RonFrank
Contributor
Hi all, just got back from FL. We spent three weeks there, and had a GREAT time. The weather was great (but HOT) and it was clear the entire time with the exception of some VERY VERY heavy Thunderstorms. Man, can it RAIN HARD there. We spent a week in Boca, a week in Key Largo, and a Week in Ft. Myers Beach. Did I do some diving... YOU BET! 
I got in 18 dives :07:, so I will NOT go into details about every one of them. My first Ocean dive, and first Beach dive was at LBTS. My dive Buddies included Marvel, Renee, Scuba Jenny, and Matt. This dive started about 7:30pm (I was late, and had to rent a tank/weights) and turned into a marathon dive with the last 40 minutes done at night. LBTS shore diving is very good, and we hit two reefs. We saw a turtle, lobsters, a Nudi, some kind of eel, a couple stingrays, and a lot of fish.... very nice. The bioluminescence at night is also very interesting. We were down for 1hr40minutes!! I learned that yes, my air consumption was not bad.
The next day was spent diving out of WestPalmBeach. Several SB members joined us, and Vicky (BaitedStorm) was our DM. These are drift dives, and the reefs out of WPB are at about 40-50fsw. I had a great time on both dives, and we saw turtles, a ton of lobster, Crab, a few Moray's, and the usual lot of Wrasse, Grunts, angelfish, barracuda, parrotfish and I'm sure others I've forgot.
My next dive was done at Jupiter. I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable sites I dove for large marine life. Ray from Colorado, Orlando Eric, Vicky, and a couple other SB members joined us (names are failing me). The diving here is also drift diving, and the reefs here are at 70-80fsw. The entire boat was diving EANX36 with the exception of Ray. Bottom time on these dives (a three tank day) was 45 minutes, and we were pushing our NDL even on Nitrox on our second and third dives. If you dive here, it's worth the Nitrox certification. The reefs here are much larger compared to WPM, and boy did we see some marine life. Spotted Eagle Rays, Huge (but not enormous) JewFish, Large Nurse Sharks, Green Moray's, Crabs, and a ton of Lobster and Fish. I'll DEFINITELY dive Jupiter next time in FL, and I'm going to drag my cuz with me as she lives only maybe 30 minutes away in Ft. Pierce. IMO if you are in FL, DO JUPITER! On air however BT will be about 30 minutes. I'd highly recommend Capt. Paul, and the Temptation. Nice boat.
My next ten dives were all done out of Key Largo. If you have never dove the upper FL Keys, all I can say is... it's great diving with VERY enjoyable Reefs, lots of Bottom Time, colorful soft and hard corals, and a LOT of marine life. All of the dives I did provided 60 minutes of BT, unfortunately limited by the boats cause I could have done 90 minutes on any given dive. Currents were generally mild with a couple of exceptions. That was Spiegel Grove (ripping at the surface), and at Molasses Reef (second dive), the current was strong. We could have drifted that dive.
I dove the Grove, Molasses Reef, the Benwood, Horseshoe Reef, N DryRocks and NNDryRocks (reefs), French Reef, and the City of Washington. Spiegel Grove was an exciting dive, and we Drifted it, and were able to do the entire wreck (not that we had the BT to really cover everything, it's a BIG ship). We even did a swim though in what I believe was the pilot house or bridge. The current at the surface was strong, but upon reaching the deck it was mild. Thanks to KeyLargoBrent, and Blue Waters divers for taking care of me. I'll definitely dive with them again. Other than the ship we saw a lot of Black Grouper, some Spadefish, a HUGE feed ball of some kind of minnow, and many of the regulars like the grunts.
The Benwood, and City of Washington are both older Wrecks. The City of Washington has a decent Reef at one end, and as we did multiple dive here. My dive Buddy and Cuz Tammy and I both love Reefs, so we spent time on the reef when were were not chasing around Nurse Sharks. There are a lot of bigger fish that hang out at the City of Washington as there is a guy who feeds them there. We saw three or more Nurse sharks on every dive there, and a Juv Jewfish (maybe 100lbs) whom was friendly, one Moray whom was hiding and difficult to get a good look at more than his head, and a lot of Barracuda. The Benwood is a fun wreck with a lot of fish.
Molasses, French, and the NN/N.Dryrocks reefs were my favorite reefs of the trip. The Winch Hole on Molasses is a really fun dive, and one of the few places in the Upper Keys were we found lobster, but you can bet there was a whole lot more there then we saw on our morning dives. The Vis at French Reef was the best we had on the entire trip at 100feet. French Reef was awesome, and that is where I shot one of the Nurse Sharks in my Gallery. I chased that guy from the sands up and over the Reef. Tammy said I took off like a torpedo after that shark, and the images I shot will provide a lifetime of memories.
