augie
Guest
Tavernier/Conch Republic Divers/Ocean Pointe Suites Trip Report
By augie (Steve McKibben)
Heres the report on my trip to the upper Florida Keys that took place from July 6 through July 11, 2003.
My wife and boys had been after me to let them take a trip to Nassau/Paradise Island for some time, but knew that I had little to no interest in going there. So, when my friend Brett told me hed be coming down to Florida from Indianapolis the first two weeks in July a plan came together Leslie and the boys could take their trip to the Bahamas and Brett and I would go diving in the Keys during the same time. As a bonus, my brother Mark wrangled a way to join Brett and I for the first two days of diving.
So Sunday morning found us driving south on I-95/Florida Turnpike headed for Tavernier in the upper Keys. We arrived around 1:30 or so, stopped at Chads Deli & Bakery for a sandwich, then went to see if we could check in at Ocean Pointe Suites, where we had a condo reserved for the week. The room wasnt ready yet, so we decided to go to the dive shop to sign our paperwork and get the lay of the land, so to speak.
I had secured dive reservations in advance with Conch Republic Divers, based in part on a number of glowing recommendations I had received, and had been pleased with the level of courtesy demonstrated on the phone and in emails by Art, the owner, and other members of his staff. When we got to the shop (which is located in the big white building at the Tavernier Creek Marina) I was surprised to see a former co-worker, Gary Mace, sitting behind the desk, and even more surprised when he told me that he and his wife Brenda had bought the operation just the week before!
We filled out the requisite paperwork, took a quick look around, and headed to Chilly Willies for a couple of beers while we waited for check in time. After checking in we hauled all of our stuff up to the fourth floor ocean view room, unpacked, stocked the fridge and kitchen, then went for a walk around to scout the place out.
Downstairs from the office/restaurant is a dockside shop where you can buy fishing/boating supplies as well as rent recreational gear such as tennis equipment and kayaks. There are a number of boat slips on a private canal to the ocean, and a gazebo at the end of a boardwalk where the canal meets the sea. Back in the other direction is the tennis courts and swimming pool, which is quite large and has a spa in the same area.
Before we realized it, it was 8:00PM and we hadnt had dinner, so we drove south to Islamorada and had a great dinner at Loreleis restaurant, even if it was a bit on the late side by the time we finished. After dinner we hung out a short time at the condo before collapsing into sleep!
Monday morning came early, we made breakfast, grabbed our gear, and headed for the dive shop. We arrived shortly before 8:00 (having only a five minute drive helped greatly in that respect!) and went inside to check in. Gary informed us that todays trip would be an E ticket ride as the weather folks were calling for 6 to 7 foot seas not what we expected for the Keys in July!
Despite that warning, and the declaration from Captain Robert that he wouldnt go diving in those conditions (he added that as a resident he had the luxury of waiting for nicer seas), there were 17 divers on board along with Captain Robert and mate/dive master Neil.
In addition to our group of three there was a father and his newly certified 12 and 16 year old daughters from Columbus, Ohio, a couple from Indianapolis, and a group we called the Bob Miller Band which included various members of Bobs family and another gentleman, Kirks family. These two families from Peoria, Illinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota vacation together here every year, and we just happened to pick their week.
The boat had a decidedly Midwest feel to it, Mark and I being the only Floridians aboard save for the crew.
Once we got outside the reef it was apparent that we were indeed in for a bouncy ride. My estimate put the seas at a solid and steady 4 to 5 feet, but there were a few swells that may have been in the 6 to 7 range. Drift diving was out, so we anchored at the first site, Canyons, in the Pickles system and left the boat in our buddy groups. There was quite a stiff current, so much so that after a steady five minutes or so of kicking into it, we just passed the anchor line (I thought at first that it had to belong to another boat!). There didnt seem to be a whole lot of sea life to observe and/or we were too busy navigating and kicking like hell to notice what there was! Once we turned around we made it back to the boat in what seemed like no time and boarded.
Soon all divers but two, the couple from Indianapolis, were back on the boat, and we all looked for their bubbles or some sign of them when Mark spotted them a LONG way down current of the boat, just two tiny dots on the surface. A squall was approaching fast, with some larger swells ahead of it, and the anchor was stuck. After several tries at freeing it, they just untied from it and went to pick up the divers. It was obvious that they were a little shaken despite the fact that their BCs appeared to be in working order they had both ditched their weights, the woman was shaking and said that they didnt know if we had been able to see them. They both opted out of doing the second dive.
