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just back from 3 fantastic days in Islamorada....a buddy from Atlanta drove down and we dragged my boat to the Keys for some inexpensive fun beneath the waves...first day was mostly setup and only had enough daylight for one dive...went to the deeper backside of Alligator and found a nasty current, so we moved in to the shallower areas west of the light and enjoyed fairly good vis of about 30 to 35 and lots of marine life with the main attraction being huge schools of large cudas....second day we made the run out to the Eagle which was exciting for me as I have fished this wreck for years and have always been curious to see it up close and it was my buddy's first wreck ever.....as we descended onto the bow section, the vis was horrible down to about 60 feet, but as we crossed this barrier the wreck came into view and everyting lit up with vis being well over 50 ft....we made the most of our limited bottom time finning the entire length of the wreck to stern and back to bow all on the deck side with a quick look at the hull and props/rudders......dive 2 of day 2 and both dives on day 3 were back on the shallower sections of Alligator where the diving was top notch.....temperate waters, very light current and vis ranging from 30 to 40....sights included 2 big jewfish, 2 green morays one of which was an absolute monster, the other we got to witness free-swimming, free swimming nurse shark, a couple big snook under a ledge, several lobsters(too bad we were inside the sanctuary), a foul-hooked cuda with the lure still hanging out of his side, and a wide variety of snapper, grouper, parrots, angels and huge schools of various tropicals....can't wait until next time!!!
Cool! I can't wait to get there!!! You said the water was "temperate." Any idea of the actual temp? What kind of suit did you wear? I have a 3mm now, but want to get a thicker one before I go. Do you think I'll need it?
Cool! I can't wait to get there!!! You said the water was "temperate." Any idea of the actual temp? What kind of suit did you wear? I have a 3mm now, but want to get a thicker one before I go. Do you think I'll need it?
For me, a 3/2mm at 75°F gets a little chilly by the second dive, but you might be fine. I find a 3mm hood is a good addition to the fullsuit, a 3mm hooded vest might be even better. Personally I'm going to be buying a 5/4mm fullsuit just for winter Fla dives. YMMV.
You didn't ask, but if I'm cold on a dive and the wind kicks up on the boat, thats where I seem to be the coldest of all. I bring either a hooded windbreaker or a fleece-lined hooded jacket (depending on the air temps), makes a big difference but you need to find a way to keep them dry.
Edit:
Here is the link to NOAA's main Florida buoys with all the current (no pun intended) marine data.
Last edited by StSomewhere; January 1st, 2006 at 03:23 PM.
Thanks for the info! I did my certification dives in 78 degree water near the surface, a couple degrees cooler as we went down. I was in a borrowed 3mm with a broken zipper, so my back was only covered by the BC. I wasn't cold then, but I haven't been in cooler water than that. I did pick up a hood at a going out of business sale. I tend to be pretty warm-natured in the air, and I was not cold like my dive instructor was that day. I'll shop around and see what I can find. Maybe I'll buy another suit or a vest by then.
The water temps have been around 73 degrees F lately. I'm recommending a 5mm or a hood/core-warmer and to bring warm clothes on the boat. The last few days have been wonderfully warm as far as air temp in concerned and that's made a huge difference for divers' comfort.
"Sticking with a moron will only subject you to a bucketful of ad hockery when they finally discover that they have issues and now you're both in the stank." - Doc Intrepid
water temp ranged from 69 to 73....I'm normally not a cold-natured person, but took the precaution of wearing my 3mm full body suit as well as a hooded vest underneath and it was absolutely perfect...not too hot on the surface and not chilly underneath.....but like the others have said, bring a hooded sweatshirt or something similar on the boat to keep you warm between dives
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Originally Posted by Lisa0825
