it became competitive in the mornings to try to get fills. I can assure you charter customer fills happen before rental tank guy who wants an air fill.

In the end, I'm not really convinced it was actually worth skipping the charter options just for the hassle alone. YMMV. If you're doing it to save money, then maybe it works out, but I kinda want to be on vacation to some degree and dealing with Scuba gear is quite enough before adding in the boat duties.

 

[tcpip95]

HIghWing: that's great information. That's actually something that I'm evaluating on this trip: whether it's worth it or not to take the boat down. Granted, we'll be doing more than just diving with it, but diving and snorkeling will be the two primary reasons we're taking it. Gotta try it at least once though. Thanks for the information.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

The bonus of taking your own boat to the keys IMO would be the freedom to do some pleasure rides, a little fishing, maybe visit a couple of dockside tiki bars. That's a lot of fun. Like mentioned above, the hassle of dealing with your boat in addition to all the dive gear can be frustrating. If your going to be there for longer than a couple days and have a boat slip then it could be nice.

Lots of shallows around the area. Keep an eye out for color changes in water and stay within the boat channels. The bayside can be even more tricky concerning shallows. GPS or at least charts are a necessity. I can a bit rough out at the reefs sometimes. They are often 3-5 miles offshore. Pontoon boat can make it challenging but on a good day early in the day it could be done.

It's a good thing that your going early in May. If you were going at the end during Memorial weekend i'd say you were crazy.

 

[tcpip95]

We're renting a single home that has its own dock right out the back door. The girls are driving down in the car while the guys drive the boat down. We'll use the boat to go island hopping and hit a tiki-bar or two. We'll use the car to go grocery shopping, fill tanks, etc. We routinely go 10+ miles offshore in GoM with it over here.