Scratch_Monkey
Registered
My wife and a couple of friends just did our first trip to the Flower Gardens off the coast of Texas. To sum it up, I felt it was a well-run operation, the crew was super nice/helpful, the food was plentiful, and the diving had a lot of potential. However, due to no Nitrox on this trip and bad visibility, the actual diving was just okay.
Having said that, we still had a good time and we'll probably go again earlier in the summer to see if we can experience those sites under better circumstances.
One of my concerns (as a diver who's only done recreational diving with a DM in the water with them) was what to expect on dives where you were essentially on your own. Hopefully my post provides some insight for other divers with a similar background.
We went on the Fling with Texas Caribbean Charters on their Weekend Flower Gardens Tour. The way it works is you book online and choose your weekend and your bunk. Each bunk is numbered and generally in a cabin (with a lockable door) so the four of us had a room to ourselves. That bunk number becomes your ID for the entire trip.
On the scheduled weekend, you arrive at the dock at 7pm on Friday. Getting there exactly at 7 is fine; you don't need to be early.
When you board, you pick the tank you want to use. That becomes "your" tank and your "spot" for the trip. At this point, you just drop your gear off in front of your tank and then go inside to put your luggage in your cabin.
The bunks (and cabin) were small but comfortable and they provide a small pillow, a sheet, and a blanket. There is space under the bottom bunk for stuff and both top and bottom bunks share that same storage space. They also keep the interior of the boat pretty chilly so bring appropriate sleepwear if you get cold.
After you are settled, you go into the main cabin (where they serve your meals) and have your initial briefing where they discuss the layout of the boat, safety, and do's/don'ts. They don't serve dinner on Friday, but they did put out snacks (mini sandwiches and chips). After that you are free to go back to your "spot" outside and start setting up your gear for the next day. Note that the boat is underway by this time. After you get away from shore if it's dark enough, make a point to look up and see the Milky Way.
You wake up the next morning for your first dive at 8AM. Unfortunately their Nitrox compressor was not working on this trip which meant every dive was on air. Given that most of these dives are at an average of 75 feet, that really shortens your dives.
When you go diving, it's just you and your buddy/buddies. The DMs will go into the water ahead of the group to check out conditions, they will give you a briefing on the site and the latest on currents but you are on your own for the actual diving.
This was one of the concerns I had about the trip as all my diving has been at resorts where you follow a DM and trust them to know where they are going. Because you are so far out, the currents can be unpredictable and there really is no "island side/ocean side" to orient yourself.
But, I think, the Fling does a good job to help divers that just don't have the navigational skills (or haven't been able to practice them much) to navigate a dive and deal with any currents.
The DMs attach a "side line" from the mooring line (attached to a surface buoy) to the back of the boat. This side line joins the mooring line at around 30 feet but it floats up to the surface towards the back of the boat.
You do a giant stride (from about 7 feet up!) off the side of the boat, swim to that side line and then wait for your buddy. Then you can follow that side line (pull yourself along it if you want or need to) to the mooring line, then follow the mooring line to the bottom.
On the bottom, from the mooring line, the DMs will attach a "guide line" (fluorescent string) that goes off in some direction that they feel is interesting and you can just follow that line out and back. Or not. How you navigate your dive is completely up to you.
When you are done, you follow the mooring line back up, do your safety stop, then follow the side line to the back of the boat. They have two ladders and lines off those two ladders to hold onto while you wait your turn to board.
Keeping visible track of the mooring line or the boat was not an option that weekend.
They do give you instructions on what to do if you get caught in a current and surface far away from the boat. Your options are just swim back, inflate your SMBs and they will send the dingy out for you when they can, or (if it's an emergency) wave your SMBs and they will make collecting you a priority.
But as long as you are a reasonably experienced diver, the Fling does a good job giving you a way to get to the bottom (even if there is a current at the surface or mid levels) and enjoy the dive site without worrying about getting lost. But if you go off on your own, you are literally on your own.
