Trip review week of 8/21/2018: Key Largo, Key West, Marathon & Looe Key

[caruso]

We scheduled dives with Conch Republic Divers in Key Largo, Southpoint Divers in Key West, Looe Key Dive Center in Looe Key, and Captain Hooks Dive Center in Marathon, planning to cover all 9 large wrecks during our 6 day dive vacation.

The trip was planned and the dives scheduled several months before, which makes some of the issues we experienced even more disappointing and extremely frustrating. The youngest member of our 5 diver group was getting his AOW in Key Largo, so we did a combination of reefs and wrecks as required. The visibility was poor to fair on most dives and the current was moderate to ripping- in excess of 3-5 knots. Our dive plan on the Spiegel Grove was to penetrate the level just above the landing bay and swim through a corridor on the starboard side, come out before the bow, cross to the other side, go up one level and come out at the landing bay on the port side, then swim across to the opposite crane and ascend the mooring line. When we got to the deck of the Spiegel Grove the current was so strong in visibility less than 10' all we could do was stay in the immediate area, and only make progress against the current by using hand over hand. When we weren't moving we were blowing like flags in the wind. One diver went thru her gas very quickly and we were forced to ascend the mooring line on the opposite crane from the one we came down and do a hard fast surface swim towards the boat when we surfaced. There was virtually no marine life. The Eagle was somewhat better, little to no current in fair visibility, with hardly any fish. Someone said they saw the resident grouper by the propeller. The quality of these 2 wreck dives paled in comparison to the high visibility, no current dives with much more marine life we had seen on these wrecks about a year earlier.

We had dives scheduled that afternoon on the Duane & Bibb, but Conch Republic Divers canceled because the current was too strong. I asked owner Brenda if we could do a drift dive on the Duane- it's a great dive, you start at one end, drift along, into, and around the wreck timing the dive so you reach the other end of the wreck as you approach your gas or no deco limits, then ascending on the other mooring line and the boat picks you up. Conch Republic said "You'd be in the small boat, it's only got one crew member, we can't do a drift, sorry". I've always been satisfied with Conch Republic but because of this experience I'd switch to a dive operator that would do a drift on this wreck if the current prohibits a regular boat dive. Does anyone know of one? The last time we did a drift dive on the Duane was with DiverCity in Tavernier, unfortunately they're long gone as are many small operators in Key Largo.

The instructor who did the AOW for our young dive member also trained 2 other divers at the same time. After they completed their 5 AOW dives, on the 6th dive they were diving alone, and I noticed the guy dragging his octo, leaving a long line in the sand, and his female dive companion was banging her spg from one rock or reef to the next haphazardly over corals and anything else that was directly below her. Neither of their gauges or his octo were clipped off. Back on the boat I gently suggested they tighten up their rigs using a retractor, because all that sand inside his octo won't do it any good and it's not all that good for the reef. They were both very appreciative of my advice, thanked me again as they were leaving. Why the heck didn't the instructor of their AOW course mention this to them?

Friday and Saturday morning we were scheduled to dive in Key West with Southpoint Divers, on the USNS Vandenburg & Cayman Salvager and the following day a second trip to the Vandenburg with the second dive on Joe's Tug. Note that when I made these reservations the boat was completely open so I was given my choice of dive sites and I specifically requested those wrecks because I had never dived them and wanted to do all 9 Florida Keys wrecks, known officially as the "Florida Keys Wreck Trek".

We hired a dive guide for the first dive on the Vandenberg. I had done this wreck the year before (with a guide) and visibility was 5-10', and couldn't see much of anything. I figured that once again, due to the large size of this wreck it wouldn't be all that easy to navigate on our own especially in poor visibility and we'd be rather limited in what we could see, and we wanted to go in and out of the various rooms. Southpoint charges $150 to put a dive guide in the water regardless of the number of divers, since we had 5, it added $30 to the cost which was $130 for 2 dives including Nitrox tanks for a total of $160 for a 2 tank dive, much more expensive than dives from Looe Key up through Key Largo. Zack in the dive shop said things are much more expensive in Key West, and their rent is triple what is paid elsewhere.

