Vtdiver2
Contributor
Trip Report For The Florida Keys - 2/4/06 - 2/11/06
A few days ago I arrived back from my trip to the Florida Keys. I spent a week diving, driving and exploring the Keys from one end to the other. Along the way I, along with 5 friends, did some great diving, met some people I'm sure will be friends for years to come, and made some awesome memories.
We arrived in Ft Lauderdale on a Jet Blue flight. They are my first choice in airlines, as their service is far superior to any other airlines I've flown and I recommend them wholeheartedly. After getting a couple of rental car from Alamo, we headed down the Florida Turnpike for the Keys. We ended up with a pair of Pontiac Grand Prix', both with about 100 miles on them, essentially brand new.
The weather when we arrived in Ft Lauderdale was lousy. It rained so hard on the way down, traffic was down to 35 mph most of the way, and it took us close to 4 hours to make it to Key Largo. We stopped at the dive shop and checked in before going ot our motel. We dove with Silent World Dive Shop. I chose them when putting together the trip as I expected 8 or 9 on the trip, and their boat accomodated 14. I liked their operation, and would dive with them again. However, there are some things I'd do different. If I knew I had 6 or less in my party, I'd definitely go with another operation that only took 6 divers, as a couple of "our planned" dives were scrubbed when beginner divers showed up to dive with us. I had emailed and called Silent World to ensure we "owned" the boat and could decide where we dove, which they agreed to. When the dives were scrubbed, we weren't very happy. Luckily the dive ended up being at Carys Fort Reef, where my dive buddy and myself saw 2 Hammerhead sharks ( both 5-7 ft long ) cruising across the reef into deeper water. Unfortunately, I was turned the wrong way to see them coming, and by the time I got my camera around and focused, they were gone. The other thing I'd ensure is that a safety bottle was hung on each of the deeper dives, as I saw 3 instances ( OOA ) where it could have been used.
We did 12 dives with Silent World. Among them were Carys Fort Reef, Carys Fort Reef South, The Benwood, The Duane, The Spiegel Grove, Elbow Reef (2 spots), Christ of the Abyss and the The City of Washington. We stayed at the Hungry Pelican. It was as advertized-cheap, but all we were really looking for was clean sheets, and hot water in the shower. I'd definitely stay there again. We ate at a few places while there, the best being recommended by Bouyant1, the Fish House. Their food was awesome and everyone enjoyed it.
The diving was fantastic. While we were told that visibility was down, coming from New England and diving fresh water where 20 ft is great vis, 20 to 50 ft wasn't bad to us. While it was obvious that the shallow reefs were damaged by the Hurricanes this past season, they seemed to be rebounding. The Duane and the Spiegel Grove were incredible dives, and I could dive either one for a week straight and never get bored. If I do plan another trip to the Keys ( probably April 2007) I'll schedule more dives at both wrecks.
On Tuesday the 7th, after a couple of morning dives with Silent World ( the S.G. and the Duane), we packed up and headed for Marathon. We checked into the Holiday Inn and dove with Abyss Divers. This operation is First Class, and probably one of the best I've ever dove with. Bill ran a nice safe boat, and went above and beyond what was expected. Thermos of Hot Chocolate welcomed us back to the boat between dives, he would turn around and go to another site if he thought the vis wasn't good enough or might be better at another spot, and they let us hang our gear in their shop at night so we didn't stink up our hotel rooms. Their DM, JR Jones, was also first class. He met with us and discussed our dive experience before we dove, asked what we wanted to do while diving with them, and made a plan for making it happen. He carried a safety bottle to the bottom of the mooring line on our deep dives to the Thunderbolt, led those who wanted a tour of the wreck, and while he had a comnputer, dove and could recite the US Navy tables. I was impressed. He also took us to one of his favorite resturants, CABOTS, where we watched the sunset while having dinner and a Corona, and went back to his place and sat around the firepit and told stories while sharing a couple more beers.
The visibility wasn't as good in Marathon as it was in Key Largo, but it was just as enjoyable. Diving the barge I enjoyed looking for and photographing Flamingo Tongues, Juvenile Spotted Drums, and a soft coral I hadn't seen before. I also saw a pair of Grunts "kissing", another thing I hadn't seen before. We dove Sombrero Reef, Henrietta's Ledge, Herman's Hole, Samanta's Reef and Kissing grunt Ledge among others.
On Friday the 10th, as we were flying the next morning, we packed up our dive gear and spent the day in Key West. We toured Mel Fisher's museum, had a dozen oysters on the half shell down in the marina, a margarita at Jimmy Buffet's place and watched the sunset in Mallory Square before driving back to Marathon.
Saturday was an early rise to drive back to Ft Lauderdale and catch our plane. Getting on the plane, the temperture was 74 degrees. When I got off the plane in Vermont, it was 15 and spitting snow. Oh well, spring's coming. Besides, I've another trip planned for April, so I have that to look forward to.
Things I'd do differently if I was planning this trip again. I'd defintely split it up and dive more than one place, but next time I'd go south first, so driving back I was already in Key Largo. I'd also finalize how many were going before booking the operation. Diving a 6 pack is so much more comfortable than packing 14 on a boat, that I might also limit how many were going , just to book a 6 pack. All in all, it was an awesome trip, a fun time was had by all, and I'm already counting the days to my next dive trip.