Visibility in the Keys was generally 50-70ft with a couple days of even better vis. I'm not going to list every species of fish we saw during our ten dives but we just about saw everything on my Fishwatcher's Guide including Filefish, goatfish, Snapper, Porkfish, grunts, butterflyshish, damselfish, trunkfish, Tangs, TriggerFish, StingRays, Hogfish, Parrotfish, Angelfish, Grouper, Squirrelfish, wrasse, Barracuda, ScorpionFish, Rockfish, and I'm sure there are some I'm leaving out. The sea was like a pond the entire time I was there, and the diving was VERY enjoyable with 60 minutes of BT (one dive was pushed to 70 minutes, and got scolded). We dove with Aquanuts, and had good dives, nightly gear storage (very nice), and mostly uncrowded boats. Unfortunately Aquanuts has sold the operation, so there is one less family owned hotel/Dive OP, and look for one more Condo resort in the near future.
We stayed at the Ocean Pointe resort. We got a one bedroom condo with Jacuzzi tub, in room washer/dryer, and a full kitchen. This worked out well as we split the $160 a night cost (including taxes) with my Cuz Tammy. However for as nice as Ocean Pointe was, it had an underlying cheapness that is difficult to explain. When we arrived (check-in is a late, and somewhat annoying 4:00 given the 11:00 checkout time) we had no toilet paper, and only a couple towels. When I tried to contact the front desk I was put on terminal hold after about 20 rings. I stayed on hold for 10 minutes, and then hung up. Room service finally showed up without my ever reaching the front desk, and they did stock the room. Another annoying thing was that their complimentary continental breakfast was not served until 7:30AM. As a LOT of people that stay there dive, or Fish, and are leaving the resort around 7:00am, this means that they don't have to actually provided breakfast to a large number of the tenants. Housekeeping is another thing that is not available. While all these things were a bit unusual for such a nice resort, they are not enough to prevent us from staying there again, and the room was very nice and well equipped.
While we were not diving we enjoyed relaxing by the pool, and had some GREAT meals at a Place called the Fish House. I'd highly recommend the Fish House, and if you like Grouper, the Black and Blue Grouper is wonderful.
During my off week from diving, we spent a week at Ft. Myers Beach. We stayed at the Lighthouse resort, and if you book it online during the off season you can get a one bedroom for $75 a night. The rooms are great, and we really enjoyed our stay at the Lighthouse. They have live music in the Tiki Bar every night, and it's one block for the beach. Ft. Myers Beach was a bit on the crowded side, so we spent a couple days at a state park called Lovers Key. This is a great shell beach, and is MUCH less crowded than the more tourist like Ft. Myers Beach.
Overall we had an Awesome trip, and we love Florida. Thanks to all the Conchs I had the pleasure of meeting and diving with. You guys are great.
If you want to see UW photos from my 2005 Florida trip, I have posted many (and have a LOT more to post) in my Gallery.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/31565
:wave-smil
I got in 18 dives :07:, so I will NOT go into details about every one of them. My first Ocean dive, and first Beach dive was at LBTS. My dive Buddies included Marvel, Renee, Scuba Jenny, and Matt. This dive started about 7:30pm (I was late, and had to rent a tank/weights) and turned into a marathon dive with the last 40 minutes done at night. LBTS shore diving is very good, and we hit two reefs. We saw a turtle, lobsters, a Nudi, some kind of eel, a couple stingrays, and a lot of fish.... very nice. The bioluminescence at night is also very interesting. We were down for 1hr40minutes!! I learned that yes, my air consumption was not bad.
The next day was spent diving out of WestPalmBeach. Several SB members joined us, and Vicky (BaitedStorm) was our DM. These are drift dives, and the reefs out of WPB are at about 40-50fsw. I had a great time on both dives, and we saw turtles, a ton of lobster, Crab, a few Moray's, and the usual lot of Wrasse, Grunts, angelfish, barracuda, parrotfish and I'm sure others I've forgot.
My next dive was done at Jupiter. I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable sites I dove for large marine life. Ray from Colorado, Orlando Eric, Vicky, and a couple other SB members joined us (names are failing me). The diving here is also drift diving, and the reefs here are at 70-80fsw. The entire boat was diving EANX36 with the exception of Ray. Bottom time on these dives (a three tank day) was 45 minutes, and we were pushing our NDL even on Nitrox on our second and third dives. If you dive here, it's worth the Nitrox certification. The reefs here are much larger compared to WPM, and boy did we see some marine life. Spotted Eagle Rays, Huge (but not enormous) JewFish, Large Nurse Sharks, Green Moray's, Crabs, and a ton of Lobster and Fish. I'll DEFINITELY dive Jupiter next time in FL, and I'm going to drag my cuz with me as she lives only maybe 30 minutes away in Ft. Pierce. IMO if you are in FL, DO JUPITER! On air however BT will be about 30 minutes. I'd highly recommend Capt. Paul, and the Temptation. Nice boat.
My next ten dives were all done out of Key Largo. If you have never dove the upper FL Keys, all I can say is... it's great diving with VERY enjoyable Reefs, lots of Bottom Time, colorful soft and hard corals, and a LOT of marine life. All of the dives I did provided 60 minutes of BT, unfortunately limited by the boats cause I could have done 90 minutes on any given dive. Currents were generally mild with a couple of exceptions. That was Spiegel Grove (ripping at the surface), and at Molasses Reef (second dive), the current was strong. We could have drifted that dive.
