Key West Dive Ops - Can I do morning reef dives?

[DjDiverDan]

I've never been diving in the Florida Keys before; the vast majority of my diving has been in Cozumel, which I love. But I will be on a Cruise next January, leaving from Tampa, and the first stop is Key West, arrive 8:00 a.m., leave at 5:00 p.m. In searching the web sites of a few Key West Dive Ops, it appears that the morning dives are all wreck dives, and the afternoon reef dives all get back too late for me to catch the Cruise Ship. I really have very little interest in wreck dives - I've done a few, and rusted hulks of metal just don't intrigue me. What I love is the reefs, the hard and soft corals, coral structures, and the sea life, big and small. Is there a Key West Dive Op that offers morning reef dives? Any recommendations? I'll be in Cozumel the next day, and will definitely dive there, but I'd really like to see if Key West diving is worthwhile.

 

[Wookie]

Call the shop directly. Sure, some shops do reef dives in the morning, it depends on what the first caller wants. But be aware, ship docks at 8 and all divers off by 9 doesn't give much opportunity to catch the boat at 9.

 

[llBuckshotll]

Captains corner is 9am check in 9:30 leave I believe, but check with them. Highly recommend diving the Vandenberg with them. It's not your average hunk of Rusty metal. Save the reefs for Cozumel which in my opinion are way better.

 

[sportxlh]

Wookie has recommended Finz Scuba for customized dive plans in the past. You'll need several divers to make the trip doable.

On the other hand, I'm going to try to convince you to dive the Vandenberg wreck in KW since you're going to see reefs in Mexico a day or two later. I love reefs and that's most of what I dive, but this is a world class wreck that is worth seeing: its a great place to see lots of fish life. Also, there is already some growth on it. Occasionally, art work is affixed to the superstructure and that's interesting to see (not sure if an art show will be occurring when you visit or not). The reefs that the typical dive boats visit in KW aren't all that interesting anyway (only a custom charter like Finz will get you to interesting reef sites). The upper and mid Keys are where the really spectacular reef diving is located

 

[seadweller]

I agree that it may be tough to catch the morning boat . Call the shop and maybe they can hold
the boat ? Sea Dwellers

 

[Rred]

Any of the dive shops in KW will be glad to refer you to someone else if they don't offer what you want. They've got nothing to lose by co-operating that way.

Last time I was pitched a dive on the Vandenberg, their numbers sounded too much like a bounce dive to me. 17 minutes, one hour until the second dive, 17 more minutes. Even using the shallower numbers for the upper decks of the wreck...I don't like the math. But the "big tourist wrecks" are where their money is!

 

[DjDiverDan]

Looking at the websites, the Vandenberg looks like a pretty deep dive. I don't mind deep (as long as there's halfway decent visibility). Just what does the average Vandenberg dive profile look like - max depth, time, etc.? If main deck is at 95' (according to one source), where is the keel? Do divers go down to the bottom, or just hang out between 90' and 110'? At 110', even to 120', I could still use Nitrox 28 and have a safety margin before hitting 1.4 atm partial pressure O2. Can I dive the Vandenberg on Nitrox or no?

 

[Wookie]

The washout is 157'. None of the recreational ops will "allow" that. There is plenty to see at 95 and shallower, nitrox 32 is the specified gas.

I thought you were interested in diving a reef?

 

[2airishuman]

Hi Dan

I've never been diving in the Florida Keys before; the vast majority of my diving has been in Cozumel, which I love. But I will be on a Cruise next January, leaving from Tampa, and the first stop is Key West, arrive 8:00 a.m., leave at 5:00 p.m.

I've dived in Key West a couple of times, once while there on a cruise. It is possible to make the logistics work out but the dive choices are limited. My most recent dive there was on the Vandenberg, during a cruise, with Captain's Corner.

Your best bet is indeed to dive the Vandenberg with Captain's Corner, because their boat leaves from the historic seaport which is directly adjacent to the Mallory Square cruise ship port. If your ship ends up docking at the Navy Pier, then there will be shuttles to take you from there to somewhere in the vicinity of Mallory Square so it will work out OK either way. A short walk. You should have time to get there for a morning dive. Captain's Corner has customer-friendly policies and will not try to charge you for the dive if you can't make the connection work out. Be sure and tell them you're coming from a cruise ship. They are accustomed to that.

I'm not aware of any other dive ops that run their boats out of the historic seaport, so to use anyone else you would have the time and uncertainty of a cab ride.

Looking at the websites, the Vandenberg looks like a pretty deep dive. I don't mind deep (as long as there's halfway decent visibility). Just what does the average Vandenberg dive profile look like - max depth, time, etc.? If main deck is at 95' (according to one source), where is the keel? Do divers go down to the bottom, or just hang out between 90' and 110'? At 110', even to 120', I could still use Nitrox 28 and have a safety margin before hitting 1.4 atm partial pressure O2. Can I dive the Vandenberg on Nitrox or no?

Conditions on the Vandenberg vary from day to day. In extremely poor conditions, the operators cancel the trips. I was there in marginal conditions, viz about 30', fairly strong current, and about a 2' swell. Exactly what part of the Vandenberg you will see, and therefore the actual profile, will depend on which mooring ball is used. They are first-come, first served, and it will depend on which balls have already been taken by other operators.

The main deck is at 95' and there is a good deal of superstructure above it. There is no real reason to go below the main deck, either inside or out, unless you're one of the "Vandenberg geeks" who dives it every week and knows every nook and cranny. It isn't possible to see the whole wreck in one morning even if you limit yourself to what is above the main deck.

Captains Corner will provide you with nitrox if you ask for it when you make a reservation, are certified for it, and pay a modest upcharge. They will give you EAN30 which is well suited to the dive. For nearly everyone the dive will be limited by the amount of gas available when diving EAN30, not by NDL.

When I was there the current was strong enough that we had to go hand-over-hand on an underwater line to get from the stern of the dive boat to the anchor line and then use the anchor line for descent. I understand that the current isn't always like that. I was able to get a little less than 20 minutes bottom time on each dive. It was a fun experience but was hard work. It would be a fun wreck to get to know well over the course of many dives, which is why it is a popular attraction.

 

[Rred]

"Can I dive the Vandenberg on Nitrox or no?"
Yeahbut.
If you use 32 as Wookie suggests, I think that gives you 111' at 1.4, but only 101 feet at 1.3. Making your safety margin slim, especially if you count a top deck of 95' depth (and maybe another foot for high tide?) as an even 100'.
So your 28 can give you a better safety margin. Even then, the 17-minute bottom time that I've heard the shops toss around, might put a conservative diver into wanting a longer surface interval than those shops say they do (just an hour) before the second dive, with 17 more minutes.

Its a dive where you may want to review your own criteria, and your own choice of tables and safety factors, and then compare them to the specific operator. If I ran numbers that told me I needed 80 minutes on the surface, because I'm not a 22 year old USN diver under combat conditions, and the boat operator told me they'd only allow an hour...Yeahbut.

Divers make all sorts of choices. Tables aren't all the same these days, and Doppler-derived limits and DAN's advice about being more conservative than some are...Obviously what the shops and operators are doing is fairly safe for most divers. But then again, they also don't post a sign on the shop wall, or at the dock, saying "NO DCS HITS IN THE LAST 342 DAYS" or "NO DIVERS LEFT AT SEA BY THIS BOAT IN THE PAST 189 DAYS" either. (Yes, that's been an issue in Florida as well.)

Yeahbut.