We went to a shallow site, Pickles Reef, for the second dive. Again, very strong current, and as you would expect at a shallow site, a strong surge. We had to do an underwater tank securing operation as soon as we got in, all the while the current taking us into shallower water, which meant we had to fight that much harder initially to get upcurrent of the boat. The first several minutes were really hard work and I remember thinking that it wouldnt be much fun doing this for the better part of an hour! Soon we arrived at a sandy area surrounded by coral where we could get out of the current, and not surprisingly, almost everyone else from the boat was there as well. After looking around for a bit and practicing some skills and performing some underwater busy work tasks we went back to the boat, and to everyones relief, headed back to port.
Conch Republic Divers have a couple of large drying racks that they wheel out of the shop and next to a couple of large rinse tanks. After your dives you can rinse your gear and hang it up to dry on the racks. After its had some time to dry they wheel the whole rack back into the shop for the night. When you come back the next day all of your gear is still hanging there for you, nice and dry and ready for another day of diving. This is really a nice extra.
I have a new underwater camera/housing setup (Olympus C5050 with PT-015) that I brought on this trip, but decided not to bring it along the first day. I had planned to be much more familiar with the camera by this time but had not had a chance to use it much at all, and I figured that Id take a day to get used to the boat, procedures, etc. before I increased my task loading. As it turns out I had my hands more than full just getting on and off the boat, there wasnt all that much life to photograph, and the conditions werent very conducive to taking pictures anyway. The combination of rough seas, the prior days beer and rum consumption, the late dinner and attendant poor sleep the night before had kicked our butts pretty well! After a shower and lunch we were pretty beat and I took advantage of the nice air-conditioned condo and took a much needed nap!
We had an earlier dinner, at the Fish House on Key Largo, which was excellent, had a great deal less alcohol, and got a longer and better nights sleep ahead of the second day of diving, which we expected would be much like the previous day. Tuesday morning the wind was still blowing at 10-15 knots and the weather forecast (from Miami) still called for small craft warnings. No one said it aloud, but a part of each of us was not exactly looking forward to the boat ride as much as we usually do but we were here to dive and dive we would!
At the shop Gary told us that he thought it would be not so bad today, which I dismissed as sales talk. We certainly had more room on the boat we knew that Keith and his daughters were headed back to Ohio, but the Indianapolis couple, who were scheduled to dive all week were missing (never to return it turns out), as was the Bob Miller Band (it turns out that they all showed up for the afternoon trip). There was a new couple, Ross and Bernice from upstate New York, and the three of us only five divers!
We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Garys forecast hadnt been overly optimistic at all the seas were probably in the 1 to 3 foot range, and not all that choppy.
I was beginning to regret the decision to once more leave the camera behind. First we did a drift dive on Conch Wall. Very nice dive, moderately strong current, 50 to 60 foot visibility. After a short boat ride and surface interval we did a shallow dive at Horseshoe Reef. This site is in the Marine Sanctuary, which is a no take zone. The effect of the no take zone was very obvious as we saw a good number of tasty critters, from large conch and lobster to hogfish at this site. The surge still made it tough if you got on top of the reef so we mostly explored the reef from the sand just on the protected side.
After lunch Mark had to pack up and head back to central Florida. Brett and I spent the afternoon hanging out at the pool (where I took my housing to make sure that it wasnt leaking) then filling out logbooks, listening to music, and I messed around and took some pictures to get a little better acquainted with my camera. Gary had invited us to come and cookout at the dive shop, so we headed back there around 5:30. We got a tour of the place, got to hear some of the details of how it came to pass that Gary bought the place, then spent some time just hanging out eating and drinking with Gary, Brenda, Tad (who more or less runs the dive operation), Captain Cindy, and another local dive instructor, Laurie. A great relaxing way to end the day!
Wednesday started out looking like a repeat of Tuesday, calmer seas, and only Brett, Ross, Bernice and myself on board with Captain Dave. We had just made it under the bridge when they radioed Dave that a group from Miami had just arrived, so we turned around and picked up Mario, Ron, and Andy, who had decided to drive down to do some spear fishing. Brett didnt like the idea of spear fishermen being on the boat so he decided not to dive and got off.
