Question Keys Advice Sought

[Dan G]

I have traveled to Florida to dive many times. I enjoy the artificial reefs quite a bit. When in the Keys, I typically dive with Horizon Divers and go wherever the Pieces goes that trip. Always been happy.

This time, I am interested in putting together a week's trip diving various artificial reefs from Key West to Key Largo. I would like to dive the Vandenberg, Adolphus Busch Sr., and Thunderbolt. I’d happily dive the Eagle again if it works out. It probably makes sense to start in Key Largo with the Duane, Bibb, and Spiegel so I do not need to drive all the way to Key West from either Miami or FLL on arrival day. One way to do this is to base out of one location and drive wherever each AM. Another way is to move around and relocate every couple of days. I had a reservation to dive the Adolphus Busch with Captain Hook’s on Big Pine Key one year, but the weather didn't cooperate and we ended up diving in the Looe Key Sanctuary. Still had fun. All week the surface conditions had been rough and I wasn't shocked that Capt. Hook's called it.

I know weather and sea conditions will be a limiting factor in getting to every site on my list. I’ll be flexible. That being said, what suggestions do people have for where to stay and which ops to use up and down the Keys? I will be diving within recreational limits only. Thanks.

 

[chrisjur]

We do this same type of itinerary once a year. I am a local but my friends come down from NYC and want to do a Keys dive trek. There are pros and cons to staying centrally in one place. The main drawback is that the Keys are pretty large, and you could still be driving an hour plus from, say, Marathon to Key Largo (or more if it's a heavy-traffic day). This isn't fun when you need to report to the boat at 7:30 am, need to check in, get breakfast, etc., or after a long, hot day of diving.

Our general philosophy has been to move locations every day or two to get closer to the dives we are planning. If the weather is not cooperating, we will attempt to make the longer drive elsewhere after lots of scrambling to see what boats are going out for the day. However, it is common for bad weather or seas to impact the majority of the islands, so it's always good to set expectations that you will be canceled at least one day during the trip. Of course, this approach's downside is that you are packing up and leaving hotels every day or two, but check-in/checkout times tend to be pretty compatible with dive times. Leave the hotel at 7:30, dive, get lunch, and check in to your next hotel right after - even easier if it's an afternoon dive. There is also the benefit of getting to experience different islands/towns if you go with this approach.

I will include our itinerary from our last trip in November below to get a sense of what works for us. It includes the sites you mention. My diving buddy on this trip runs a professional dive travel service, hence the detailed itinerary. All the dive operators listed are my preferred operators, with one nuance. When I dive alone or with a buddy in Key Largo, I use Horizon Divers. However, since there are generally 4-6 of us on these treks, we use Quiescence, a private diving service close to Horizon. The cost for 4+ people is cheaper than any public operation and they are excellent.

Feel free to shoot me any specific questions. You can also check out my blog post in my signature below, which has some additional tips for diving the Keys and South Florida.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Captains' Corner, Key West.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Dan G

One of the best trips I have done was a four day Keys Wreck Trek on the M/V Spree in 2015, 4 dives on the Spiegel Grove, 2 on the Duane, 2 on the Eagle, 2 on the Thunderbolt, 2 on the Adolphus Busch, and 3 on the Vandenberg. I miss the Spree, what a great, easy way to dive the wrecks of the Florida Keys.

Getting wrecked with Wookie and Netdoc

Anyone who was thinking about this trip, and then passed, really missed out. We had 6 staff caring for just 10 divers. Captain Frank, Mate Tim, DMs Mel and Jess, and galley staff Anna and Stephanie were all just phenomenal. The boat was wonderful to dive from and the food was fantastic. Four...

scubaboard.com

Best of luck in organizing your wreck trek

 

[Dan G]

If the M/V Spree were an option, I would likely use it.

 

[vjb.knife1]

I just finished a couple of days of snorkeling in Key Largo and it sucked bad. 2 Foot seas cloudy and cool and strong currents at the reefs. Bring at least a 3 mil suit, the water is 72 F max. Diving should be better than what we were doing, hopefully. Many of the boats are not going out at all right now. It was easily some of the worst recreational diving I have done in my life. I thought it was borderline irresponsible for the boat crew to bring people out in those conditions, and the reefs were nothing to get excited about either.

 

[chrisjur]

Unfor

I just finished a couple of days of snorkeling in Key Largo and it sucked bad. 2 Foot seas cloudy and cool and strong currents at the reefs. Bring at least a 3 mil suit, the water is 72 F max. Diving should be better than what we were doing, hopefully. Many of the boats are not going out at all right now. It was easily some of the worst recreational diving I have done in my life. I thought it was borderline irresponsible for the boat crew to bring people out in those conditions, and the reefs were nothing to get excited about either.

Unfortunately, things have been very bad down here the last couple of weeks and I'm sorry that you arrived just in the middle of it I'd say the majority of boats have been canceled over the past two weeks from Miami down to the Keys. We've had everything from crazy rain storms to days of windstorms to just overall bad sea conditions.

The one thing that I will add is that current conditions don't equate to conditions at depth. My last four dives a couple of weeks back were on days where surface currents were ripping, but bottom currents were non-existent, which is common here. However, given that you're snorkeling, I do agree that it's crazy that any boat would bring people out in the types of conditions that you've described. Not fun.