Windley Key, March 2012

I am looking for recommendations for a trip I will be making in March 2012 to Windley Key, mile marker 85 (this is the island just north of Islamorada). I prefer not to take much equipment with me on the plane so an all inclusive dive op would be my preference. I am very experienced but the water I dive in has 6' visibility on a good day so when I am in the tropics my primary interest would be shallow water long duration dives. Do any dive boats in the area allow solo diving? I would be very interested in knowing about any good shore dive sites along with any shops that can rent me a 30 or 40 cu/ft tank for the day. I will also be there with others who will be snorkeling so any recommendations on where to take them, both beach locations and boat ops would be very useful. These people have been known to have a drink or two so recommendations for topside attractions would also be very useful. Last I was looking at Google maps and saw an area called Sandbar on the Atlantic side of the channel between Windley and Islamorada. Can anyone fill me in on that?

I don't know of any shore diving off of Islamorada. There aren't any sand beaches except artificials built by the owners and most of the shoreline is privately owned. There are a few resorts which might allow diving off of their shoreline though. I dive with Key Dives a lot at Bud and Mary's Marina at the south end of the island. I don't know of any other dive shops there. Up the road about 9 miles is Tavernier where there are several good shops like Conch Republic and Florida Keys Divers. 'Sandbar' might be just that, a sandbar just off shore where people go (I guess at low tide) and hang around. I think I spotted it once coming down Rt 1. I'd check in with Conch Republic, Florida Keys Divers and Key Dives. They might be able to furnish you with small tanks and you might find that you would like to make some dives or snorkel trips with them. I doubt that they would permit any boozing on their boats but if you have a death wish you all could fill up before the dive. Have a good time.

Thanks, the diving and drinking recommendations are not going to be happening at the same time, that was for after the diving was done for the day.

There is a nice little restaurant/bar at mile marker 88 called ‘The 88’. I like to eat and consume beverages outside on the patio and watch the sun set over the bay after a day of diving. I’ve also stopped by for lunch on my way down to Key West and have always been pleased with the experience. Food is decent to good, location is fantastic, prices for food and beverages are not terribly expensive.

From a diving standpoint, I like Conch Republic as well (I am going out with them this coming weekend). It will take about 10 minutes to get to their shop/marina from your hotel. They have a calendar on their webpage with planned dives: you can review the calendar to determine if deep wrecks, mid depth reefs or shallow reefs are on the agenda. I don’t think their schedule firms up until about a month out, but you can call to verify if I am correct or not. If you are the first to book on a given date, they will sometime allow you to pick the dive site or type of dive if you don’t have a specific site in mind.

If you decide to drive all the way to Key Largo (mile marker 100 +): Silent World and Quiescence are nice shops. I know Quiescence will take divers and snorklers at the same time, I am not sure about Silent World. You'll need to call. Silent World also publishes their dive plan on their website.

You'd have to call any of the shops about your solo diving question. I don't think any officially bless solo diving, though they might be open minded if you have one those specialty solo certifications or you can share your solo diving history. But I am unsure of any of this..... I was on one charter and the DM literally yelled at two divers that got split up and each continued their dives solo (not any of the ops mentioned in this post).

There is very little shore diving in the Keys. I’ve heard that folks sometimes shore dive near Bahia Honda state park or on Big Pine Key but you need to know the tides if you are going to dive around the bridge pilings since you can get yourself in trouble quickly: might be better off kayak diving. I’ve never dove in the area but I watched the current whip around the pilings from the beach.

I had heard about Bahia Honda for snorkeling but not Big Pine Key. Where on Big Pine Key would you suggest? Keeping in mind that the people I am taking snorkeling have almost no experience so I need the easiest sites you know about. Kayak diving is also something I am considering. I have about 15 years experience kayak diving and generally dive within 5 miles of where I put in. I just started my research but so far I can only find a couple of sites that fit that bill. Anyone know anything about the locations of the Chaves and Herrera wrecks? There is also a wreck on the NOAA chart in the Cheeca Rocks area. Any idea what that might be?

richkeller:

I had heard about Bahia Honda for snorkeling but not Big Pine Key. Where on Big Pine Key would you suggest? Keeping in mind that the people I am taking snorkeling have almost no experience so I need the easiest sites you know about. Kayak diving is also something I am considering. I have about 15 years experience kayak diving and generally dive within 5 miles of where I put in. I just started my research but so far I can only find a couple of sites that fit that bill. Anyone know anything about the locations of the Chaves and Herrera wrecks? There is also a wreck on the NOAA chart in the Cheeca Rocks area. Any idea what that might be?

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Hey Richkeller

Let me see if I can clear up ssome of your questions and expand on some answers already given.

First our online schedule is real time. Unlike others who post a schedule ours is tied directly to our internal scheduling system and is updated automatically. So when you see reef or wreck posted, that's what we're doing, not what we had planned to do that day. We never have preset days to do a certain dive, when you see Customer Choice that means we are open for a customer to choose what dive we do that day. So the first person to book gets to choose the dive.

We do allow snorkelers on our boat when we're doing sites that are shallow enough for snorkeling , but interesting enough for divers.

You asked about the Herrera and Chaves wrecks these were Spanish ships that sunk in 1733. They were part of a fleet heading back to Spain from Cuba when a hurricane hit them and sunk the fleet. Now the next question is can I hunt for treasure or artifacts on this wrecks....answer NO. They are protected by the Florida Keys Marine Santuary and the Spanish alread beat us to it back in 1734. There is nothing left to see there. Only grass and you'd be hard pressed to find any remains of the wreck.

Now for the Sandbar. It's a popular hangout for boats rafting up and massive drinking. A place that I stay away from as there are too many Captain Budwisers there. In any case not good for snorkeling or diving..... Very shallow sandbar with no fish life.

Let me know if you have anymore questions. I'd be happy to answer them, even if you dive/snorkel with someone else. Just want to ensure you have a good time while visiting the Florida Keys.

Good Diving,

Capt Gary, I already exchanged emails with someone else from your operation and am planing on diving with you. The two wrecks I picked because they are close to shore and close to where I am staying. I may rent a kayak and a 30 or 40 cu/ft tank and check them out if I can find GPS numbers for these sites. The grass flats in front of my place extend out about a mile and the reef is another 3 or so miles past that. What is the bottom like in between? Any reason to go there? The people I am going with are not very experienced snorklers so I wanted to find shallow easy locations for them to check out. Do you ever run snorkel only trips? Rich Keller

Hey Rich,

As for the bottom it's mostly patchy grass and sand flats. Maybe a coral head here and there, but not many. As I mentioned you'd be hard pressed to see anything resembling a wreck from those two sites, as they are mostly covered over with grass, but it might be fun to try and find them. I have the numbers for both if you'd like to try. Would be perfect for an afternoon with your friends in kayaks, as long as the weather is calm.

Let me know if you have anymore questions and we look forward seeing you down this way.

Good Diving,

Capt Gary, I have only dove the keys in summer. Will a 3mm shorty due for March? Rich Keller

The water temp will be around the mid to upper 70's so if you don't get cold easily then it might be ok. But I'd have a hood and maybe a shorty just incase.

Good Diving,


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