First dive they dropped us off at Victory Reef for a drift dive and the hunters at the sunken barge with the same name. I was excited about taking my first underwater pictures with the C5050, but had some bugs to work out yet. I didnt have the camera seated as well as needed and when the shooting mode got unintentionally moved to shutter priority I couldnt move it to any other mode. Unfortunately in that mode fill flash, which the conditions warranted, is not an option. I spent the first half of the dive finding that out and trying unsuccessfully to select fill flash and change the mode. Finally I gave up and got to see the rest of the dive.
Next we went to Crocker Reef system. They dropped the hunters a quarter mile or so away from where we tied off to what they call Shallow Ball. We had a nice dive, even though we ended up 50 yards or so west of the boat, but I was still disappointed about not being able to take many pictures. Brett was there when we returned to give me a ride back to the condo. He probably wished hed completed the dive, but was OK with just getting some rest while I dove. We spent the afternoon and evening making the trek to Key West. We stopped along the way to have a beer at the No Name Pub, Brett picked up some souvenirs for the folks back home, then we went to the Hogs Breath Saloon for some oysters before heading back north.
Back at the condo I put the camera back in the housing and made sure that I could change the mode I was determined to get some pictures the next day! Thursday morning most of the Bob Miller Band was back, joining Ross, Bernice, Brett, and myself on the journey north to dive the wreck of the USCG Duane. I was really looking forward to this because the only time Id been to that site before the current was so strong we couldnt dive her.
There were a couple of other boats tied up when we arrived but it looked as though they would be moving off soon, so they put us in the water up current of the mooring ball tied to the bow, we were to swim to that ball and descend, then ascend down current on the line tied to the stern.
They divided us into two groups of six, three buddy teams per group, one group at a time to enter the water, swim to the mooring ball, then descend down the line to the wreck. When we heard the captain say Dive, dive, dive! I jumped in, swam to the ball on the surface, then descended to about 15 feet. Claudia and Hal came by me on the line, then Ross and Bernice, but no sign of Brett. I couldnt decide if I should follow the others down to the wreck, or wait on Brett, but I didnt want to wonder what happened to him the whole time, so after a minute or so I surfaced back to the ball and signaled to the boat that I was OK, but that all wasnt right. While I hung on to the granny line trailing the ball the current was really tugging hard on me, and one of my fins felt loose. I looked down and it looked like I had lost or broken a fin strap great just what I needed in these conditions! As the boat made another pass in close to the ball I found the strap and ensured that the fin was OK. When they got close enough, they yelled to me that Brett was onboard he forgot his weight belt, asked if I was OK, and when I said yes they said that Brett would enter the water with the other group and join me, which he shortly did.
As luck would have it, that particular tank had the lowest starting pressure of any I used all week. Add in my aborted descent and surface time fighting the current, and I certainly started the dive lower on air than I would have liked. The dive plan was to descend on to the bow, explore the wreck with the current, in the direction of the stern, and begin the ascent on the stern at 1000 PSI. By the time we got to the deck, at 101 fsw, took a couple of pictures and swam through one of the compartments I had only 1100 PSI and we were still some distance from the stern. We made a diagonal swim up past the crows nest towards the rear of the boat all the while hoping that the current wouldnt sweep us past the line at the stern.
We made it to the line, but by the time we got to 15 feet for the safety stop I was already below the 500 PSI I was supposed to be back on the boat with. So I had finally dove the Duane, and it was a cool wreck, but I felt a little unfulfilled, wishing I had been able to see more of it and enjoy it a bit more, so I suppose Ill have to go back!
For our second dive, we did a drift dive back at Canyons, which had been our first dive on Monday. What a difference! In contrast to Mondays struggle with strong currents and surge, and not much sea life this dive was a beautiful, relaxed dive with many creatures to see and take pictures of.
After returning to the condo we did some preliminary gathering of our belongings to get ready for the following days departure. I went to the office to ask if we could get a late check out time (11:00 is the published time) and they agreed to let us stay until 1:30 or so. We hit the pool for a little while, then got ready for dinner. On the recommendation of some of the locals we drove up to Key Largo to eat at Sushi Nami. Very good and fresh, and reasonably priced. Afterwards we drove down to Smugglers Cove in Islamorada where we had Key Lime Pie on the deck out back by the marina to finish the evening.