The first dive on the Vandenberg found us pulling ourselves along the transverse line from about 20' behind the stern to the mooring ball, about 120' long in total, in current that easily exceeded 3 knots and threatened to rip the mask off a divers face if they turned sideways and caused a freeflow in more than one diver's octopus, and forced water into the exhaust of my regulator if I turned to look behind me. To let go of the line would result in the diver immediately being swept well beyond the boat. The dive on Vandenberg was in low visibility conditions, probably 10-15 feet in dim murky water. We went in and out of several rooms, saw some interesting structures including the radar dish, but didn't see much in the way of marine life. The second dive took us to Cayman Salvager that sits at about 100'.

 

[caruso]

I had researched the Cayman Salvager and read about how there is no superstructure, just the hull which was covered by a deck, and had 3 large openings into which a diver might penetrate the wreck. I had also read about how penetration is rather tricky due to various entanglement hazards and the large amount of debris at the bottom which makes the wreck easy to silt out. Although I'm not a technical diver, I have dived in many wrecks- mostly in the cold dark waters of the Atlantic and consider myself a proficient wreck diver- I don't touch the bottom, I don't create silt, and as a certified solo diver I carry a separate gas source in the form of a 19cf pony bottle. I specifically asked the dive guide about going into the holds and the answer I got was "we don't advise it" (due to the conditions mentioned above) "but we can't tell you not to."

My group of dive buddies know that I am a solo diver who likes to go places they don't and they understand that if I decide to penetrate a wreck and we lose contact they can wait for me to come back out through the same entrance, or I will see them back at the line or on the boat. On this dive I entered all 3 compartments and my maximum penetration into the holds of the Caymen Salvager was perhaps 20' for 1 to 2 minutes, always keeping the entrance in sight and never losing the light or creating silt. Although the Captain stated "Back at the line at 1000 psi", my typical ascent psi at the line at that depth which was about 95' is about 600-700 psi given that I have the pony bottle with an additional 19cf of gas. I typically surface with less than 200 psi in my main tank. I returned to the line not seeing the group another DM came over, looked at my spg which read about 800 psi, and wildly gestured at me to proceed up the line.

The dive on the Cayman Salvager was rather poor, in visibility less than 10' in murky water with little to no marine life. The only enjoyment was swimming into and around the interior holds of the intact hull, especially the circular hole towards the bow- I looked down and saw nothing but murky water, but as I dropped into the hold it cleared completely, the visibility was quite good and I could easily swim around the circular compartment and see all sorts of structure, clearer than virtually anything else outside on the wreck. It sort felt like going thru an "interface" - very Sci-Fi if you ask me.

Back on the boat after the second dive, Drew the dive guide said to me rather heatedly, "You're an unsafe diver, you went inside the wreck even though I told you not to and your spg read 800 psi when you started your ascent!" At the time I didn't say anything other than "I don't think there was anything wrong with how I dived" but after considering everything he said to me, after the boat was unloaded I went back on board and asked him for a minute of his time. A short time later I was squared off with the 2 DMs, Drew and Zack, John the crewmember, and the captain, as I explained why I felt the DMs "unsafe diver" assessment was unfair.

1- I specifically asked about penetrating the wreck prior to the dive and was told it was "Not advisable due to easy silt out and obstructions as it's a "dirty" wreck, not stripped of cables and possible entrapment hazards. At which point the DM said "No matter what you think it's against boat policy". I responded- "You never told me it was against boat policy". Then he said "I might not have said it but the Captain did!". Any of you who have dived with Southpoint Divers will know that the captain rattles off his briefings at such rapid fire monotonic pace that it's nearly impossible to understand him. During the 2 days with them, several divers asked him to please talk slower because they couldn't understand, with no noticeable effect. The only time he slows down his rapid fire verbal barrage is when he tells a stupid pirate joke at the end of the briefing.

2- I allow my main tank reserves to drop lower than what the Dive Op might specify or what other divers might be comfortable with, because I've got 19 cf of gas in my unused pony bottle, and I always arrive back at the boat with MORE gas than most other divers who typically have between 500-1200 psi in their tanks. This Dive Op as well as some other divers who I've spoken to about this say the same thing, "A pony bottle isn't supposed to be used for that", without ever saying why it's somehow unsafe to surface with more gas than virtually every other diver on the boat in the form of a fully independent and redundant gas supply that most divers do not have. Somehow if you call a pony bottle a "stage bottle" it makes it ok to use it as a reserve to the main tank in the eyes of some divers.

