2000 Chapbook

Florida

Cavern Diving - Florida, Undercurrent- May 1999

Florida

M/V Playmate(SeaClusive Charters, Key West), July 1999, Marlene Dowell, Bowie, MD. Vis: 30-60 ft. Water: 80-83 degrees. Restrictions: none, but most bottom 60 feet. Trip to Dry Tortugas Fort Jefferson and surrounding area. Uncrowded sites, 12 on our boat. Lots of soft coral, plate coral not common elsewhere. Coral healthy. Lots of angelfish, lobster. Food great. Averaged 3 dives/day. No night dive (at boat captain's strong suggestion). Had to economize water use. Not camera friendly. No rinse tank though we could spray cameras, no camera table. I blew a hose and if one guy hadn't been diving and had equipment to lend, I would have been out of luck. No "spares" or parts on board. Use soft-sided luggage. Storage space minimal. Just pack shirts and shorts. No divemaster in the water. (Telephone 305-872-3940; Fax 305-872-0111)

SeaClusive Charters, June 1999, Susan Whiteman, Bethesda, MD. Vis: 30-70 degrees. Water: 84 degrees. Wonderful trip, excellent keys diving from a first class operation. Not spectacular but still enjoyable for this experienced diver.

Ultimate Getaway,September 1999, John Blanks, Macon, GA. Vis: 20-80 ft, Water: 86-88 degrees. 100 foot live-aboard about 20 years old but pretty good for fishing and lobstering. AC went out on the way to the Dry Tortugas so the first night was like sleeping in a sauna. Lobstering and spear fishing were great with nice size groupers and hog fish. Lobsters weren't plentiful but several people got 10-15 keepers. Crew great and air fills efficient with Nitrox most dives for Nitrox certified divers. Drift diving first day but not next three days. Strong currents at times but Zodiac boat pulled out divers who needed assistance. Great crew, great boat for its purpose (no frills). (Telephone 941-466-3600)

Texas

M/V Fling,August 1999, Jerry Collins (jcollins@firstnethou.com), Houston, TX. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 85-87 degrees. Sunny, dry. Water: calm. Restrictions: 100', 2.5 hour. Only thing missing is E-6 developing. Safety oriented. Obliging to divers. Lots of good food. Knowledgeable divemasters and captains. Will give as much or as little assistance as desired. A little cramped, but comfortable. (Ph: 409-233-4445, Fax: 409-233-0040)

M/V Fling,September 1999, David R. Lamb, Salt Lake City, UT. Vis: 70-100 ft. Water: 84-85 degrees. Restrictions: 5 min stop each dive had a max depth and bottom time; if violated you miss the next dive. Limits were very liberal. I was concerned about going out with a boat load of Texans. But when they're in the majority they're not bad at all! Living quarters are cramped but plenty of space elsewhere, even with 34 divers plus crew. Three heads, but one only handles liquids. Two showers, one on dive deck and hot one below in the forward compartment. Good set up for cameras. Don't arrive too early. No one boards before 9:00 am and it's hot and buggy waiting in the weeds at the foot of the dock. Divers are logged off and back aboard each dive and a record is kept of everyone's bottom times, max depths and surface intervals. Everyone is checked 30 minutes after each dive, whether you made the dive or not. Dives at Flower Gardens are deep with square profiles, i.e., down to 70-90' and then up to 15' for a safety stop. Nitrox is available and at least two-thirds of the divers were using it. If you use Nitrox, they require you to use their tanks. Long drop to the water, about 7' for your fins plus another 5' for your mask and regulator. Hold 'em tight. Boat is well rigged with lines that help in current, almost every dive. They canceled one dive because of the rough water. Several folks were sick most of the trip. Take your medicine. Vis 70'-100' and water 85. Four night trip with goal of observing the annual reef spawn at the Flower Garden Banks. On the third night we dropped into the middle of it! Wonderful experience. Mantas on several dives and large barracuda. Sharks fairly common, mostly small black tip and silkys. Dozens cruising around the rig we dove on the way back. Faun trip with lots of good diving.

M/V Fling,September 1999, Gail Blundell, Fairbanks, AK. Vis: 40-80 ft. Water: 84-86 degrees. Coral spawn dive trip to Flower Gardens (110 miles offshore Texas). Very crowded, all bunks full (31 divers). Despite crowding, efficiently run. Divers all started dive at once but teams dove their own profiles. Four dives/day, conditions permitting. Divemasters record entrance/exit time, max depth and bottom time. After each dive they ask divers how they feel, while it was apparent that close tabs were being kept on the well-being of each diver, divers given the freedom to dive according to their own abilities. Most divers used computers. Coral spawn was fascinating. Saw several large manta rays and sea turtles, varied fish.

Sea Searcher II,September 1999, Mark Walden, Garland, TX. Vis: 60-100 ft. Water: 84 degrees. Booked Coral Spawn trip through Hydrosports, Lake Jackson, TX (409-285-0600). Seas 1-3'. Currents to 1.5 knots. Sea Searcher II is 95' and carriers 16 divers max. Restrictions 130' and 500 psi. Crew experienced, helpful and friendly. Up to 5 dives a day. Plenty of good home cooked food. Departed Thursday out of Freeport about l2pm and returned Sunday at 8pm for $465 including tanks and weights. Dove the Flower Gardens two days and Stetson Bank one. Flower Gardens coral in good shape and has varied fish life. Fairly flat diving profile with depths mainly 70' plus. Stetson is a fractured salt dome and has general appearance of descending on the moon. Dives start about 65' and stair step down with each level a little different. During the spawn a couple of reef sharks got aggressive with divers by coming close and wagging. Saw coral explode mainly from 8:20 pm to 8:45 pm on Aug. 3rd & 4th. Tried again at 11:OO pm with no results. Fun trip. Bring motion medication. Current pulls boat one direction and waves hit perpendicular. (800-396-3483)

M/V Spree,August 1999, George W. Berko, Houston, TX. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 84-86 degrees. Restrictions: 1 hour. (Ph: 409-233-4445, Fax: 409-233-0040)