During a family vacation at Hawks Cay resort in Duck Key Florida i had planned on diving 3 of the 5 days we were there. I wanted to share my review of the experience.
First, the resort Hawks Cay. It is very pretty and quiet and relaxing. Very enjoyable. My only issue (other than that it is expensive) is that there is nothing to do. Not even some drunk guy with a guitar at the bar at night (which was closed by 8pm). I just found the resort boring. Very nice...just boring. We ate most of our meals off-premise at some favorite places in Marathon.
Now the diving. The on-premise dive operator is Dive Duck Key. They had promised me that their reef area was dove less frequently than the reefs to the south (Marathon) or north (Islamorada) as they were the only dive op there on Duck Key. When i made my reservations with them i told them i was pretty experienced, was solo certified, etc. I also was brining all my own gear except for weights (living in Florida I was just driving down). When they told me i could "rent" weights, i told them i'd bring those too.
On Tuesday we showed up to dive. My wife was planning on snorkeling. We left the dock on time and the crew buddied me up with James from Australia. He was a good and experienced diver though he had never been to the Keys (or America) before. The winds were kicking a bit when we got to the dive site and we were rocking a bit though nowhere near the point where i would have an issue. My wife decided not to snorkel at that site due to the rougher water.
This is when i began to have my doubts. The dive briefing consisted of "swim East for 1500 psi, then come back west for 1500psi to the boat". So in we go with a max depth of less than 30 feet and a ripping current. The op put no DM in the water and we had no idea what the features of the area might be or what to look for. It was a pretty dive....lots of fish. It was a hard swim returning to the boat with the current ripping.
When i got back on board, i noticed that the DM did not even have her gear ready. If a diver got in trouble, there would be no quick way to help from the boat. My wife told me that as divers returned to the boat, the crew did little or nothing to help them. Some of the newer divers needed help. One diver was seasick and the crew paid her no attention. My wife made sure the diver was hydrated and in open air. I was surprised at how disinterested the DM and crew was in the comfort and safety of the divers.
The second site was calmer than the first. My wife chose not to snorkel here as she did not feel safe with how the crew was operating. The dive briefing for the second site was same as the first and just as pretty. Again, we had no idea as to what to look for.
So we returned to dock and i asked about the dive for the next day (wednesday). Sadly, they had no other divers booked, only SNUBA divers. I was told they do not allow solo diving but i could tag along with the SNUBA people on the same sites we just did. I told the op, "no thank you".
That left Thursday. The op called me wednesday to say that they had one other diver but she had paid for a spear guide so there was no buddy for me. They graciously offered to put an instructor in the water as my buddy so i could get out. That was awesome of them.....until they told me that their usual fee of $100 for the instructor would be dropped to $50 for me (this was over the price of the actual dive). I asked if they were freaking insane and told them no thanks. I live in Florida and dive all the time. I don't need to pay for their instructor. So another dive day was cancelled.
All in all, diving was very disappointing. I was surprised by this as Dive Duck Key is owned by Tilden's in Marathon and they are well regarded by many. The Dive Duck Key operation was severely lacking a minimum level of customer service. If i find myself at Hawks Cay resort again, i would just dive with one on the better dive ops I know in Marathon, Islamorada or even Key Largo. There are certainly a number of great dive ops in the area.
First, the resort Hawks Cay. It is very pretty and quiet and relaxing. Very enjoyable. My only issue (other than that it is expensive) is that there is nothing to do. Not even some drunk guy with a guitar at the bar at night (which was closed by 8pm). I just found the resort boring. Very nice...just boring. We ate most of our meals off-premise at some favorite places in Marathon.
Now the diving. The on-premise dive operator is Dive Duck Key. They had promised me that their reef area was dove less frequently than the reefs to the south (Marathon) or north (Islamorada) as they were the only dive op there on Duck Key. When i made my reservations with them i told them i was pretty experienced, was solo certified, etc. I also was brining all my own gear except for weights (living in Florida I was just driving down). When they told me i could "rent" weights, i told them i'd bring those too.
On Tuesday we showed up to dive. My wife was planning on snorkeling. We left the dock on time and the crew buddied me up with James from Australia. He was a good and experienced diver though he had never been to the Keys (or America) before. The winds were kicking a bit when we got to the dive site and we were rocking a bit though nowhere near the point where i would have an issue. My wife decided not to snorkel at that site due to the rougher water.
This is when i began to have my doubts. The dive briefing consisted of "swim East for 1500 psi, then come back west for 1500psi to the boat". So in we go with a max depth of less than 30 feet and a ripping current. The op put no DM in the water and we had no idea what the features of the area might be or what to look for. It was a pretty dive....lots of fish. It was a hard swim returning to the boat with the current ripping.
When i got back on board, i noticed that the DM did not even have her gear ready. If a diver got in trouble, there would be no quick way to help from the boat. My wife told me that as divers returned to the boat, the crew did little or nothing to help them. Some of the newer divers needed help. One diver was seasick and the crew paid her no attention. My wife made sure the diver was hydrated and in open air. I was surprised at how disinterested the DM and crew was in the comfort and safety of the divers.
The second site was calmer than the first. My wife chose not to snorkel here as she did not feel safe with how the crew was operating. The dive briefing for the second site was same as the first and just as pretty. Again, we had no idea as to what to look for.
So we returned to dock and i asked about the dive for the next day (wednesday). Sadly, they had no other divers booked, only SNUBA divers. I was told they do not allow solo diving but i could tag along with the SNUBA people on the same sites we just did. I told the op, "no thank you".
That left Thursday. The op called me wednesday to say that they had one other diver but she had paid for a spear guide so there was no buddy for me. They graciously offered to put an instructor in the water as my buddy so i could get out. That was awesome of them.....until they told me that their usual fee of $100 for the instructor would be dropped to $50 for me (this was over the price of the actual dive). I asked if they were freaking insane and told them no thanks. I live in Florida and dive all the time. I don't need to pay for their instructor. So another dive day was cancelled.
All in all, diving was very disappointing. I was surprised by this as Dive Duck Key is owned by Tilden's in Marathon and they are well regarded by many. The Dive Duck Key operation was severely lacking a minimum level of customer service. If i find myself at Hawks Cay resort again, i would just dive with one on the better dive ops I know in Marathon, Islamorada or even Key Largo. There are certainly a number of great dive ops in the area.
