Ideas for diving the Keys in the summer?

[kimbalabala]

We have stayed in Key Largo and dove (dived?) the reefs in that general area - Molasses, the Elbow, the Benwood, etc - and we have stayed up in Key West and went out to Looe Key. We are looking at going back in the summer and are wondering where the better diving will be - and what tips the local dive community can give us in terms of best time of day to dive, places to see, etc. It seems that when we go in the winter we have gotten more surge and it's best to dive in the afternoon when it's a little warmer topside and the surge dies down. If we go toward the end of July is there any standard thought on best time of day to plan dives? Is the diving better in the summer in the upper Keys or lower Keys? We'd like to see some reef that isn't visited as much as, for instance, Molasses (we really liked Looe Key for that reason - it just wasn't as busy as the Largo area reef system). We're willing to put some miles on a rental car to get to a dive operation that will take us someplace new. Any recommendations? We feel fairly confident that no matter where we go in the Keys we really "can't go wrong" - it's great diving wherever we end up - but it would be great to get some inside knowledge from people who live there or visit more often than we do. And we're not really up for wreck dives in deep water (unless we can get an ironclad guarantee that there will be no current - and that's not happening!)

Thanks in advance!

Kimela

 

[Garrobo]

If Key Largo is out, and beanaz I like to dive ships, I like the diving off of Islamorada, except that the only nearby decent ship dive is the Eagle. Tavenier has a couple decent dive shops which will get you to the other ship dives and many reefs. In general, in my opinion, the diving south of Islamorada isn't worth the drive except maybe the Vandenburg off of Key West.

 

[Wookie]

Sounds like Dry Tortugas is the place for you. Pristine reefs, rarely dove, no wrecks.

 

[PatW]

I have been diving at Looe Key and up at Key Largo on shallow reefs and shallow wrecks. During the summer, conditions at Key Largo can be quite calm. Last summer we had 3" swells.

I had the impression at Looe Key that the condition of the reef was not nearly as good as at Key Largo. I think this might be the result of pollution from the key going out to the reef. Key Largo has the same pollution but I think the extensive mangrove swamps suck the nutrients out of the water and confer at bit of protection for the reef.

An advantage for Key Largo is if you dive with a shop that runs small boats like 6 packs (I dive Quiesence), they will take you to their own small reefs that get virtually no diving. We did one reef like that. It was in about 33' of water. The reef was an oval about 60' by 30'. As I descended, it looked like a forlorn little patch of rubble. I thought "this looks pretty bad". But as I got closer, the small reef turned out to be teeming with all sorts of things. It took an hour to just do the perimeter of the reef. Every few feet there was another peculiar little creature or fish to gawk at. Sometimes good things come in small packages.

 

[sportxlh]

.................We are looking at going back in the summer and are wondering where the better diving will be - and what tips the local dive community can give us in terms of best time of day to dive, places to see, It seems that when we go in the winter we have gotten more surge and it's best to dive in the afternoon when it's a little warmer topside and the surge dies down. If we go toward the end of July is there any standard thought on best time of day to plan dives? etc....................

In the summer, I've not had problems diving in the AM and PM. In Sept I went out with Conch Republic for 2 1/2 days of diving (10 dives) and we had fantastic conditions in the morning and afternoon. I've also experienced the same sort of conditions throughout the summer in various months over the last few years. But occasionally the weather will make marine conditions rough, its just much less likely than in the winter. I also like Conch Republic because they do schedule some dives on reefs that other ops don't visit quite as often (Conch Wall would be an example). Someone else mentioned that the Eagle wreck is interesting and I would have to agree, though it does not really compare to the Speigle Grove or the Duanne. While a bit deeper of a dive than you might be looking for, both times I've dove the Eagle, there has been very little current (not really sure if that is the norm or not).

I've only experienced bothersome surge a couple of times while in the Keys and it was always on the really shallow reefs (e.g. 25 feet or less).

I've only dove in the lower Keys once: had a great time, but, in my opinion, I feel that the upper Keys offer better visibility. Unless I was heading to Key West for a mini-vacation with other non-diving activities planned, I don't think I'd drive the extra 90-100 miles at 35-45 mph just to dive.

Wookie also mentioned the Dry Tortugas and I would also agree that it is a very interesting and pleasant place to dive, from a live aboard (I went out with Ultimate Getaway a couple years ago). I found the reef 'topography' at sites like Alice to be stunning and unlike anything else I'd ever seen in Florida. However, some of the sites had much less marine life compared to West Palm Beach or the Keys. At some point in the near future, I plan to take another trip to the Dry Tortugas.

 

[kimbalabala]

Thank you - this is all great information. Somewhere - on another thread - somebody mentioned that there may be only one dive operation that has the necessary certificates to take folks out to the Dry Tortugas (maybe I understood that wrong). Anyone remember a specific dive operation that goes there? We have not made any reservations and are open to staying anywhere on the Keys - don't care if it's upper or lower - just want good diving. All of our dives on our last trip between Molasses and the Benwood. If the consensus is that Largo is the place to be, that could be where we go again. Anywhere in the Keys will be fun - just looking for new scenery (above and below water).

 

[Wookie]

There are three dive ops that regularly schedule trips to Dry Tortugas for diving. Spree (Spree Expeditions M/V Spree SCUBA Diving Dry Tortugas/Vandenberg, Mona Passage and Puerto Rico), Ultimate Getaway (Dry Tortugas Scuba Diving liveaboard, The Ultimate Getaway. Scuba Dive the Dry Tortugas out of Ft. Myers Florida.), and Playmate (www.seaclusive.com). Playmate is almost exclusively spearfishing, Ultimate Getaway splits trips between spearing and fish hugging, and Spree is strictly fish huggers and photographers.

 

[timg]

Some very good info here in these posts. The only part I've not seen a comment about is the Carysfort area, which is north of Molasses towards Ocean Reef. I think Quiescence goes there. The times I have been there were on a private boat (with reefman) and we have a blast up at that end. It is not as heavily traveled as the other areas.

I continue to hear good stuff about the Dry Tortugas and if you have time for the live aboard that would give you the two ends of the range - Carysfort for some of the week, Dry Tortugas for a few days.

In either case, have a great trip to the Keys!