I took a bunch of pictures on the trip, so I've started uploading them. It'll take some time to get them all cleaned up and uploaded, so take a look but check back for more later,
C-Dawg
A few days ago I arrived back from my trip to the Florida Keys. I spent a week diving, driving and exploring the Keys from one end to the other. Along the way I, along with 5 friends, did some great diving, met some people I'm sure will be friends for years to come, and made some awesome memories.
We arrived in Ft Lauderdale on a Jet Blue flight. They are my first choice in airlines, as their service is far superior to any other airlines I've flown and I recommend them wholeheartedly. After getting a couple of rental car from Alamo, we headed down the Florida Turnpike for the Keys. We ended up with a pair of Pontiac Grand Prix', both with about 100 miles on them, essentially brand new.
The weather when we arrived in Ft Lauderdale was lousy. It rained so hard on the way down, traffic was down to 35 mph most of the way, and it took us close to 4 hours to make it to Key Largo. We stopped at the dive shop and checked in before going ot our motel. We dove with Silent World Dive Shop. I chose them when putting together the trip as I expected 8 or 9 on the trip, and their boat accomodated 14. I liked their operation, and would dive with them again. However, there are some things I'd do different. If I knew I had 6 or less in my party, I'd definitely go with another operation that only took 6 divers, as a couple of "our planned" dives were scrubbed when beginner divers showed up to dive with us. I had emailed and called Silent World to ensure we "owned" the boat and could decide where we dove, which they agreed to. When the dives were scrubbed, we weren't very happy. Luckily the dive ended up being at Carys Fort Reef, where my dive buddy and myself saw 2 Hammerhead sharks ( both 5-7 ft long ) cruising across the reef into deeper water. Unfortunately, I was turned the wrong way to see them coming, and by the time I got my camera around and focused, they were gone. The other thing I'd ensure is that a safety bottle was hung on each of the deeper dives, as I saw 3 instances ( OOA ) where it could have been used.
We did 12 dives with Silent World. Among them were Carys Fort Reef, Carys Fort Reef South, The Benwood, The Duane, The Spiegel Grove, Elbow Reef (2 spots), Christ of the Abyss and the The City of Washington. We stayed at the Hungry Pelican. It was as advertized-cheap, but all we were really looking for was clean sheets, and hot water in the shower. I'd definitely stay there again. We ate at a few places while there, the best being recommended by Bouyant1, the Fish House. Their food was awesome and everyone enjoyed it.
The diving was fantastic. While we were told that visibility was down, coming from New England and diving fresh water where 20 ft is great vis, 20 to 50 ft wasn't bad to us. While it was obvious that the shallow reefs were damaged by the Hurricanes this past season, they seemed to be rebounding. The Duane and the Spiegel Grove were incredible dives, and I could dive either one for a week straight and never get bored. If I do plan another trip to the Keys ( probably April 2007) I'll schedule more dives at both wrecks.
On Tuesday the 7th, after a couple of morning dives with Silent World ( the S.G. and the Duane), we packed up and headed for Marathon. We checked into the Holiday Inn and dove with Abyss Divers. This operation is First Class, and probably one of the best I've ever dove with. Bill ran a nice safe boat, and went above and beyond what was expected. Thermos of Hot Chocolate welcomed us back to the boat between dives, he would turn around and go to another site if he thought the vis wasn't good enough or might be better at another spot, and they let us hang our gear in their shop at night so we didn't stink up our hotel rooms. Their DM, JR Jones, was also first class. He met with us and discussed our dive experience before we dove, asked what we wanted to do while diving with them, and made a plan for making it happen. He carried a safety bottle to the bottom of the mooring line on our deep dives to the Thunderbolt, led those who wanted a tour of the wreck, and while he had a comnputer, dove and could recite the US Navy tables. I was impressed. He also took us to one of his favorite resturants, CABOTS, where we watched the sunset while having dinner and a Corona, and went back to his place and sat around the firepit and told stories while sharing a couple more beers.
The visibility wasn't as good in Marathon as it was in Key Largo, but it was just as enjoyable. Diving the barge I enjoyed looking for and photographing Flamingo Tongues, Juvenile Spotted Drums, and a soft coral I hadn't seen before. I also saw a pair of Grunts "kissing", another thing I hadn't seen before. We dove Sombrero Reef, Henrietta's Ledge, Herman's Hole, Samanta's Reef and Kissing grunt Ledge among others.
On Friday the 10th, as we were flying the next morning, we packed up our dive gear and spent the day in Key West. We toured Mel Fisher's museum, had a dozen oysters on the half shell down in the marina, a margarita at Jimmy Buffet's place and watched the sunset in Mallory Square before driving back to Marathon.
Saturday was an early rise to drive back to Ft Lauderdale and catch our plane. Getting on the plane, the temperture was 74 degrees. When I got off the plane in Vermont, it was 15 and spitting snow. Oh well, spring's coming. Besides, I've another trip planned for April, so I have that to look forward to.
Things I'd do differently if I was planning this trip again. I'd defintely split it up and dive more than one place, but next time I'd go south first, so driving back I was already in Key Largo. I'd also finalize how many were going before booking the operation. Diving a 6 pack is so much more comfortable than packing 14 on a boat, that I might also limit how many were going , just to book a 6 pack. All in all, it was an awesome trip, a fun time was had by all, and I'm already counting the days to my next dive trip.
I took a bunch of pictures on the trip, so I've started uploading them. It'll take some time to get them all cleaned up and uploaded, so take a look but check back for more later,
C-Dawg
