Which shops go?

[dianna912]

Which shops in the Keys are known for going even when the seas are rough? There are so many that it seems crazy to call them all, so I thought it’d be nice to get input. Ironically, every shop I’ve asked has said it is them, Ha!

Scubadada has given a great assessment elsewhere for the inlets in Jupiter and Boynton, and I thought some insight in the Keys would be useful.

Of course, I know it does depend on where the winds are coming from.

 

[sportxlh]

I don't particularly like this operator, but they go in higher seas than most.... silent world

 

[dianna912]

The part I don’t quite understand about tomorrow is the marine forecast is just 2-4 foot waves. Maybe I’m missing something?

National Weather Service Marine Forecast

 

[Steve_C]

The part I don’t quite understand about tomorrow is the marine forecast is just 2-4 foot waves. Maybe I’m missing something?

National Weather Service Marine Forecast

s.

The period also matters.

Is that for the reef/inshore or is that for the gulf stream. Depending on the wind direction it can get a lot rougher out toward the gulf stream.

Also remember that those are not max waves 4 would have some 5s and perhaps few 6s

 

[Billy Northrup]

Sometimes you can't get enough people to roll a boat when it's rough. If the wind is blowing perpendicular to the current it get's crappy on the mooring line. Besides the water goes milky.

Pompano is 1.5 hours away but often the weather is different so it can be a go. Call PDC

 

[tekkydiver]

I don't particularly like this operator, but they go in higher seas than most.... silent world

Speaking of Silent World, whatever happened to Chris Brown? Is he still in the business anywhere?

 

[Norrm]

I used to have that mentality- I was "Mr. Tough Guy I'll dive anywhere anytime" guy. Now, some 20 years later I don't ask questions like the one that started this thread. If the Dive Ops aren't going out it's for good reason. They don't want to lose the business and disappoint their customers.

I have no interest in puking over the side after getting seasick in 6-8' waves, and risking injury trying to climb a boarding ladder with a multi-ton boat unpredictably rising and falling inches away from my precious skull. It's not worth the risk for a dive that will probably be in poor visibility anyway.

 

[scubadada]

There is a balance, different point for each of us. If my operator decides not to go, I assume that is in my best interest. If the boat goes, I go.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I used to have that mentality- I was "Mr. Tough Guy I'll dive anywhere anytime" guy. Now, some 20 years later I don't ask questions like the one that started this thread. If the Dive Ops aren't going out it's for good reason. They don't want to lose the business and disappoint their customers.

I have no interest in puking over the side after getting seasick in 6-8' waves, and risking injury trying to climb a boarding ladder with a multi-ton boat unpredictably rising and falling inches away from my precious skull. It's not worth the risk for a dive that will probably be in poor visibility anyway.

I was on a keys trip in 7 foot seas trying to climb up a dive ladder. I grabbed for the ladder and missed it by an inch. Got hit in the jaw by ladder so hard it knocked the reg out of my mouth. Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously hurt and made it in my second attempt. That was kind of a turning point for me on rough weather dives...

 

[dianna912]

Maybe I just got too ambitious after our first weekend, when lucked into a great dive with Pompano after everyone else cancelled, but I felt like this weekend was a combination of it being incredibly slow in the Keys and the rough conditions. I think in high season there would have been a lot of ops going out, at least by Monday, when it was down to 2-3 foot waves.