Friday morning arrived, and it was time for our last dive trip of the week. Most of the Bob Miller band was back, as were Ross and Bernice, a couple from South Carolina, and a couple of guys from the Scuba Outlet Dive Shop, Scott and Mark. We did a repeat of Tuesdays itinerary, drifting on Conch Wall then a shallow dive at Horseshoe. I heard Bernice exclaim shortly before we went in at Horseshoe that she really wanted to see juvenile spotted drum (apparently I missed Neil telling everyone that there were a couple of them near the reef somewhere). About fifteen minutes into the dive I went and looked at the backside of a rock/coral formation that was a few feet off of the main reef, and lo and behold what did I see but a juvenile spotted drum. I screamed through my reg to Bernice, summoned her over and pointed it out, then tried to steady myself against the surge enough to get a picture of it.
Back on the boat everyone else in our group was talking about the TWO drum there, but I never saw any but the one. It wasnt until I looked at my pictures when we got home that I noticed a smaller tiny one behind the first I guess I couldnt see it on the LCD monitor on the camera!
We hung our gear on the drying racks back at the shop, went back to the condo, did a quick rinse in the pool, then began hauling all of our stuff down stairs to the truck, which we finished shortly after 2:00. We checked out, thanking them again for the extended check out time, then went back to the shop to settle our accounts and pack up our gear.
Then we stopped for a bite to eat, dropped by Scuba Outlet to see Scott and buy a couple odds and ends, then fueled up and drove back to the real world.
My ratings for this trip;
Dive Operation: I rate Conch Republic Divers highly. The Staff are eager to please, knowledgeable, and professional, as well as very personable. I do think that they (and this goes for other operators Ive used in the Keys as well) should make it clearer from the start that the dives are unguided and that youre responsible for getting yourself back to the boat. My guess is that the couple from Indiana that disappeared after Mondays dives were not aware of this and/or were not prepared/suited for it.
Dive sites: The marine sanctuary is working wonders for the restoration of marine life, and the reefs were healthier than I remember them being just a few years ago. The uncharacteristic weather made the conditions less than what Ive come to expect from Keys diving, but Im not complaining it was more than OK, especially compared to being back at work.
Ocean Pointe Suites: We didnt utilize the facilities anywhere near what we could have, but the place was clean, having a full kitchen and a washer and dryer in our unit was very convenient, and no one bothered us. The late check out was a bonus.
A lot of my pictures are still imprisoned on my wifes laptop computer, but once Ive freed them Ill post a few of the better ones!
By augie (Steve McKibben)
Heres the report on my trip to the upper Florida Keys that took place from July 6 through July 11, 2003.
My wife and boys had been after me to let them take a trip to Nassau/Paradise Island for some time, but knew that I had little to no interest in going there. So, when my friend Brett told me hed be coming down to Florida from Indianapolis the first two weeks in July a plan came together Leslie and the boys could take their trip to the Bahamas and Brett and I would go diving in the Keys during the same time. As a bonus, my brother Mark wrangled a way to join Brett and I for the first two days of diving.
So Sunday morning found us driving south on I-95/Florida Turnpike headed for Tavernier in the upper Keys. We arrived around 1:30 or so, stopped at Chads Deli & Bakery for a sandwich, then went to see if we could check in at Ocean Pointe Suites, where we had a condo reserved for the week. The room wasnt ready yet, so we decided to go to the dive shop to sign our paperwork and get the lay of the land, so to speak.
I had secured dive reservations in advance with Conch Republic Divers, based in part on a number of glowing recommendations I had received, and had been pleased with the level of courtesy demonstrated on the phone and in emails by Art, the owner, and other members of his staff. When we got to the shop (which is located in the big white building at the Tavernier Creek Marina) I was surprised to see a former co-worker, Gary Mace, sitting behind the desk, and even more surprised when he told me that he and his wife Brenda had bought the operation just the week before!
We filled out the requisite paperwork, took a quick look around, and headed to Chilly Willies for a couple of beers while we waited for check in time. After checking in we hauled all of our stuff up to the fourth floor ocean view room, unpacked, stocked the fridge and kitchen, then went for a walk around to scout the place out.
Downstairs from the office/restaurant is a dockside shop where you can buy fishing/boating supplies as well as rent recreational gear such as tennis equipment and kayaks. There are a number of boat slips on a private canal to the ocean, and a gazebo at the end of a boardwalk where the canal meets the sea. Back in the other direction is the tennis courts and swimming pool, which is quite large and has a spa in the same area.
Before we realized it, it was 8:00PM and we hadnt had dinner, so we drove south to Islamorada and had a great dinner at Loreleis restaurant, even if it was a bit on the late side by the time we finished. After dinner we hung out a short time at the condo before collapsing into sleep!
