:'( - For the second time my husband and I went thru the usually trouble of saving money, making plans, booking flights/hotel/car/diving and for the second (and last time) we were blown out. We went to Ft Lauderdale to go diving, see online friends and go to OceanFest. At our age we figure we only have so many diving years left and only so much money to spend on such things. 2 out of those few years were wasted on blow outs. We had taken out trip insurance but that only works if you cancel before hand or have something catastrophic occur during the trip. Our dive shops didn't bother to inform us either time of weather conditions and what you can get off the news or online weather reports are generally only part of the info you really need. Both times the local swore that things like this just don't happen at that time of year at that location (so I guess the gods just have it in for us). We wont be wasting our money going to Fl again.
Too bad about the weather. I've gone to Florida in December/January three years in a row, only once did I get 'blown out'. Mostly dove Key Largo, but last year did two dives out of Pompano Beach (which is just North of Ft. L.). We dove the wreck 'Rodeo 25' which was in pretty good condition - the fat bull shark only added to the excitement . . . and made my 18 minute deco last even longer than normal!
Has anyone else encountered Florida 'blow outs'?
I've been going down to the keys regularly for the last couple years. I think I've only been weathered out once or twice. I usually go in March.
I wasn't too impressed with Florida either. I went on a charter of of Tarpon Springs. Vis wasn't that great. Our dive masters were a little tender about the water temp. It was 70 and they kept saying how they usually don't even dive til april(this was late Feb). Key Largo was Okay but I desire more coral on an ocean diving vacation. In short, Cozumel will make Florida look like a pile of cowpie :-X for about the same amount of money. 8)
I definately agree about the poor vis and the lack of live coral. I've been on dives down there where the coral is all dead and beaten, not too much fun to look at. Try booking some trips to see the wrecks. They're worth your time.
Check out this thread for a little more info on the wrecks.
I typically head down to Florida for a week around Christmas, and an annual trip to the keys has become part of the tradition. Unfortunately, the viz. is almost always mediocre, the coral is poor, we get blown out occasionally, and many of the dive operations are cattle boats.
Last year we took a little side trip and dove Pompano beach, off the east coast. The coral was much better, and the artificial reefs made good dives.
In the future, if I go back to the Keys, it'll be on a six pack and well dive some wrecks.
I went down to the keys for my first time late last December.
One of my friends parents live in the keys, so we stayed at their place and used their boat. We were spending the first half of our trip in the keys, and the second half at Ginnie for some cave diving. Out of 5 days there, we only had one day of diving on Looe Reef. The rest of the time we ended up diving the channel that they use to get to their house from the ocean. The weather was AWESOME on land...but once you got out to the ocean there was zero viz and wicked waves (one day, a boat capsized on some reef and one of the passengers died). On the plus side, we did spend a lot of time gathering crab out of their traps, and then eating them with beer and fresh key limes off of their tree.
They pretty much told us that winter is a terrible time to dive in the keys. They don't really do it much during the winter because the weather was always so unpredictable.
It is like anywhere better conditions at certain times of the year. Which other areas offer such diverse diving? There are springs, caves, ocean, wreck, and reef diving just to name a few. If a diver can't have fun they either don't have a car or they are not trying.
I have been down every year for the last four years and have never been blowin' out for more then a day. If conditions don't look good you might need to get in the car and drive but you'll find diving, perhaps in one of the springs.
We did a trip to Gainesville/Ginny Springs area this last Feb. The diving was GREAT!!! I never had so much fun in fresh water before...And the caverns , OMGoodness!!! :o
Hopefully , this winter I am going back , money permitting!!!
Jean
Now we just need to get you some cave training