3- In regard to me being a safety hazard to anyone diving with me, when I am diving as a group (as opposed to only one buddy), my buddies know not to follow me (unless we have previously planned to penetrate the wreck together) and they also know they have the option to either wait a couple of minutes for me to explore, or they understand they will complete their dive as a group without me. I may have erred in not sharing this with the DM prior to the dive, although he was aware that I was considering penetrating the holds, and could have easily waited for me to return less than 2 minutes later through the only entrance/exit point.

4- There was a younger, newly AOW certified member of our group and the DM and the Captain ultimately conceded that "Well we understand your procedures (although they don't necessarily agree) and you aren't a danger to yourself" but think about the younger diver and "set a good example". I have clearly explained to him he's not qualified nor does he have the right equipment but perhaps some day he will be. Apparently on this last dive he hesitated to go up the line because I wasn't back yet. I reminded him about the "don't wait for me" policy going forward. After our back and forth diving debate Drew and I shook hands with no hard feelings.

The second day found us once again on the Vandenberg and it was a real sh!tshow with several inexperienced divers making all sorts of blunders, dropping weights and lights 140' to the sand and letting go of the line in ripping current; and after yet another low visibility dive in ripping strong current with 2 divers having some sort of freakout on the line on the way back up, the crew apologetically told me that the Captain made the call to not go to Joe's Tug because it was not diveable when the current was strong and the visibility low, and there'd be nothing to see because the fish don't like being there either; and rather than a second dive on the Vandenberg which would have been fine, much to my chagrin, they were going back to the Cayman Salvager (presumably because it was a less challenging dive). I was not interested in diving that same low visibility no marine life wreck, and I felt that since I booked reservation months ago, when the boat had no other divers scheduled, I should at least have been asked for my preference, but the turbo-speaking Captain felt otherwise.

There were a few take-aways from the Key West Dives.

From what I heard from the crew, the strong current and low visibility conditions are typical on the Vandenberg. It would take many dives on this wreck to get familiar enough with it that it can be navigated effectively, meaning a dive guide would be needed for anyone who rarely dives on it (if they want to actually see a good part of the wreck and not get lost) - and it gets really expensive. In addition to the cost and inconvenience of getting to the southernmost tip of the USA to dive in murky low visibility water with not much to see in the way of marine life.

On Sunday we headed 40 minutes North to Looe Key and 3 of us dived the Adolphus Busch wreck in a 6 pack boat with lovely Captain Katie, with the 2nd dive being either on the same wreck, or a reef. Our choice since we were first booked and there was only one other diver on the boat. When we arrived at Looe Key Dive Center to check in, we were surprised to hear they "haven't had Nitrox since the hurricane". You know, it makes good business sense to post that rather important fact on their website or mention it at the time of booking. There are places nearby that will rent Nitrox tanks.

 

[caruso]

The 210' long Adolphus Busch wreck is an intact freighter which sits upright in about 100', and has a wheelhouse that can be safely penetrated in several places over multiple decks as well as a few holds towards the bow that you can stick your head into but can't go very far due to obstructions. It's a small, easy to navigate wreck which can easily be covered in one dive. There wasn't much marine life, so at the Captains suggestion as well as a lone diver who joined us who is familiar with the area, for dive 2 we did what is considered to be the best reef in the area, aptly named "Looe Key Reef". I have found most of the reefs in the Keys to be somewhat lackluster, rather thin in marine life and lacking any sort of healthy corals other than some few patchy holdouts here and there that show some damage, usually on top, presumably from poor diving skills. This dive was no different, and we saw a half dozen good sized schools of yellow fish of snappers or grunts, a lobster, a green moray, a large porcupine fish and one large fish over a foot long schooling with the smaller yellow ones. As we returned to the boat we saw a large grouper in the range of 4-5' under the boat, it was the only time I saw something that was worth turning on the GoPro and video lights. My opinion is that if this is the best reef in Looe Key, there's no other reefs worth diving there.

