Recommendations in the keys, please.

[daniel1948]

June is also very nice. A bit more chance of some windy days, but still warm with air temps in the 80s to low 90s and water temps in the 80s.

[...]

You can certainly enjoy the shallow reefs in Key Largo freediving.

Thanks for the additional information regarding June. Depending on what other plans I come up with, June might work out better for me. Not sure yet.

Freediving after scuba is VERY STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. Has to do with microbubbles. Freediving before scuba is okay, and shallow freediving is probably okay. As a personal thing, I generally don't do both on the same day, and because I use different fins, I don't usually do both on the same trip. The freediving fins require a longer bag, and my long bag does not have wheels. Sometimes, for added time before flying, I'll freedive, with my scuba fins on the last morning when others are scuba diving. There is a certain childish pleasure in waving hello to a scuba diver at 50 feet.

 

[LynnB]

We were there the 3rd week in June this year and it was perfect. The weather, water and condidions. Even on the wreck dives there was no current to speak of. Have mostly been down towards the end of July and it was nice then. We did have ripping currents on the wrecks but I think that depends more on the day you hit it.
You will love it there. And yes WPB would be great to break it up. Ten days does seem to get repetitive.
Have fun,,,,and safe diving!

 

[mselenaous]

Hey Daniel, here is a recent post from another thread with info on both WPB & FL Keys which might give you some more info. (Some of it has been mention previously in this thread).

Welcome to Florida....
...WPB area. I taught up there for a year, and certified many OW and AOW students in those waters. The reefs are about 60 ft deep. It is all drift diving so you don't really have to work, just stay near your guide and watch your buoyancy. I recommend you practice inflating a safety sausage in the pool, before going as you will be required to have one in case you come up early. When booking your dives with an operator be frank about your experience level. Operators in WPB put guides in the water with their divers. When they know upfront experience levels, they put more guides on (better DM to diver ratios) to ensure new divers have a fun safe dive. For WPB & surrounds, I recommend: Abernathy's Scuba Adventures, Little Deeper Charters, and Ocean Quest (Sandy's Sunday). There are also other fine operators in this area, so I recommend searching SB for others' opinions.
A bit further south in Boynton Beach, is Underwater Explorers (ScubaKevDM) here on SB who does an outstanding job with personalized service for divers of all levels.
All of these operators will be more than happy to listen to and counsel you on any concerns you may have.

Also in WPB, is the Blue Heron Bridge (Phil Foster Park) which is a local shore dive full of surprising diversity of critters in about 18ft deep. It is also a haunt for many local SBers who might be willing and available to show you around. There is a long ongoing thread here on SB about the site where locals keep adding pics, local conditions, and schedule meet ups. I recommend reading from the last page back a bit.

Third, Key Largo is a great place for new divers as most of the reef structure is about 30 ft, full of life. There are more dive ops here than gas stations, so there is something for everyone. Here is a thread, FL Keys Guide, listing the dive ops, each has it's own personalities and strengths from large boats (best if you tend to get seasick), to small boats (if you prefer smaller dive groups), some offer hunting, others, tech diving. FL Keys is an often discussed topic here on SB. I recommend you search the ones that interest you here on SB where you will find many oft praised dive ops as well as info on accommodations, dive sites, conditions, training, eateries, etc. Then call those shops and chat with the folks to get a feel for a good match to what you expect.

Fourth: On the topic of additional training, I recommend doing some fun diving first to get the feel for salt water diving. Most folks straight out of OW classes have issues with buoyancy, trim, and propulsion so a class or instructor coaching in these areas is time & money well spent toward improving your technique and comfort level while diving. As you get a bit more time in the water, are more relaxed and have improved your air consumption rate (which only comes with experience), then you are ready for extended bottom times using Nitrox which does require a certification course. Although you could start your Advanced open water right away after Open Water, most folks get more out of the class once they have a handful or two of dive experience on which to build their new skills upon an established foundation.

Feel free at ANY point in your dive career to hire a DM/guide to show you the way and ensure your comfort level. All of these dive ops mentioned can arrange those services for you. (FYI, I may have been diving for decades and teaching a while now and know the local waters well where I have lived, but there are times when I hire a local expert and rely on their local knowledge and skills for my own safety and piece of mind)....

 

[Garrobo]

You can't lose if you dive between Key Largo and Islamorada.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Thanks for the additional information regarding June. Depending on what other plans I come up with, June might work out better for me. Not sure yet.

Freediving after scuba is VERY STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. Has to do with microbubbles. Freediving before scuba is okay, and shallow freediving is probably okay. As a personal thing, I generally don't do both on the same day, and because I use different fins, I don't usually do both on the same trip. The freediving fins require a longer bag, and my long bag does not have wheels. Sometimes, for added time before flying, I'll freedive, with my scuba fins on the last morning when others are scuba diving. There is a certain childish pleasure in waving hello to a scuba diver at 50 feet.

