Trip Report Key Largo-Palm Beach 6/26-7/3

[Jcp2]

Short report. Afternoon dive with Sea Dwellers 6/27 on Molasses Reef, Winch Hole, then Pickles. The visibility was 25 feet first dive, depth 30 feet, visibility 15 feet second dive, depth 25 feet, water 80, some surge, boat pitching a bit on re-entry. Scattered thunderstorms and we had to run between them to accomplish the dives. 6/28 Sea Dwellers canceled afternoon dive for us because of conditions (we had combined dive/snorkel outing planned) and I canceled 6/29 with Conch Republic because of forecast bad weather.

Blue Heron Bridge 7/2 in afternoon, water 81, visibility 20 feet, good dive with a Pura Vida guide, batfish, frogfish, blennies, shrimp, lobster, did East side, 71 minutes. Great muck dive.

Morning drift dive with Pura Vida with guide. 34% nitrox, Paul’s Reef and then Flower Gardens. The boat was top notch, very clear briefings, calm seas, sunny, water 81, visibility 30, negative entries. Big loggerheads, some lemon sharks, one large southern ray, school of sword, lobster, lots of fish. Great dives, boat with good vibes, deployed DSMB twice as we got separated from main flag buoy, excellent pickups by crew. All the action was at the ledge, and we really lucked out with the weather, as the forecast was looking dire.

Sea Dwellers handled the cancellation very professionally. As a point of interest, the online booking through Fareharbor is a third party, so even if the shop issues a refund, it could take a couple of days for it to show up on your account. Pura Vida is a top notch shop with high end rental gear. I was put into an Atomic BC1 and felt really fancy for a bit.

Next time I’ll probably not do a Keys/Palm Beach split as there is a travel day in the middle, but this was our first family trip since 2019, and a back up to a canceled Cancun excursion (uncomfortable with possible false positive US Covid reentry test for any one family member).

 

[drrich2]

I was put into an Atomic BC1 and felt really fancy for a bit.

What did you think of it? I’m too cheap to find out personally.

Glad you got too see good stuff! I’ve never seen a bat fish.

 

[Jcp2]

Things to do in case diving not happening.

Key Largo: mangrove tour, drive to Key West, bird sanctuary, Publix tour, restaurant list Key Largo Fisheries, Sharkeys, Key Largo Conch House, Fish House, Mrs Macs, Eaton Street Fish Market (Key West), Hobo’s Cafe, Pinecrest Bakery, Sunrise Bakery and Cafe (Tavenier).

Palm Beach: MacArthur State Park, shopping at fancy mall, Publix tour, restaurant list Cod and Capers, Cafe Boulad, PB Catch, Buccan.

 

[Skeptic14]

Morning drift dive with Pura Vida with guide. 34% nitrox, Paul’s Reef and then Flower Gardens. The boat was top notch, very clear briefings, calm seas, sunny, water 81, visibility 30, negative entries. Big loggerheads, some lemon sharks, one large southern ray, school of sword, lobster, lots of fish. Great dives, boat with good vibes, deployed DSMB twice as we got separated from main flag buoy, excellent pickups by crew. All the action was at the ledge, and we really lucked out with the weather, as the forecast was looking dire.

Sounds like some good action from big stuff! Was the guide for the group or private? With the negative entries were any divers taking camera gear (outside go pros) and if so how'd they manage the entry?

 

[Jcp2]

What did you think of it? I’m too cheap to find out personally.

Gald you got too see good stuff! I’ve never seen a bat fish.

I did bring my own Scubapro Knighthawk and Conshelf regulators, but my SPG spindle failed, and between it being a non standard hose size and my Scubapro having a nonstandard inflator, hunting down new o rings was a bridge too far. The Atomic BC has a water repellent coating on the material so it dries really quickly. The weight pockets lock in securely. There are trim pockets on the shoulders, and the tank band looks like a ratcheting snowboard binding, really easy to use.

To me, the batfish looked like a scaly rotisserie chicken.

 

[Jcp2]

Sounds like some good action from big stuff! Was the guide for the group or private? With the negative entries were any divers taking camera gear (outside go pros) and if so how'd they manage the entry?

There was a guide holding the flag and ball for the whole group. I hired my own guide to walk me through the whole process. A couple of people had dual light camera rigs. I think one was sealife and the other GoPro 9. The negative entry was pretty straight forward. The main guide stepped off first and went to twenty feet. Then we had three lines striding off the back in sequence. The drop went pretty quickly. Pre equalizing helps and the key is to get below the first twenty feet to adjust for any current differential between the surface and below.