During the surface interval we mentioned to Captain Katie that were diving the Thunderbolt with Captain Hook out of Marathon that afternoon, and does she know if they have Nitrox? She said she'd call for us during our dive. When we returned from the second dive, she said she's got bad news, Captain Hooks canceled because of the weather. The weather? Beautiful conditions on and above the surface, with clear skies and sunshine and a mild breeze. I got on the phone with Captain Hook who told me "It's up to the captain and he says it's too rough". I said "we're returning from a second morning dive less than 20 miles away and the waves are perhaps 2-3' in height with hardly any wind and the visibility was greater than 10' on the wreck and 20 on the reef". Captain Katie also pointed out that conditions had improved during our morning dives- it was getting better, not worse, and we were in a small six pack boat! Captain Hook told me go ahead and call the captain "we'll give you his cellphone number". I said, "Fine, I'll tell him we're out diving now and the conditions are great and we've handled a lot worse". She said he still won't change his mind. So what's the point of calling the Captain? We contacted about a dozen dive operators from Marthon to Key Largo to try to get on an afternoon wreck dive. Most were either full, had nothing scheduled so no captain or crew available, only a few cited the weather which was "3 foot seas on the inside of the reef" whatever that means.

Thumbs down to Captain Hook and their arrogant captain who doesn't give a rat's ass about divers who schedule dive trips months in advance who invest their valuable and limited vacation time to schedule dive trips in hard to reach places that require plane fare and long drives only to be turned away an hour before the scheduled and highly anticipated wreck dive because 2-3' seas under perfect skies are deemed "too rough". It was our group of 3 on the boat, I can't help wondering if the Captain wouldn't have been so quick to cancel if there were upwards of 20 divers scheduled.

 

[scubadada]

Welcome to Florida, you can't plan for your conditions

 

[caruso]

@scubadada

Thanks for responding to my post, I know it's long, and I'm not sure if you read all of it, it appears from your post that you did not.

To clarify- I am not complaining about the weather, I fully understand that scuba diving is a weather related sport and I've been blown out of dives in the Florida Keys before, and I fully expect it to happen in the future. I'm disappointed that the diving wasn't better but I hold no one responsible for the poor visibility and strong current besides Mother Nature.

I do hold the Dive Ops who cancel dives due to questionable reasons responsible for their bad decisions that ruin dive trips and I do hold Dive Ops who won't run a live boat and turn an undivable wreck into a spectacular drift dive responsible for not being more prepared or putting in the effort to make it happen for their customers who might not get an opportunity to dive all that often and have spent a lot of time and money getting to their location.

 

[buckled plates]

For another opinion about Keys diving see this: Alert Diver | Looe Key

 

[Billy Northrup]

I just spent 6 months in Key Largo, sometimes conditions suck but they more often don't. Sometimes it best to rent a jet ski, work on the tan and day drink.

I call the day before to verify there are enough divers to roll the boat so I can make other plans if needed.

Drift diving the Duane is going to be a tough sell. Hot drop 6 divers, 2 will come up the wrong ball, 2 will come up the right one and two will be adrift. My record was 2.8 miles pick up. Most divers don't come prepared to do it (back up SMB and such)

 

[scubadada]

@scubadada

Thanks for responding to my post, I know it's long, and I'm not sure if you read all of it, it appears from your post that you did not.

To clarify- I am not complaining about the weather, I fully understand that scuba diving is a weather related sport and I've been blown out of dives in the Florida Keys before, and I fully expect it to happen in the future. I'm disappointed that the diving wasn't better but I hold no one responsible for the poor visibility and strong current besides Mother Nature.

I do hold the Dive Ops who cancel dives due to questionable reasons responsible for their bad decisions that ruin dive trips and I do hold Dive Ops who won't run a live boat and turn an undivable wreck into a spectacular drift dive responsible for not being more prepared or putting in the effort to make it happen for their customers who might not get an opportunity to dive all that often and have spent a lot of time and money getting to their location.

Hi @caruso

I did read your entire post, twice. I did not mean my post to be offensive, only realistic.

This is what I got out of your post:

Your dive on the Spiegel Grove had high current and poor visibility. Your group was not able to execute the dive plan you had in mind. One diver went through their gas quickly, prompting you ascend on the wrong line, with a strenuous surface swim. Current and visibility cannot be planned. Gas consumption by your group is your responsibility. I can't think of a good reason that you ended up having to ascend on the wrong line.