Monday morning came early, we made breakfast, grabbed our gear, and headed for the dive shop. We arrived shortly before 8:00 (having only a five minute drive helped greatly in that respect!) and went inside to check in. Gary informed us that todays trip would be an E ticket ride as the weather folks were calling for 6 to 7 foot seas not what we expected for the Keys in July!
Despite that warning, and the declaration from Captain Robert that he wouldnt go diving in those conditions (he added that as a resident he had the luxury of waiting for nicer seas), there were 17 divers on board along with Captain Robert and mate/dive master Neil.
In addition to our group of three there was a father and his newly certified 12 and 16 year old daughters from Columbus, Ohio, a couple from Indianapolis, and a group we called the Bob Miller Band which included various members of Bobs family and another gentleman, Kirks family. These two families from Peoria, Illinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota vacation together here every year, and we just happened to pick their week.
The boat had a decidedly Midwest feel to it, Mark and I being the only Floridians aboard save for the crew.
Once we got outside the reef it was apparent that we were indeed in for a bouncy ride. My estimate put the seas at a solid and steady 4 to 5 feet, but there were a few swells that may have been in the 6 to 7 range. Drift diving was out, so we anchored at the first site, Canyons, in the Pickles system and left the boat in our buddy groups. There was quite a stiff current, so much so that after a steady five minutes or so of kicking into it, we just passed the anchor line (I thought at first that it had to belong to another boat!). There didnt seem to be a whole lot of sea life to observe and/or we were too busy navigating and kicking like hell to notice what there was! Once we turned around we made it back to the boat in what seemed like no time and boarded.
Soon all divers but two, the couple from Indianapolis, were back on the boat, and we all looked for their bubbles or some sign of them when Mark spotted them a LONG way down current of the boat, just two tiny dots on the surface. A squall was approaching fast, with some larger swells ahead of it, and the anchor was stuck. After several tries at freeing it, they just untied from it and went to pick up the divers. It was obvious that they were a little shaken despite the fact that their BCs appeared to be in working order they had both ditched their weights, the woman was shaking and said that they didnt know if we had been able to see them. They both opted out of doing the second dive.
We went to a shallow site, Pickles Reef, for the second dive. Again, very strong current, and as you would expect at a shallow site, a strong surge. We had to do an underwater tank securing operation as soon as we got in, all the while the current taking us into shallower water, which meant we had to fight that much harder initially to get upcurrent of the boat. The first several minutes were really hard work and I remember thinking that it wouldnt be much fun doing this for the better part of an hour! Soon we arrived at a sandy area surrounded by coral where we could get out of the current, and not surprisingly, almost everyone else from the boat was there as well. After looking around for a bit and practicing some skills and performing some underwater busy work tasks we went back to the boat, and to everyones relief, headed back to port.
Conch Republic Divers have a couple of large drying racks that they wheel out of the shop and next to a couple of large rinse tanks. After your dives you can rinse your gear and hang it up to dry on the racks. After its had some time to dry they wheel the whole rack back into the shop for the night. When you come back the next day all of your gear is still hanging there for you, nice and dry and ready for another day of diving. This is really a nice extra.
I have a new underwater camera/housing setup (Olympus C5050 with PT-015) that I brought on this trip, but decided not to bring it along the first day. I had planned to be much more familiar with the camera by this time but had not had a chance to use it much at all, and I figured that Id take a day to get used to the boat, procedures, etc. before I increased my task loading. As it turns out I had my hands more than full just getting on and off the boat, there wasnt all that much life to photograph, and the conditions werent very conducive to taking pictures anyway. The combination of rough seas, the prior days beer and rum consumption, the late dinner and attendant poor sleep the night before had kicked our butts pretty well! After a shower and lunch we were pretty beat and I took advantage of the nice air-conditioned condo and took a much needed nap!
We had an earlier dinner, at the Fish House on Key Largo, which was excellent, had a great deal less alcohol, and got a longer and better nights sleep ahead of the second day of diving, which we expected would be much like the previous day. Tuesday morning the wind was still blowing at 10-15 knots and the weather forecast (from Miami) still called for small craft warnings. No one said it aloud, but a part of each of us was not exactly looking forward to the boat ride as much as we usually do but we were here to dive and dive we would!
