Underwater Music Festival

[FloridaScubaNews]

Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival

Dive into “Waterland” July 10: Divers and snorkelers might encounter Alice in Waterland, the Cheshire Catfish and their fictional friends beneath the sea during the 26th annual Underwater Music Festival, set for Saturday, July 10, in the Lower Florida Keys. The quirky underwater concert takes place at Looe Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary approximately six miles south of Big Pine Key. Each year, the subsea songfest draws as many as 600 divers and snorkelers to explore the colorful diversity of marine life that characterizes continental America’s only living coral barrier reef. Check Give the Airlines the Finger. Drive and Dive Florida Instead. | Florida Scuba News | Your Source for Diving News and Information on the World's Number One Dive Destination for more info.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Sounds like fun! I've always wanted to go.

 

[reefduffer]

Hey all,

We've started planning a trip to Key Largo that might surround that date. Google says Looe Key is an hour and a half drive from KL, so it would be reasonable to do a day trip to dive this with a reasonable amount of hassle, if it might be worth it.

They say it's the 26th annual, but I've been searching for reviews both here and generally, with very limited results. Found one positive review from 2002, at http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/12745-underwater-music-festival.html

If it's been done for the past 25 years, and they're doing it again, there must be a bunch of people who've gone. Is it a fun day, or just lameness not worth an early wakeup and probably 4 hours of driving up and down Highway 1?

Anybody care to offer an opinion?

 

[reefman]

diving the looe key reef tract is worthy of the drive from key largo; just not, in my opinion, during the underwater festival. imagine hundreds of divers and snorkelers converging on the same reef listening to the beatles " octopusses garden" on underwater loudspeakers and observing a dozen or so divers and mermaids playing musical instruments. it was crowded and chaotic above and below the water(the commerical operators were maxed out with patrons), the 3 times i went(not to mention the poor viz due to hundreds of divers stirring up the bottom). i suggest you spend your time and money diving looe key before or after the festival.



reefman
keylargo

 

[DebbyDiver]

I went to it many, many years ago, probably the second annual (I'll have to drag out the t-shirt). It was fun, but not something I'd make an annual pilgrimmage for.

 

[Tom Winters]

Underwater music can be good. However, I worked with a captain in Hawaii who piped C&W music, emphasis on the W part, underwater while we Jap-dunked. An hour of "Ma woe-man done left me fer blah-blah-blah-blah..."

There was no escape from this in 30' off Ala Moana Beach Park. He is gone now, so I will not speak ill of the dead.

I would fly to Europe to hear a TSO concert underwater, but not much else.

 

[reefduffer]

Thanks for the observations and opinions. I note we have:
- One: "It was fun, do it once".
OK, kind of the possible plan. Like when we dove with the mermaids at Weeki-Watchee. It was sort of fun. No plan to go back.
- One: Generally negative, "crowded and chaotic", who's been three times.
- One: Underwater C&W music gets old. OK.

Our jury is still out. I expected a bit of lameness, the possible crowding is a negative. Countering that is the dictum "Always go to the party". Still undecided, and it might even be a last-minute decision.

But I really appreciate the information; thanks for taking the time to post.

 

[trigfunctions]

We went to this about 5 years ago and were horribly disappointed. We went on an over-stuffed cattle boat from Looe Key Dive Center. They took us out to the reef where the other boats were, but they didn't know where the underwater exhibits and costumes were and just told us to swim around to the other boats and look for things. We didn't see ANY of the costumes or fun parts of the festival except an underwater art exhibit, which were some paintings hanging underneath a boat.

Needless to say, we were royally pissed since we had made the trip specifically to see the festival. If you are planning to go, make sure the dive op you are using actually understands what the festival is about and where things are.