scottm
Contributor
We had a great week diving last week in Florida. Earlier this summer we got tickets on independence air for some ridiculously low price and figured we couldn't afford _not_ to go 
We flew into West Palm Friday evening and picked up our rental car from Budget (both times so far we've been upgraded from a std/full size to a small SUV). We drove down and checked into the Marriot Fairfield Inn off Airport Rd. in Boca, which was a perfectly clean and well appointed hotel. The included continental breakfast was the most extensive I've seen (they usually seem to consist of some stale bagels and bad coffee), with a waffle station, fresh fruit, lots of pastries, etc.
Saturday & Sunday mornings we dove with Capt. Tony on Diversity. San Remo & Boca Artificial on Saturday. Viz was ok (apparently much better then it had been the previous week), perhaps 30-40'. United Carribean & Sea Empress, then Crabs Cove reef on Sunday morning. We were blown out of a night dive on Saturday night. We dove off with Diversity earlier this year while completing our aow certifications with MB, and the boat remains one of my favorites. Laid back but very competent crew, comfortable boat and easy boarding ladder.
Sunday evening we had a terrible dinner at Brewzis (the food was ok, but we didn't see the waitress again after she delivered the wrong drinks, and repeated requests to 4 other waiters were basically ignored).
Monday morning we drove down to the keys & checked in at Conch Republic Divers. All the reviews I've seen here are correct; Gary and Brenda are fantastic and accomodating. The boats are both set up well for diving, and were never too crowded. Huge rinse tanks and drying racks are provided at the dock so no need to spread wet gear around your room or try to rinse stuff in the shower.
Gary & Captain Jim both gave excellent dive briefings and were very knowledgeable, and while the rest of the crew was sometimes a little bit hit & miss, they were always professional, safe, and curteous so we have no real complaints. Brenda answered all our questions and made sure we had everything we needed -- I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Conch Republic to anyone looking for excellent diving in the keys, and it was nice to never have to carry a tank.
We had similarly "poor" visibility all week in the keys (and poor in this case means an average of 30 or 40 feet, better then the best day at the quarry, so we weren't complaining). Seas were pretty calm all week and while some storms moved through quickly during the night dive we didn't have any dives blown out. We dove Conch Wall, Davis (twice, once as a night dive), The Eagle, aquarium, Spiegel Grove (twice), Brenwood, and Eagle Alley.
The highlight of the week was definitely the two dives on the Spiegel Grove. We were able to dive it the first afternoon it was open and had a fantastic dive from bouy #6 right near the wheelhouse. On Thursday we dove it again and tied in at the bow for another great dive (albeit slightly shorter & deeper). There was certainly a current both days, but nothing extreme and there is plenty to see at a variety of depths.
In the keys we ate at Hobos (neat atmosphere and good food), Islamorada Fish Co. (nice view of the sunset, food wasn't as great), Fish House Encore (very good food, wish I'd just ordered the half portion of fish), Chads Deli (great wraps), and the deli on the marina near Conch Republic (good hot sandwiches and a very friendly owner).
I used this trip as an excuse for a new toy, a housing for my Sony P150 and was very pleased. You should be able to view some of the shots (unretouched) here: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=26708
(Hi to Dennis & Roxanne, Gary & Brenda -- sorry for the delayed trip report!)
We flew into West Palm Friday evening and picked up our rental car from Budget (both times so far we've been upgraded from a std/full size to a small SUV). We drove down and checked into the Marriot Fairfield Inn off Airport Rd. in Boca, which was a perfectly clean and well appointed hotel. The included continental breakfast was the most extensive I've seen (they usually seem to consist of some stale bagels and bad coffee), with a waffle station, fresh fruit, lots of pastries, etc.
Saturday & Sunday mornings we dove with Capt. Tony on Diversity. San Remo & Boca Artificial on Saturday. Viz was ok (apparently much better then it had been the previous week), perhaps 30-40'. United Carribean & Sea Empress, then Crabs Cove reef on Sunday morning. We were blown out of a night dive on Saturday night. We dove off with Diversity earlier this year while completing our aow certifications with MB, and the boat remains one of my favorites. Laid back but very competent crew, comfortable boat and easy boarding ladder.
Sunday evening we had a terrible dinner at Brewzis (the food was ok, but we didn't see the waitress again after she delivered the wrong drinks, and repeated requests to 4 other waiters were basically ignored).
Monday morning we drove down to the keys & checked in at Conch Republic Divers. All the reviews I've seen here are correct; Gary and Brenda are fantastic and accomodating. The boats are both set up well for diving, and were never too crowded. Huge rinse tanks and drying racks are provided at the dock so no need to spread wet gear around your room or try to rinse stuff in the shower.
Gary & Captain Jim both gave excellent dive briefings and were very knowledgeable, and while the rest of the crew was sometimes a little bit hit & miss, they were always professional, safe, and curteous so we have no real complaints. Brenda answered all our questions and made sure we had everything we needed -- I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Conch Republic to anyone looking for excellent diving in the keys, and it was nice to never have to carry a tank.
We had similarly "poor" visibility all week in the keys (and poor in this case means an average of 30 or 40 feet, better then the best day at the quarry, so we weren't complaining). Seas were pretty calm all week and while some storms moved through quickly during the night dive we didn't have any dives blown out. We dove Conch Wall, Davis (twice, once as a night dive), The Eagle, aquarium, Spiegel Grove (twice), Brenwood, and Eagle Alley.
The highlight of the week was definitely the two dives on the Spiegel Grove. We were able to dive it the first afternoon it was open and had a fantastic dive from bouy #6 right near the wheelhouse. On Thursday we dove it again and tied in at the bow for another great dive (albeit slightly shorter & deeper). There was certainly a current both days, but nothing extreme and there is plenty to see at a variety of depths.
In the keys we ate at Hobos (neat atmosphere and good food), Islamorada Fish Co. (nice view of the sunset, food wasn't as great), Fish House Encore (very good food, wish I'd just ordered the half portion of fish), Chads Deli (great wraps), and the deli on the marina near Conch Republic (good hot sandwiches and a very friendly owner).
I used this trip as an excuse for a new toy, a housing for my Sony P150 and was very pleased. You should be able to view some of the shots (unretouched) here: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=26708
(Hi to Dennis & Roxanne, Gary & Brenda -- sorry for the delayed trip report!)