At the shop Gary told us that he thought it would be not so bad today, which I dismissed as sales talk. We certainly had more room on the boat we knew that Keith and his daughters were headed back to Ohio, but the Indianapolis couple, who were scheduled to dive all week were missing (never to return it turns out), as was the Bob Miller Band (it turns out that they all showed up for the afternoon trip). There was a new couple, Ross and Bernice from upstate New York, and the three of us only five divers!
We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Garys forecast hadnt been overly optimistic at all the seas were probably in the 1 to 3 foot range, and not all that choppy.
I was beginning to regret the decision to once more leave the camera behind. First we did a drift dive on Conch Wall. Very nice dive, moderately strong current, 50 to 60 foot visibility. After a short boat ride and surface interval we did a shallow dive at Horseshoe Reef. This site is in the Marine Sanctuary, which is a no take zone. The effect of the no take zone was very obvious as we saw a good number of tasty critters, from large conch and lobster to hogfish at this site. The surge still made it tough if you got on top of the reef so we mostly explored the reef from the sand just on the protected side.
After lunch Mark had to pack up and head back to central Florida. Brett and I spent the afternoon hanging out at the pool (where I took my housing to make sure that it wasnt leaking) then filling out logbooks, listening to music, and I messed around and took some pictures to get a little better acquainted with my camera. Gary had invited us to come and cookout at the dive shop, so we headed back there around 5:30. We got a tour of the place, got to hear some of the details of how it came to pass that Gary bought the place, then spent some time just hanging out eating and drinking with Gary, Brenda, Tad (who more or less runs the dive operation), Captain Cindy, and another local dive instructor, Laurie. A great relaxing way to end the day!
Wednesday started out looking like a repeat of Tuesday, calmer seas, and only Brett, Ross, Bernice and myself on board with Captain Dave. We had just made it under the bridge when they radioed Dave that a group from Miami had just arrived, so we turned around and picked up Mario, Ron, and Andy, who had decided to drive down to do some spear fishing. Brett didnt like the idea of spear fishermen being on the boat so he decided not to dive and got off.
First dive they dropped us off at Victory Reef for a drift dive and the hunters at the sunken barge with the same name. I was excited about taking my first underwater pictures with the C5050, but had some bugs to work out yet. I didnt have the camera seated as well as needed and when the shooting mode got unintentionally moved to shutter priority I couldnt move it to any other mode. Unfortunately in that mode fill flash, which the conditions warranted, is not an option. I spent the first half of the dive finding that out and trying unsuccessfully to select fill flash and change the mode. Finally I gave up and got to see the rest of the dive.
Next we went to Crocker Reef system. They dropped the hunters a quarter mile or so away from where we tied off to what they call Shallow Ball. We had a nice dive, even though we ended up 50 yards or so west of the boat, but I was still disappointed about not being able to take many pictures. Brett was there when we returned to give me a ride back to the condo. He probably wished hed completed the dive, but was OK with just getting some rest while I dove. We spent the afternoon and evening making the trek to Key West. We stopped along the way to have a beer at the No Name Pub, Brett picked up some souvenirs for the folks back home, then we went to the Hogs Breath Saloon for some oysters before heading back north.
Back at the condo I put the camera back in the housing and made sure that I could change the mode I was determined to get some pictures the next day! Thursday morning most of the Bob Miller Band was back, joining Ross, Bernice, Brett, and myself on the journey north to dive the wreck of the USCG Duane. I was really looking forward to this because the only time Id been to that site before the current was so strong we couldnt dive her.
There were a couple of other boats tied up when we arrived but it looked as though they would be moving off soon, so they put us in the water up current of the mooring ball tied to the bow, we were to swim to that ball and descend, then ascend down current on the line tied to the stern.
They divided us into two groups of six, three buddy teams per group, one group at a time to enter the water, swim to the mooring ball, then descend down the line to the wreck. When we heard the captain say Dive, dive, dive! I jumped in, swam to the ball on the surface, then descended to about 15 feet. Claudia and Hal came by me on the line, then Ross and Bernice, but no sign of Brett. I couldnt decide if I should follow the others down to the wreck, or wait on Brett, but I didnt want to wonder what happened to him the whole time, so after a minute or so I surfaced back to the ball and signaled to the boat that I was OK, but that all wasnt right. While I hung on to the granny line trailing the ball the current was really tugging hard on me, and one of my fins felt loose. I looked down and it looked like I had lost or broken a fin strap great just what I needed in these conditions! As the boat made another pass in close to the ball I found the strap and ensured that the fin was OK. When they got close enough, they yelled to me that Brett was onboard he forgot his weight belt, asked if I was OK, and when I said yes they said that Brett would enter the water with the other group and join me, which he shortly did.
