Dry Tortugas

Dean's Dive Shop/Captain's Lady, May 1995, Peter H. Burgher, Howell, MI. "Best buy. 18 hours of diving, plus one deep dive on California on the way back. Leave from Fort Myers at 6 Thurs, motor all night, motor back on Sunday with one stop. Moon tides; many dives drift dives. Most 45­80 feet. Computer necessary. Food really good. Speared much of what we ate. Several pretty wrecks in shallows (from 1700's). Large grouper 8­10' long). Good and skilled crew, compatible passengers, $350 including all the air you could ever need and all you can eat, continuously."

Texas

MV Adventurer/Copeland's Sports, August 1995, John Shives, Houston, TX. "In Port Aransas boarded boat at 11:15 PM. Secured gear then slept in bunks. Sleeping area clean, ventilated with air conditioning. Boat departed at 3:00 AM for oil platform. Seas calm, winds light. . . . Predawn dive: lots of fish at first platform but vis 30'­40'. Lush sponge and coral growth on platform, lots of Spanish hogfish, rockhinds, cobia, barracudas, brown chromis, butterflyfish, fairy basslets. Water 84°F. Three dives at three different platforms. . . . Well run trip with good crew. Bring your own tanks. Continental breakfast, cash snackbar."

MV Fling, August 1995, Gary Trommer, Austin, TX. "13 dives in three days. Sharks, mantas, lots big fish. 100 foot vis. Reef alive and full of large mix of tropicals. Great diving."

MV Fling, August 1995, John Shives, Houston, TX. "Departed Freeport at 3:00 AM for Stetson Bank. Good dive briefing, 100' vis. little current. French angels, queen angelfish, stoplight and rainbow parrotfish, lots of rockhinds, barracudas, amberjacks, jack crevalle, all the tropicals. Rig dive: vis <30'. Well run operation. Good tank fills. Very safety conscious. Good food and abundant. Not much privacy. Great trip. Bring one tank."

MV Fling, August 1996, Clay Coleman, Baton Rouge, LA. "Flower Gardens and Stetson Bank. Boat functional but crowded; 40 divers and crew. Left dock at 11:00pm, arrived at Flower Gardens at 6am. Started diving immediately. Entry a 7-foot drop off the side. Cameras are lowered by lines. Water egress is a rodeo ride on the boarding ladders with cameras hauled aboard on lines. 1st dive: large manta. Surface current comfortably manageable. School of barracuda under the boat. Tough to reboard after night dive due to current and wind. Seas 4­5 feet at Stetson bank. Nice dives anyway but some divers had a hard time on the boarding ladder. 5 dives first day, 2 dives second day. Oil rig dive cancelled due to heavy sea. Crew professional and friendly. Quality of diving and possibility of pelagics makes this worthwhile."

M/V Fling, July 1996, Mark Fairbairn, Tulsa, OK. "Good boat with clean, acceptable accommodations; mid-priced. Food ample, good most of the time. Experienced divers with computers should note: the d/m Charlie rigid in his insistence of strict adherence to a group dive profile (limited depth, etc.). The captain was too authoritarian in his demeanor. These were downers on an otherwise decent trip. Galley crew Chris and Helen were fun and kept the food coming. Avid rec divers spend a few bucks extra and head to Cozumel. vis: 60­100ft. water: 79­83°."

MV Spree, September 1995, no name, Houston, TX. "Arrive Friday evening and select bunk. Staff helpful. Boat departs at 10:15 PM. Clean boat for 30­35 divers. Good facilities, good food. Fills by long hoses without system disassembly. Diving well organized and safety-focused; long-tank at 15'. All diving is 70' plus, so a mandatory 100' hard-bottom and 2-1/2 hour surface interval is strictly enforced. Computer diving OK - one of our group took a mild hit while within her computer profile, and spent the trip in the bunk and then to Houston chamber. The dive site had 100'+ vis with lots of hard corals but limited number of critters. Stetson Bank terrain less interesting but had better variety of critters. Current stiff and caused some to turn back after entry. A good trip, but for $150­$200 more Cozumel is a better value."

MV Spree, July 1995, Nelson Benedico, Miami, FL. "Arrived at 7:15 PM; not allowed to board until 9 PM. Spree and Fling were scheduled, but 32 divers consolidated on Spree. Beds not assigned so frenzy looking for a bed. Nonprivate bunk beds (#31 & 32) separated from 29 & 30 by a little curtain. . . . Imagine 32 divers entering the water from a 24-inch space while being logged by the crew and going down one line in 2-knot current. Lot of animal life! Some night dives too deep, with strong current. Food mediocre though plentiful. Crew is volunteer: they live off tips while the owners don't pay a minimum salary. Spree is fast and clean, although the 'one shower' is never mentioned in the original briefing."

Wendy's Reel Adventures, April 1995, Rose Fitzgerald, Tulsa, OK. "Large fishing boat fitted with small compressor and wire racks to hold tanks. Bunks made from PVC pipe with plywood and thin foam pallets. No sheets, blankets or pillows. No privacy. The boat did not have stabilizers and rocks constantly. Many bruises from being pitched around; looked as if I had been beaten. One generator was out so no sleeping below - too hot. No showers and one of two heads was out. 15 of us used one head."

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