Diving in Florida Keys - February

Hello Florida divers!

I'm a Brazilian diver, trying to run away from a nightmare called Carnival. I'm planning my first trip to USA, and I would love to dive in Florida Keys.
I know February is not the best time to dive in Florida due the winter, but I would love to hear about the local's experience.

Thanks (and sorry for my English)

Natali

Wow.
In my logs (which I don't keep), Feb is the worst month for diving locally. I'll sit back and let some of the travelers reply, but I (we) usually sit it out. I have family in the Keys. If you don't get enough input, I'll reach out to them.

It's fun but it's a lot of work. I remember last winter the seas bumped up to 4-6 feet and numerous people were puking over over the bow. The Capt had to reassure everyone that the nausea will go away when you reach the bottom. It was nasty. We had fun though.

Can believe it guys

Even though my regular dives are made in a very similar scenario reported by Robibler, I wish I had heard better news.

What about the visibility?

Thanks for your reply

Sorry. Never experienced it. But my wife is from the Keys. One of her cousins is my good friend and a diver. They go year round to hunt. I know it is cold in Feb. Because the water is shallow, they wear 5 mils plus. I'll see if I can reach out and connect him to this thread.

Last time I dove in the Upper Keys (Islamorada) in February was three years ago. The high temperature on both days I dove was around 55 degrees F and windy. The water was warm on the surface and 63 degrees F on the bottom at 123 feet (Eagle ship 'wreck'). I wore a 3mm full suit and a 2mm shorty over it on both dives and was pretty comfortable. During the one hour surface interval it was another story altogether. With the wind and 55 degrees temperature I about froze my buns off. The wet neoprene was acting like a refrigerator. I jumped in the water a couple times to get warm. I suspect that if there was no wind it would have been a lot better. If I had to do it over again I would have stripped down between dives, dried off and wore some sweats while on the boat.

I dive year round up the coast a bit in Jupiter and West Palm Beach but only go out on those rare days when marine conditions are decent: I can't take much more than 4 foot seas. I now use a 7 mm suit but have dove with a 3 mm full over a 2 mm shorty in the past and been comfortable enough. Temps are normally in the very low 70's but drop into the 60's at times. When I've dove Key Largo or West in the winter, I found similar temps. As noted above, the surface interval is the point in the trip when you'll get cold. Bring a fleece jacket or something similar and a hat. A thermos of hot liquid to drink also helps keeps you warm. When seas are too rough, I wander over to Blue Heron Bridge