MarineLand Dive Report

[pdoege]

Hello -

I dove MarineLand on Sunday 10/6/02. It was a lot of fun.

For those who do not know, MarineLand is a very old FL. tourist attraction. It doesn't have the gloss and glamour of the newer parks.

The DM was very helpful and knowledgable. The staff was really friendly.

The dive took place in the Oceanarium. A max. depth of 16ft. Lots of fish, sharks, and 2 big turtles.

The largest turtle is about 350lbs (160k). Big! You are not allowed to touch them, but they run into you from time to time.

I was in the tank during one of the feeding sessions. Completely surrounded by a lot hungry fish. Really nice. Had to be sure to keep my fingers in. A smaller fish try to nibble on my buddies finger. No harm done.

Non-scuba types can snorkel, and there is a B&B about 2 miles down the road. This was a day trip for me, the park is about 1:30 out of Orlando.

If you show up with enough people, they may close the tank down just for you. We were allowed to stay in for as long as we had air.

Lots of fun, beautiful fish. I'd do it again.

Peter Doege

 

[100days-a-year]

Peter,glad you enjoyed it.We try to get new divers to do a least one day of checkouts there.Several LDS in the area do classes there.A good first exposure to ocean creatures for some divers due to the controlled nature of the environment.