Executive Summary:
Silent World Dive Center - Recommended
Key West Inn (aka Suites at Key Largo) - Recommended with a caveat on WiFi
Weather: Avoid the sea conditions we had. :depressed:
This report is a little late, we were traveling after the dive trip and I'm just now getting things back together. Maybe it will add slightly to the accumulated body of KL dive trip knowledge.
We intended to do a near-duplicate of our enjoyable trip in July 2008 reported here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...-trip-report-key-largo-7-22-08-7-24-08-a.html except that we were going to dive the Spiegel Grove the third day instead of more shallow reefs.
I'll try to avoid duplicating anything reported there except as it's different. Things didn't turn out quite as planned...
The first day the seas were, in the words of Silent World's Capt. Bob, "2-3 feet with some 4's". The real problem apparently was the surge, although that's based on my wife's word, I noticed the surge but I'm very resistant to motion sickness, I can't remember ever actually having had it.
On the first dive of the day my wife fed the fishes twice. Not knowing what was going on, I thought the crowd of small fish around her (sergeant major's, I think) was kind of magical and took pictures. She scrubbed the second dive, along with another woman diver, a 13-year old girl doing a "Discover scuba" dive, and I heard her non-diving mom along as a passenger also got sick. I buddied with the husband of the other woman diver for the second dive.
The next day was predicted (correctly) to be just a little rougher, and my wife just turned in her rental gear. There was definitely very strong surge, but still two nice dives. I saw a lone squid or cuttlefish who seemed to be as interested in me as I was in him. On surfacing, my instabuddy speculated he was looking at his reflection in my mask. We also saw a large green Moray down in a hole with only the middle of his body visible; a little hard to recognize at first.
The third day, supposed to be the Spiegel Grove dive, the boat didn't go out. When I showed up at the dock, Capt Bob said the smallest seas would equal the biggest seas of yesterday, and it wasn't going to happen. Silent World was very gracious about refunding the difference between the 3-day package and the single days we actually went out. I would continue to recommend them.
We had booked the same accommodations at the Suites of Key Largo through Silent World, and I'd say it is still good value for the money. After discovering the last day's diving was canceled, we asked for an hour extra on the checkout time, which they were nice enough to do, and we just boogied on up to my wife's family near Orlando a day earlier than planned, with a stop at the History of Diving Museum on the way out of the keys.
Note that this motel now calls itself the Key West Inn, although the Silent World website, and some bits and pieces of the hotel's own website, still call it Suites at Key Largo. That can certainly confuse. One new complaint was that the WiFi (free) only worked around the pool deck. Last trip it was fine in our room. A little annoying, but I'm there to dive, not surf
, and I wasn't completely incommunicado. On balance, I'd stay there again for that rate.
FWIW, bottom temperatures were 77 degF dropping to 75 the last dive. Visibility was generally 40-50 feet. All four dives were various sites on Elbow Reef, max depth 26 feet. I've already mentioned the sea conditions. Weather was mostly sunny. I've read that it's a bit of a crapshoot this time of year in the Keys, and I guess we just rolled snake eyes this trip. My wife might argue, but it wasn't all that terrible an experience.
I did my 100th and 101st dive the second day. I had idly contemplated doing the traditional thing for my 100th, but with a stranger for a buddy instead of my wife, I gave it a miss.
Silent World Dive Center - Recommended
Key West Inn (aka Suites at Key Largo) - Recommended with a caveat on WiFi
Weather: Avoid the sea conditions we had. :depressed:
This report is a little late, we were traveling after the dive trip and I'm just now getting things back together. Maybe it will add slightly to the accumulated body of KL dive trip knowledge.
We intended to do a near-duplicate of our enjoyable trip in July 2008 reported here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...-trip-report-key-largo-7-22-08-7-24-08-a.html except that we were going to dive the Spiegel Grove the third day instead of more shallow reefs.
I'll try to avoid duplicating anything reported there except as it's different. Things didn't turn out quite as planned...
The first day the seas were, in the words of Silent World's Capt. Bob, "2-3 feet with some 4's". The real problem apparently was the surge, although that's based on my wife's word, I noticed the surge but I'm very resistant to motion sickness, I can't remember ever actually having had it.
On the first dive of the day my wife fed the fishes twice. Not knowing what was going on, I thought the crowd of small fish around her (sergeant major's, I think) was kind of magical and took pictures. She scrubbed the second dive, along with another woman diver, a 13-year old girl doing a "Discover scuba" dive, and I heard her non-diving mom along as a passenger also got sick. I buddied with the husband of the other woman diver for the second dive.
The next day was predicted (correctly) to be just a little rougher, and my wife just turned in her rental gear. There was definitely very strong surge, but still two nice dives. I saw a lone squid or cuttlefish who seemed to be as interested in me as I was in him. On surfacing, my instabuddy speculated he was looking at his reflection in my mask. We also saw a large green Moray down in a hole with only the middle of his body visible; a little hard to recognize at first.
The third day, supposed to be the Spiegel Grove dive, the boat didn't go out. When I showed up at the dock, Capt Bob said the smallest seas would equal the biggest seas of yesterday, and it wasn't going to happen. Silent World was very gracious about refunding the difference between the 3-day package and the single days we actually went out. I would continue to recommend them.
We had booked the same accommodations at the Suites of Key Largo through Silent World, and I'd say it is still good value for the money. After discovering the last day's diving was canceled, we asked for an hour extra on the checkout time, which they were nice enough to do, and we just boogied on up to my wife's family near Orlando a day earlier than planned, with a stop at the History of Diving Museum on the way out of the keys.
Note that this motel now calls itself the Key West Inn, although the Silent World website, and some bits and pieces of the hotel's own website, still call it Suites at Key Largo. That can certainly confuse. One new complaint was that the WiFi (free) only worked around the pool deck. Last trip it was fine in our room. A little annoying, but I'm there to dive, not surf
, and I wasn't completely incommunicado. On balance, I'd stay there again for that rate.FWIW, bottom temperatures were 77 degF dropping to 75 the last dive. Visibility was generally 40-50 feet. All four dives were various sites on Elbow Reef, max depth 26 feet. I've already mentioned the sea conditions. Weather was mostly sunny. I've read that it's a bit of a crapshoot this time of year in the Keys, and I guess we just rolled snake eyes this trip. My wife might argue, but it wasn't all that terrible an experience.
I did my 100th and 101st dive the second day. I had idly contemplated doing the traditional thing for my 100th, but with a stranger for a buddy instead of my wife, I gave it a miss.
