Dive Review of
Quiescence in
The Continental USA/Florida Keys

Cozumel, Great Barrier Reef, St. Croix, Ireland, NC Outer Banks, Saba, St.
Kitts

Dive Conditions

60-70 minutes per dive due to boat schedules  

Probably limited by the size and layout of the boat, a large freshwater
rinse tank was the only missing amenity that would have kept this from
being "5" for boat facilities.  

Overall Rating

Quiescence Dive Services located in Key Largo bills themselves as having
a "Personalized" scuba operation.  Many companies use that word
and it
means nothing.  But after our group of five friends dove with them for a
full day of four dives in the beautiful Key Largo waters I have to say
that "Personalized" was no understatement!   

Our experience began on a beautiful nearly cloudless spring day. 
Quiesence
had been recommended to us by a friend but otherwise we knew nothing about
them.  Their main office was easy to find and very efficient, with all the
right questions and qualification checks I'd expect from a professional 
organization.  Within 20 minutes we had our tanks, weights, boat
assignment
and were introduced to our captain for the day, Steve Campbell.

Their dive boats, although they look small at first glance, are roomy,
comfortable
and extremely easy to get in and out of the water.  As with every dive
operator
I start looking for the small things before I jump in -- condition of the
boats,
presence of emergency equipment especially oxygen, working radios and
nav... no
concerns here, these boats are very well maintained.  Our captain provided
the
boat safety briefing efficiently and cheerily.  As these words being his
first
introduction to our group, I appreciated his enthusiasm as it made us feel
welcome
and eager to dive.

We made no preference on dive sites and left it to Steve to choose for us.
He used his knowledge of the latest weather and radio reports from other
captains to choose us four different, colourful and diverse spots.  I had
absolutely no complaint.  At each site Steve would provide us a briefing
with landmarks to look for and a general profile of the reef system
including
circuits we might want to try.

Our dives were roughly 60 minutes each, to depths
no more than about 60 feet and averaging probably 30 feet.  On only one
dive
did we encounter divers from another boat but as we were both small groups
there were no issues.  On that same dive I also saw the most enormous
grouper
I'd ever seen in the Caribbean... large enough he could have swallowed
both
my arms in one bite.   On surfacing I relayed my excitement and Steve gave
a
knowing smile and said, "So Bruiser was out today, was he?"  I
had my camera
with me and got good pictures of Bruiser but I think even the best wide
angle
lens wouldn't adequately capture Bruiser's full size and girth.

Fish life was somewhat sparse from what I'd hoped for, but the corals 
were healthy with lots of diversity.  In several areas we came across
huge gardens of sea fans.  The pictures from our two photographers
came out great, but there is something peacefully mesmerizing about
watching hundreds of sea fans swaying in the current that still
photography
just can't capture.  Visibility on three of the four dives was quite good,
often exceeding 60 feet.  Our 3rd dive of the day was during a strong
tidal
flow which had us working harder to see less, but that didn't mar our
overall experience.

I would strongly recommend Quiescence and Key West to the experienced
diver
who regularly dives or is ready to dive off a small boat without a
divemaster.
If you've only had the cattle boat experience (15 or more divers) until
now
and are ready to see how GOOD diving can be, I cannot recommend Quiescence
any higher.  Four of the five divers in our group had been on liveaboards
before
and the smooth flow of getting us from parking lot to dive site and back
again was as close as we'd ever experienced for a land based operation.



 

What others have to say about Undercurrent
And get immediate access to ALL 415 dive reviews of The Continental USA
and all other dive destinations immediately!