ancientdiver
Registered
Hi all. I am a member of the Sarasota Scuba Club. I am compiling a list of state-wide dive locations that are accessible by kayak. Yeah, I know, I have my work cut out for me. Fortunately there is a lot of information already available in various dive guides that have been published for Florida. But there are many little spots that only locals seem to know about, and that's what I am trying to do - collect them all in one place to share with the diving community.
If you are a kayak diver living anywhere from Fernadina to Key West to Pensacola, and you know of a dive site in your local waters that you can reach by kayak, please let me know about it. I need as much information as you can provide, both shore information (where to park and launch the kayak, good place to grab a bite afterwards, your favorite dive shop in the area), along with dive site inforatmation. Exact lat. and long if you know it or GPS info, etc. Water depth, distance off shore, currents, best time of year to dive, what to watch out for, description of dive site. Pretty much anything you would want a friend to know about the site. How far offshore is too far? Depends on the person I guess. I am a "no more than a mile offshore in a kayak" kind of guy, but I have seen kayaks all the way out at Looe Key reef (the best dive spot in the Keys by the way), which is 5-6 miles from Big PIne Key. So if you consder it to be accessible by kayak, let me know about it. But be sure to include a reasonable estimate of paddling time or milage.
I am a life-long diver, decades of expericce, around a thousand dives. One of the things I like most about diving is that diving is a world wide fraternity. Divers seem to be a worldwide brotherhood (and sisterhood). I have had someone give me a fin strap in Palau when mine broke, loaned me a mask in Belize, and givien me a snorkel holder in Belize. I coudn't count the number of tiimes I have passed around my bottle of insect repellent to folks experiencing "no see'ums" for the first time as the dive boat comes back into Key Largo at sunset, when they descend on the boat like a million little vampires. as the boat passes through the mangroves getting back to the dock.
If you are new to diving, you will find this to be a pleasant surprise - divers are great people.
Anyone that can help out with a serious submission that is fully documented, with verified GPS coordinates, I will take care of you - a copy of the guidebook when it is complete for the postage to get it to you. For those who want to obtain a future copy, just send me an email or note with "notify when kayak dive guide book is available" in the subject line of an email, and I'll save them all to a folder for notification at a future date. I'll also let Scuba Board know when it is available.
Hope to hear from you soon,
AncientDiver
If you are a kayak diver living anywhere from Fernadina to Key West to Pensacola, and you know of a dive site in your local waters that you can reach by kayak, please let me know about it. I need as much information as you can provide, both shore information (where to park and launch the kayak, good place to grab a bite afterwards, your favorite dive shop in the area), along with dive site inforatmation. Exact lat. and long if you know it or GPS info, etc. Water depth, distance off shore, currents, best time of year to dive, what to watch out for, description of dive site. Pretty much anything you would want a friend to know about the site. How far offshore is too far? Depends on the person I guess. I am a "no more than a mile offshore in a kayak" kind of guy, but I have seen kayaks all the way out at Looe Key reef (the best dive spot in the Keys by the way), which is 5-6 miles from Big PIne Key. So if you consder it to be accessible by kayak, let me know about it. But be sure to include a reasonable estimate of paddling time or milage.
I am a life-long diver, decades of expericce, around a thousand dives. One of the things I like most about diving is that diving is a world wide fraternity. Divers seem to be a worldwide brotherhood (and sisterhood). I have had someone give me a fin strap in Palau when mine broke, loaned me a mask in Belize, and givien me a snorkel holder in Belize. I coudn't count the number of tiimes I have passed around my bottle of insect repellent to folks experiencing "no see'ums" for the first time as the dive boat comes back into Key Largo at sunset, when they descend on the boat like a million little vampires. as the boat passes through the mangroves getting back to the dock.
If you are new to diving, you will find this to be a pleasant surprise - divers are great people.
Anyone that can help out with a serious submission that is fully documented, with verified GPS coordinates, I will take care of you - a copy of the guidebook when it is complete for the postage to get it to you. For those who want to obtain a future copy, just send me an email or note with "notify when kayak dive guide book is available" in the subject line of an email, and I'll save them all to a folder for notification at a future date. I'll also let Scuba Board know when it is available.
Hope to hear from you soon,
AncientDiver