How was the diving? It was fine. But because the visibility wasn't great, I know that I didn't get the best experience on those reefs. But what I can report is that there was a LOT of hard coral that looked pretty healthy. Lots and lots of large growths of brain coral, especially.
We saw quite a few barracuda and a lot of typical reef fish. When we dove the oil platform (which was pretty cool and a new experience for me), I was lucky enough to have a pretty large shark swim under me as I was pulling my way along that side line to the rig. But on the actual dive, you really couldn't see out past the edge of the rig (where the sharks would be) due to the poor visibility. Having said that, the structure was covered in coral and shrimp and other creatures. There were tons of small fish swimming near the coral and really large schools of larger fish just around. But, again, unless you were right on top of them, they were hard to see clearly.
You have the opportunity to do five dives on Saturday, the last being a night dive. Then you eat dinner, go to bed and wake up at the Stetson Banks. Again, the visibility wasn't great but I can say that on the second dive, it wasn't terrible near the bottom and that was a pretty cool site. It was a mixture of that moonscape everyone talks about, and a wall with some healthy coral at the top and a LOT of fish. That and the oil rig were probably my two favorite dives of the trip.
After your two dives on Sunday, the boat heads back and you arrive at the dock around 6PM.
The crew did a good job feeding us! Breakfast tacos, regular tacos, burgers, snacks, desserts... you will not get hungry. The boat charges for beer and soda and provides ice tea (sweet an un-sweat) and water to drink.
Would I recommend the trip? Yes. Especially if you live in the vicinity as it's easily the best diving you can do without flying. The crew was great and the entire excursion seemed really well run. If you are prone to sea sickness, plan for that. The boat is not small, but you can absolutely tell you are on a boat, especially in your bunk when it's underway.
But it's not a trip I'd recommend for newer divers, at least without one of the buddies being more experienced. The dives are deep and you have to be comfortable using an SMB (even if you don't actually have to use it) and potentially dealing with currents. Nitrox is recommended (even if t wasn't available on our particular trip).
Also, you need to bring all your own gear with you, including weights. Plus bring whatever backup gear you can. A spare mask, fins straps, whatever. If you lose a fin or your mask, you are probably done diving.
Happy to answer any questions.
Having said that, we still had a good time and we'll probably go again earlier in the summer to see if we can experience those sites under better circumstances.
One of my concerns (as a diver who's only done recreational diving with a DM in the water with them) was what to expect on dives where you were essentially on your own. Hopefully my post provides some insight for other divers with a similar background.
We went on the Fling with Texas Caribbean Charters on their Weekend Flower Gardens Tour. The way it works is you book online and choose your weekend and your bunk. Each bunk is numbered and generally in a cabin (with a lockable door) so the four of us had a room to ourselves. That bunk number becomes your ID for the entire trip.
On the scheduled weekend, you arrive at the dock at 7pm on Friday. Getting there exactly at 7 is fine; you don't need to be early.
When you board, you pick the tank you want to use. That becomes "your" tank and your "spot" for the trip. At this point, you just drop your gear off in front of your tank and then go inside to put your luggage in your cabin.
The bunks (and cabin) were small but comfortable and they provide a small pillow, a sheet, and a blanket. There is space under the bottom bunk for stuff and both top and bottom bunks share that same storage space. They also keep the interior of the boat pretty chilly so bring appropriate sleepwear if you get cold.
After you are settled, you go into the main cabin (where they serve your meals) and have your initial briefing where they discuss the layout of the boat, safety, and do's/don'ts. They don't serve dinner on Friday, but they did put out snacks (mini sandwiches and chips). After that you are free to go back to your "spot" outside and start setting up your gear for the next day. Note that the boat is underway by this time. After you get away from shore if it's dark enough, make a point to look up and see the Milky Way.
You wake up the next morning for your first dive at 8AM. Unfortunately their Nitrox compressor was not working on this trip which meant every dive was on air. Given that most of these dives are at an average of 75 feet, that really shortens your dives.