As luck would have it, that particular tank had the lowest starting pressure of any I used all week. Add in my aborted descent and surface time fighting the current, and I certainly started the dive lower on air than I would have liked. The dive plan was to descend on to the bow, explore the wreck with the current, in the direction of the stern, and begin the ascent on the stern at 1000 PSI. By the time we got to the deck, at 101 fsw, took a couple of pictures and swam through one of the compartments I had only 1100 PSI and we were still some distance from the stern. We made a diagonal swim up past the crows nest towards the rear of the boat all the while hoping that the current wouldnt sweep us past the line at the stern.
We made it to the line, but by the time we got to 15 feet for the safety stop I was already below the 500 PSI I was supposed to be back on the boat with. So I had finally dove the Duane, and it was a cool wreck, but I felt a little unfulfilled, wishing I had been able to see more of it and enjoy it a bit more, so I suppose Ill have to go back!
For our second dive, we did a drift dive back at Canyons, which had been our first dive on Monday. What a difference! In contrast to Mondays struggle with strong currents and surge, and not much sea life this dive was a beautiful, relaxed dive with many creatures to see and take pictures of.
After returning to the condo we did some preliminary gathering of our belongings to get ready for the following days departure. I went to the office to ask if we could get a late check out time (11:00 is the published time) and they agreed to let us stay until 1:30 or so. We hit the pool for a little while, then got ready for dinner. On the recommendation of some of the locals we drove up to Key Largo to eat at Sushi Nami. Very good and fresh, and reasonably priced. Afterwards we drove down to Smugglers Cove in Islamorada where we had Key Lime Pie on the deck out back by the marina to finish the evening.
Friday morning arrived, and it was time for our last dive trip of the week. Most of the Bob Miller band was back, as were Ross and Bernice, a couple from South Carolina, and a couple of guys from the Scuba Outlet Dive Shop, Scott and Mark. We did a repeat of Tuesdays itinerary, drifting on Conch Wall then a shallow dive at Horseshoe. I heard Bernice exclaim shortly before we went in at Horseshoe that she really wanted to see juvenile spotted drum (apparently I missed Neil telling everyone that there were a couple of them near the reef somewhere). About fifteen minutes into the dive I went and looked at the backside of a rock/coral formation that was a few feet off of the main reef, and lo and behold what did I see but a juvenile spotted drum. I screamed through my reg to Bernice, summoned her over and pointed it out, then tried to steady myself against the surge enough to get a picture of it.
Back on the boat everyone else in our group was talking about the TWO drum there, but I never saw any but the one. It wasnt until I looked at my pictures when we got home that I noticed a smaller tiny one behind the first I guess I couldnt see it on the LCD monitor on the camera!
We hung our gear on the drying racks back at the shop, went back to the condo, did a quick rinse in the pool, then began hauling all of our stuff down stairs to the truck, which we finished shortly after 2:00. We checked out, thanking them again for the extended check out time, then went back to the shop to settle our accounts and pack up our gear.
Then we stopped for a bite to eat, dropped by Scuba Outlet to see Scott and buy a couple odds and ends, then fueled up and drove back to the real world.
My ratings for this trip;
Dive Operation: I rate Conch Republic Divers highly. The Staff are eager to please, knowledgeable, and professional, as well as very personable. I do think that they (and this goes for other operators Ive used in the Keys as well) should make it clearer from the start that the dives are unguided and that youre responsible for getting yourself back to the boat. My guess is that the couple from Indiana that disappeared after Mondays dives were not aware of this and/or were not prepared/suited for it.
Dive sites: The marine sanctuary is working wonders for the restoration of marine life, and the reefs were healthier than I remember them being just a few years ago. The uncharacteristic weather made the conditions less than what Ive come to expect from Keys diving, but Im not complaining it was more than OK, especially compared to being back at work.
Ocean Pointe Suites: We didnt utilize the facilities anywhere near what we could have, but the place was clean, having a full kitchen and a washer and dryer in our unit was very convenient, and no one bothered us. The late check out was a bonus.
A lot of my pictures are still imprisoned on my wifes laptop computer, but once Ive freed them Ill post a few of the better ones!