The dives on the Duane and Bibb were cancelled as the current was judged as too strong. Cancelling a trip due to conditions is a call by the Captain and others running the dive operation. It can be frustrating and disappointing, but that's the way it is. The current at the Duane and Bibb is often greater than at the Spiegel Grove. Based on your description of the conditions at the Spiegel, this would not bode well. I'm confused by the comments about a potential live drop dive on the Duane. If the trip was cancelled, seems like that would not be a possibility. I don't understand the comment about the smaller boat, a 30 foot Island Hopper, and a single crew member. I would guess it always runs with a captain and a single mate, unless a guide was arranged for. I have done several live drop dives on the Duane, but not for many years, since I moved up to Boynton Beach, West Palm, and Jupiter. I did my dives with the old Ocean Divers. They have been acquired by Rainbow Reef, who now runs 8 boats, with a wide variety of sites. I also had good luck with Horizon and Silent World

Your 1st dive on the Vandenberg had high current and low viz. You had a strenuous swim on the surface line before your descent. Same comment as for the Spiegel Grove.

Your major complaint regarding your dive on the Cayman Salvager was being chastised for penetrating the holds, solo, and beginning your ascent with less than the recommended pressure. It's hard to comment as I don't know the policies that might be in place regarding solo diving (including penetrations), penetrations in general, and desired surfacing pressure reserve. Not having ever dived the Cayman Salvager, I don't know if the holds are a penetration or a swim though, sounds more like the former (see https://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/recreational-overheads-especially-wrecks.566508/unread). At least the SDI Solo Diver cert recommends against wreck penetration. Some operations are quite conservative in recommendations regarding ascent and surfacing pressures. Gas management should really be the responsibility of the diver. If you started your ascent with 800 psi and have a RMV of <0.5 cf/min, you would have surfaced with >500 psi after your routine safety stop. In general, your pony gas volume is not used in dive planning and is reserved for emergency use.

You complain about inexperienced divers and their errors on your 2nd dive on the Vandy, I'm not sure why this would have affected your dive group, assuming you were independent. Again, you had high current and low viz.

Your dive on Joe's Tug was cancelled due to excessive current and you had to go back to the Cayman Salvager.

Your dive on the Adolphus Busch was limited by lack of availability of nitrox. I agree, you really should have been notified. I have done 2 dives on the Adolphus Busch with max depths over 100 feet and average depths in the 70's of feet. These would be short dives on air.

Your afternoon dives on the Thunderbolt were cancelled due to local conditions. Unfortunately, again, Captain's call, he or she was there, you weren't.

So...seems like your trip was mainly adversely affected by high current and low visibility at most of the sites you wanted to visit. Very unfortunate, but it happens. I lose dives reasonably frequently in Boynton Beach, Jupiter, and even West Palm due to local conditions, especially in late fall, winter, and early spring. I don't really know what to say about your request for a live drop dive on the Duane or the cancellation of your dives on the Thunderbolt, I don't have enough detail to judge, there are at least two sides to each story.

Very best and good diving, Craig

 

[Billy Northrup]

The current is tricky in Key Largo, many boat captains get on the phone to trusted fishermen who are out fishing hours before the first dive boat goes out. They want to get you on the wrecks, be happy and tip well.

Sometimes the current is ripping on the bottom and not on the top or vice versa. I've seen mooring lines in huge Z patterns with the ball under water because of two different currents. The captain really doesn't want the divers scattered in different directions. I did a 200 foot wreck dive that we missed because there were THREE different currents to the bottom. I blew my bag from deep because we missed the wreck, from 175 feet I had most of my 400 foot real scoped out. I ended up letting go of the reel and using it as an accent line. My point is, safety of the divers is #1.I only know of one shop (HD) that will hot drop a wreck in KL and that's with tech divers.

 

[scubadada]

...I only know of one shop (HD) that will hot drop a wreck in KL and that's with tech divers.

The live boat drop on the Duane is really quite easy. Assuming usual current, they drop you in front of the bow ball. You drift to the ball and take the line down. You do your dive, drift back to the stern line and take it back up to the ball, where you are picked up by a moored or live boat. This is not exactly the hot drop many of us usually think about.

I was introduced to the live drop on the Duane, as well as the deep drifts off Molasses and French Reefs, by Ocean Divers long termer, Captain Joe Thomas. Captain Joe passed away just a little over 3 years ago, RIP