When you go diving, it's just you and your buddy/buddies. The DMs will go into the water ahead of the group to check out conditions, they will give you a briefing on the site and the latest on currents but you are on your own for the actual diving.
This was one of the concerns I had about the trip as all my diving has been at resorts where you follow a DM and trust them to know where they are going. Because you are so far out, the currents can be unpredictable and there really is no "island side/ocean side" to orient yourself.
But, I think, the Fling does a good job to help divers that just don't have the navigational skills (or haven't been able to practice them much) to navigate a dive and deal with any currents.
The DMs attach a "side line" from the mooring line (attached to a surface buoy) to the back of the boat. This side line joins the mooring line at around 30 feet but it floats up to the surface towards the back of the boat.
You do a giant stride (from about 7 feet up!) off the side of the boat, swim to that side line and then wait for your buddy. Then you can follow that side line (pull yourself along it if you want or need to) to the mooring line, then follow the mooring line to the bottom.
On the bottom, from the mooring line, the DMs will attach a "guide line" (fluorescent string) that goes off in some direction that they feel is interesting and you can just follow that line out and back. Or not. How you navigate your dive is completely up to you.
When you are done, you follow the mooring line back up, do your safety stop, then follow the side line to the back of the boat. They have two ladders and lines off those two ladders to hold onto while you wait your turn to board.
Keeping visible track of the mooring line or the boat was not an option that weekend.
They do give you instructions on what to do if you get caught in a current and surface far away from the boat. Your options are just swim back, inflate your SMBs and they will send the dingy out for you when they can, or (if it's an emergency) wave your SMBs and they will make collecting you a priority.
But as long as you are a reasonably experienced diver, the Fling does a good job giving you a way to get to the bottom (even if there is a current at the surface or mid levels) and enjoy the dive site without worrying about getting lost. But if you go off on your own, you are literally on your own.
How was the diving? It was fine. But because the visibility wasn't great, I know that I didn't get the best experience on those reefs. But what I can report is that there was a LOT of hard coral that looked pretty healthy. Lots and lots of large growths of brain coral, especially.
We saw quite a few barracuda and a lot of typical reef fish. When we dove the oil platform (which was pretty cool and a new experience for me), I was lucky enough to have a pretty large shark swim under me as I was pulling my way along that side line to the rig. But on the actual dive, you really couldn't see out past the edge of the rig (where the sharks would be) due to the poor visibility. Having said that, the structure was covered in coral and shrimp and other creatures. There were tons of small fish swimming near the coral and really large schools of larger fish just around. But, again, unless you were right on top of them, they were hard to see clearly.
You have the opportunity to do five dives on Saturday, the last being a night dive. Then you eat dinner, go to bed and wake up at the Stetson Banks. Again, the visibility wasn't great but I can say that on the second dive, it wasn't terrible near the bottom and that was a pretty cool site. It was a mixture of that moonscape everyone talks about, and a wall with some healthy coral at the top and a LOT of fish. That and the oil rig were probably my two favorite dives of the trip.
After your two dives on Sunday, the boat heads back and you arrive at the dock around 6PM.
The crew did a good job feeding us! Breakfast tacos, regular tacos, burgers, snacks, desserts... you will not get hungry. The boat charges for beer and soda and provides ice tea (sweet an un-sweat) and water to drink.
Would I recommend the trip? Yes. Especially if you live in the vicinity as it's easily the best diving you can do without flying. The crew was great and the entire excursion seemed really well run. If you are prone to sea sickness, plan for that. The boat is not small, but you can absolutely tell you are on a boat, especially in your bunk when it's underway.
But it's not a trip I'd recommend for newer divers, at least without one of the buddies being more experienced. The dives are deep and you have to be comfortable using an SMB (even if you don't actually have to use it) and potentially dealing with currents. Nitrox is recommended (even if t wasn't available on our particular trip).
Also, you need to bring all your own gear with you, including weights. Plus bring whatever backup gear you can. A spare mask, fins straps, whatever. If you lose a fin or your mask, you are probably done diving.
Happy to answer any questions.
