large_diver
Contributor
Just got back yesterday from a trip to the FL keys run by PG Dive in Newton. Fantastic time.
The diving -- 10 dives over 3 days (Friday-Sunday). 5 wreck dives and 5 reef dives. Wrecks = Spiegel Grove x 2, Bibb, Duane and Eagle. There was a night dive on Thursday as well -- my buddy Mike and I missed it due to our late flight on Thursday.
We did 4 dives per day on Friday and Saturday and 2 on Sunday morning. On the 4 dive days, we did 2 deeper wreck dives in the morning (80-130 ft); the boat would come back in after the AM dives and we would go out to lunch. After lunch we would head back out for 2 shallower reef dives. Total time between AM and PM dives was about 2.5-3 hours (boat rides in/out and lunch).
Diving was with Divers City USA in Islamorada/Tavernier (right on the border). They ran a good boat and let you have plenty of latitude in terms of bottom time. We encountered some pretty rough conditions on days 1 and 2 (4-6 foot seas) -- they still got us out to the sites we wanted to see. They are located at Mile Marker 90.5.
http://www.diverscityusa.com/
Some nice things about Divers City -- Custom nitrox mixes, 100% oxygen, tri-mix, small boat right behind their shop (our group of 8 had the boat to ourselves), 100 CF steel tanks available, DIN or yoke tanks. They also have a nice area behind the shop where you can rinse and hang gear to dry. You can leave it there overnight without having to lug it back and forth to the hotel. They let you set up your own gear, but would lug tanks on and off the boat for us. We handled tank switches on the boat ourselves...they labled tanks with our names and always had tank #2 located next to tank #1.
Really enjoyed the Duane and the Eagle -- both were loaded with life (barracuda, grouper, and smaller fish). Reef dives were also great -- morays, 1 site with at least 30 nurse sharks, very large spotted eagle ray, etc., etc. Spiegel Grove was also fun just based on the sheer size of the wreck -- 510 feet.
Water temps were 76-77, with no noticeable thermocline, even as deep as 110 feet. I actually wore my drysuit for all the dives on this trip and was completely comfortable (TLS 350 -- wore lightweight 100 weight fleece pants and an underarmour spandex shirt and lightweight REI long underwear shirt on top). Air temps were typically in the mid-80s, but with strong breezes at sea, I did not feel overheated during SITs.
The Upper Keys (Key Largo/Tavernier/Islamorada) area is a great destination for a long weekend from Boston -- 3 hour flight to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale (Jet Blue flies direct from Logan to FLL). Our drive from FLL to Key Largo was only about an hour and 15 minutes. We also took a drive down through the Lower Keys to Key West on Sunday after our diving was done -- scenic trip.
The Upper Keys = Fantastic wrecks, great reefs, plenty of good choices for eating. I will definitely be back.
-Chris
The diving -- 10 dives over 3 days (Friday-Sunday). 5 wreck dives and 5 reef dives. Wrecks = Spiegel Grove x 2, Bibb, Duane and Eagle. There was a night dive on Thursday as well -- my buddy Mike and I missed it due to our late flight on Thursday.
We did 4 dives per day on Friday and Saturday and 2 on Sunday morning. On the 4 dive days, we did 2 deeper wreck dives in the morning (80-130 ft); the boat would come back in after the AM dives and we would go out to lunch. After lunch we would head back out for 2 shallower reef dives. Total time between AM and PM dives was about 2.5-3 hours (boat rides in/out and lunch).
Diving was with Divers City USA in Islamorada/Tavernier (right on the border). They ran a good boat and let you have plenty of latitude in terms of bottom time. We encountered some pretty rough conditions on days 1 and 2 (4-6 foot seas) -- they still got us out to the sites we wanted to see. They are located at Mile Marker 90.5.
http://www.diverscityusa.com/
Some nice things about Divers City -- Custom nitrox mixes, 100% oxygen, tri-mix, small boat right behind their shop (our group of 8 had the boat to ourselves), 100 CF steel tanks available, DIN or yoke tanks. They also have a nice area behind the shop where you can rinse and hang gear to dry. You can leave it there overnight without having to lug it back and forth to the hotel. They let you set up your own gear, but would lug tanks on and off the boat for us. We handled tank switches on the boat ourselves...they labled tanks with our names and always had tank #2 located next to tank #1.
Really enjoyed the Duane and the Eagle -- both were loaded with life (barracuda, grouper, and smaller fish). Reef dives were also great -- morays, 1 site with at least 30 nurse sharks, very large spotted eagle ray, etc., etc. Spiegel Grove was also fun just based on the sheer size of the wreck -- 510 feet.
Water temps were 76-77, with no noticeable thermocline, even as deep as 110 feet. I actually wore my drysuit for all the dives on this trip and was completely comfortable (TLS 350 -- wore lightweight 100 weight fleece pants and an underarmour spandex shirt and lightweight REI long underwear shirt on top). Air temps were typically in the mid-80s, but with strong breezes at sea, I did not feel overheated during SITs.
The Upper Keys (Key Largo/Tavernier/Islamorada) area is a great destination for a long weekend from Boston -- 3 hour flight to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale (Jet Blue flies direct from Logan to FLL). Our drive from FLL to Key Largo was only about an hour and 15 minutes. We also took a drive down through the Lower Keys to Key West on Sunday after our diving was done -- scenic trip.
The Upper Keys = Fantastic wrecks, great reefs, plenty of good choices for eating. I will definitely be back.
-Chris