On the shallow reef diving that you will do in the Keys(remember, 25-35' typical) there is no concern about freediving after scuba. You will not even come close to deco limits when scuba diving, and even less so if you dive nitrox. There is so little possibility of deco problems or bubble formation that it is virtually impossible. I mix freedive and scuba all the time. When freediving, you are not breathing air (with its nitrogen) under pressure so there is no continued nitrogen build-up when you are freediving. In fact the deep breathing before you freedive is just continued offgassing. It would be one thing if you were deep diving and reached the max repetitive dive group, and then wanted to start 60'freedives. However, I think if you do some more research on this you will find out that there is no concern with snorkelling or freediving in the 25'-35' range during your surface intervals from scuba dives to the same general depth. If you prefer, you can freedive during the first tank dive and then scuba the second, but there is no "deco" reason to do that.

There won't be any freediving in WPB. Too deep and currents too strong for the boats to keep track of freedivers. You would need a special dedicated freedive charter with scuba safety support which is expensive and hard to arrange. Better to stick with the drift diving there.

I scuba dive with my freediving fins. I actually prefer them to "scuba" fins especially in currents, for the extra power they give. That way I don't bother to have to switch. I put them in a duffel bag and check them through.

When you plans are more final, be sure to post here for more info on specific dive operators, etc.

 

[daniel1948]

There won't be any freediving in WPB. Too deep and currents too strong for the boats to keep track of freedivers. You would need a special dedicated freedive charter with scuba safety support which is expensive and hard to arrange.

I will accept what you say, that there won't be freediving in WPB. However, I'll note that scuba support is never used even on the deepest competitive line diving that I'm capable of. And certainly not at the depths I'd go recreationally. Just buddy suport. Above 20 meters, surface safety is adequate. Below 20 meters, a buddy makes a dive to 1/3 the target depth timed to accompany the diver for the last part of the ascent. (I'm a "basic" level freediver, but I am certified at that level.)

For the rest, thanks to everyone for the additional information. This is sounding better and better.

 

[Wookie]

There won't be any freediving in WPB. Too deep and currents too strong for the boats to keep track of freedivers. You would need a special dedicated freedive charter with scuba safety support which is expensive and hard to arrange. Better to stick with the drift diving there.

The 2 biggest schools that teach freediving on the East coast (Performance Freediving and Formula 3 Freediving) both teach out of WPB/Ft Lauderdale/Miami. I would think you would find it easy to get a dedicated charter for freediving, and lessons if you like on a weekend in WPB.

 

[daniel1948]

PFI is the school where I took classes, out of Ft. Lauderdale. But classes are taught out in the deep water of the Gulf Stream, where the line will hang straight down because the current is uniform from the surface to depth. There is nothing to see there. I highly recommend their classes. You will learn to dive safely, while you learn to go deeper and stay down longer.

However, that is not recreational diving. PFI does not take groups out for recreational diving on the reefs, etc. Well, in Cayman, we did freedive on the Kittiwake one afternoon. But that was just one day between the training week and the competition week at Deja Blue II. On their listserv, the vast majority of posts seeking a buddy for diving are for spearfishing or competition-style practice on a line in deep water.

I very well might take another class from them some time and progress further. It would be cool to make a freedive deeper than I've ever been on scuba, which was 99 fsw. But this trip is for recreational diving.

I'm actually not aware of anyone who takes groups out for recreational freediving, though snorkel operators usually do not object to freediving on their trips. But snorkel trips are often in water only a few feet deep. The exceptions have been when I've been on a snorkel trip in a bay, where it's shallow near the land, but drops away and you can dive deeper farther out if you like.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

I did not realize you were thinking of line freediving. I thought you were thinking of swim down/swim up. If I were doing that in 60 feet on a reef, I would want scuba (or at least spare air) support at the 30' level, but I am just very cautious by nature. I did not think of asking the freediving schools if they can get you on a reef trip in WPB. I still think that might be difficult to set up, but it might be worth giving them a call.

When you come, if you are interested in finding a buddy for your scuba dives, post here and maybe I (or others) can join you.

 

[daniel1948]

I was not thinking of line freediving. I said that is what PFI does, in response to Wookie, who suggested them for freediving in Ft. L. Recreational freediving is swim down, swim around, swim up. Freedivers never use compressed air while freediving. But they'll have a buddy to provide safety. Taking turns, both buddies freediving, they'll safety each other. When the target dive is 20 meters (67 feet) or shallower, the safety can remain on the surface, and swim down in case of a problem. For deeper dives (which I would do on a line in a class or competition setting, but which I would not do recreationally) the safety diver meets the ascending diver on the way up and accompanies him/her for the final 1/3 of the ascent. No compressed air is used.

In competition, scuba divers are placed as safeties for the deepest divers, below the depth where the freediving safeties could consistently and repeatedly meet the ascending competitors. But the scuba divers never share air with the freedivers, due to the risk of air embolism. Rather, the scuba divers have float bags they can use to send an unconscious freediver to the surface. But all this is irrelevant to recreational freediving or spearfishing.

I cannot do shore dives (scuba) due to my bad back. I only do boat dives. So, while I appreciate the offer of buddying, I would always be diving from a boat, and I'd either buddy with a random client on the boat with me, or I'd stick with the DM, who in any case will know the dive site.