I dove the Grove, Molasses Reef, the Benwood, Horseshoe Reef, N DryRocks and NNDryRocks (reefs), French Reef, and the City of Washington. Spiegel Grove was an exciting dive, and we Drifted it, and were able to do the entire wreck (not that we had the BT to really cover everything, it's a BIG ship). We even did a swim though in what I believe was the pilot house or bridge. The current at the surface was strong, but upon reaching the deck it was mild. Thanks to KeyLargoBrent, and Blue Waters divers for taking care of me. I'll definitely dive with them again. Other than the ship we saw a lot of Black Grouper, some Spadefish, a HUGE feed ball of some kind of minnow, and many of the regulars like the grunts.
The Benwood, and City of Washington are both older Wrecks. The City of Washington has a decent Reef at one end, and as we did multiple dive here. My dive Buddy and Cuz Tammy and I both love Reefs, so we spent time on the reef when were were not chasing around Nurse Sharks. There are a lot of bigger fish that hang out at the City of Washington as there is a guy who feeds them there. We saw three or more Nurse sharks on every dive there, and a Juv Jewfish (maybe 100lbs) whom was friendly, one Moray whom was hiding and difficult to get a good look at more than his head, and a lot of Barracuda. The Benwood is a fun wreck with a lot of fish.
Molasses, French, and the NN/N.Dryrocks reefs were my favorite reefs of the trip. The Winch Hole on Molasses is a really fun dive, and one of the few places in the Upper Keys were we found lobster, but you can bet there was a whole lot more there then we saw on our morning dives. The Vis at French Reef was the best we had on the entire trip at 100feet. French Reef was awesome, and that is where I shot one of the Nurse Sharks in my Gallery. I chased that guy from the sands up and over the Reef. Tammy said I took off like a torpedo after that shark, and the images I shot will provide a lifetime of memories.
Visibility in the Keys was generally 50-70ft with a couple days of even better vis. I'm not going to list every species of fish we saw during our ten dives but we just about saw everything on my Fishwatcher's Guide including Filefish, goatfish, Snapper, Porkfish, grunts, butterflyshish, damselfish, trunkfish, Tangs, TriggerFish, StingRays, Hogfish, Parrotfish, Angelfish, Grouper, Squirrelfish, wrasse, Barracuda, ScorpionFish, Rockfish, and I'm sure there are some I'm leaving out. The sea was like a pond the entire time I was there, and the diving was VERY enjoyable with 60 minutes of BT (one dive was pushed to 70 minutes, and got scolded). We dove with Aquanuts, and had good dives, nightly gear storage (very nice), and mostly uncrowded boats. Unfortunately Aquanuts has sold the operation, so there is one less family owned hotel/Dive OP, and look for one more Condo resort in the near future.
We stayed at the Ocean Pointe resort. We got a one bedroom condo with Jacuzzi tub, in room washer/dryer, and a full kitchen. This worked out well as we split the $160 a night cost (including taxes) with my Cuz Tammy. However for as nice as Ocean Pointe was, it had an underlying cheapness that is difficult to explain. When we arrived (check-in is a late, and somewhat annoying 4:00 given the 11:00 checkout time) we had no toilet paper, and only a couple towels. When I tried to contact the front desk I was put on terminal hold after about 20 rings. I stayed on hold for 10 minutes, and then hung up. Room service finally showed up without my ever reaching the front desk, and they did stock the room. Another annoying thing was that their complimentary continental breakfast was not served until 7:30AM. As a LOT of people that stay there dive, or Fish, and are leaving the resort around 7:00am, this means that they don't have to actually provided breakfast to a large number of the tenants. Housekeeping is another thing that is not available. While all these things were a bit unusual for such a nice resort, they are not enough to prevent us from staying there again, and the room was very nice and well equipped.
While we were not diving we enjoyed relaxing by the pool, and had some GREAT meals at a Place called the Fish House. I'd highly recommend the Fish House, and if you like Grouper, the Black and Blue Grouper is wonderful.
During my off week from diving, we spent a week at Ft. Myers Beach. We stayed at the Lighthouse resort, and if you book it online during the off season you can get a one bedroom for $75 a night. The rooms are great, and we really enjoyed our stay at the Lighthouse. They have live music in the Tiki Bar every night, and it's one block for the beach. Ft. Myers Beach was a bit on the crowded side, so we spent a couple days at a state park called Lovers Key. This is a great shell beach, and is MUCH less crowded than the more tourist like Ft. Myers Beach.
Overall we had an Awesome trip, and we love Florida. Thanks to all the Conchs I had the pleasure of meeting and diving with. You guys are great.
If you want to see UW photos from my 2005 Florida trip, I have posted many (and have a LOT more to post) in my Gallery.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/31565
:wave-smil
