Keys Dive Operations Post-Irma: Who will be opening, and when?

[Wookie]

No worries...they'll be up and running in NO time. Probably by this weekend!

I think that's a little optimistic, seeins how they won't even be letting residents in by this weekend. I don't expect to be let in before Monday.

 

[The Chairman]

It sounds as if they're going to come out OK in all of this in the long run. Visibility won't be a problem for most. With the Gulf Stream just off shore, it flushes everything out PDQ. My heart goes out to my friends in the Keys and I wish the best for you.

 

[CajunDiva]

I think that's a little optimistic, seeins how they won't even be letting residents in by this weekend. I don't expect to be let in before Monday.

Sorry to hear Wookie. I pray that you and yours are OK.

Rainbow Reef is located at MM100. Key Largo began allowing entry of residents Tuesday morning, so they are back (lots of them) and feverishly working on getting their homes cleaned up and repairs completed.

Here's the latest from Rainbow Reef:

Dear customers, friends and family:

Day 1 of putting everything back together is in the books. Got boats untied and started up, much of the debris cleared, plywood off the windows, compressor area cleaned out, and much more.. a few things beyond our control, apparently some boats are sunk out near the end of our canal so hopefully SeaTow can float those things and move them out of the way in the next couple of days..

We are still waiting for the power at the main dive center building so we can get the phones up and get to all the email.. should be on by tonight or tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow we will be able get the office put back together and take calls, emails and reservations again.

Lots left to do but we wanted to let you know that we will be diving again soon.. hopefully by the weekend if all goes well..

 

[Wookie]

Yup, I agree that they will be open. But I'd be shocked if they let any tourists in.

On a better note, we (Mel and I) and our house are fine, although without power for now. We're driving up to Baltimore to marry off a crew member, then back to Florida to try to get in. One of my researchers from FWC lost both his house and his folks house. We may be able to fix his, his folks will have to be torn down to the pilings. Everything shattered except the foundation, and I know folks whose slabs were undercut too. Lots of work in the lower keys.

 

[boulderjohn]

A couple of years ago some friends and I arrived in Australia less than a week after a category 5 storm blasted the northern barrier reef. Our liveaboard was the first to visit some of the sites after the storm. I thought things looked pretty bad, but I was comparing it to the last time I had dived there, which was about 12 years before. About a year later, I saw a documentary on that storm. By an amazing coincidence, Google Earth had come through only a few weeks before the storm and videoed the reef using their 360° camera. They came back and did it again after the storm. The impact was indeed tremendous.

Similarly, I dived Cozumel not long after Wilma, and some of the shallower reefs had been badly hit. One of the most popular of the shallow sites was, IMO, mostly a sand pile after the storm.

As for the Keys, remember that a number of years ago, Hurricane Dennis, not a remarkably big storm, took the 510 foot ship the Spiegel Grove and turned it from lying on its side to sitting upright. I would expect that Irma to have had some effect upon the shallow reefs.

 

[AggieDiver]

Regarding reef conditions after storms, I was in Little Cayman about 5-6 weeks after Ivan, and there was some pretty obvious damage to things like sea fans and more delicate corals, but there were lots of new swimthroughs where all the sand had been blown out by the currents and rough seas. One other thing to look for is juvenile fish. I had read a research note some time ago that said the Navy has some hydrophones around Florida, and noted a large uptick in fish spawning sounds right before big storms. Or at least sounds they interpreted as fish spawning... When we were in Little Cayman after Ivan, there were definitely tons of juveniles around...spotted drums, trunkfish, etc. seemed to be lingering around nearly every coral head. So maybe there is something to that.

 

[Doc Ben]

Yup, I agree that they will be open. But I'd be shocked if they let any tourists in.

I would think if the dive shops get up and running, and dive tourists are wanting to book trips, they would be let in. Who would be stopping them from coming in? FHP?

My biggest concern is a place to stay in Key Largo. So far, no one has commented on the hotels in this thread. When will they be up and running around Key Largo?

 

[Wookie]

I would think if the dive shops get up and running, and dive tourists are wanting to book trips, they would be let in. Who would be stopping them from coming in? FHP?

My biggest concern is a place to stay in Key Largo. So far, no one has commented on the hotels in this thread. When will they be up and running around Key Largo?

All Law Enforcement is in Florida City letting no one in unless they are Key Largo to Islamorada residents. If you live South of Islamorada, you are not allowed in from the Florida City checkpoint. There is power to 40% of Keys Energy Coop, (Key largo to Marathon) and 28% of Keys Energy customers (Seven Mile Bridge to Key West). The National Guard and MCSO have all of the hotels in Key West that can support sleepers, some are in barracks on Boca Chica. Hotels in Key Largo are servicing law enforcement and power pole high line workers. Most of South Florida is on boil order. Drinking water is coming in by Sea King off of the Iwo Jima, the Abe Lincoln just left, and there are 10,000 FNG troops in Key West. Food comes in as MREs.

Folks, the estimate coming out of the BOCC is that we may be allowed in by October. Or it may be a month. There are so many holes in the aquaduct that water pressure is supplied for 4 hours a day, at 10 PSI. I know your vacations are in jeopardy. I know a couple of folks trying to get in by boat tomorrow. They may be turned around. The road is closed at MM 37. There isn't any electricity. There isn't any gasoline. There isn't any diesel fuel. What tanks have fuel are contaminated with water. Boats are up on docks. I know you all don't understand that 1 in 4 houses int he keys are uninhabitable. I know you don't understand that there is no cell or internet past Key Largo. I get that. I get that you all think we're a bunch of pussies that can't get our sh!t squared away, and if we'd just service our adoring clients, everything would magically get better.

I hope Rainbow Reef and Quiescence are ready to go tomorrow. Truly I do. But it doesn't matter. The road is closed in Florida City to all non residents and all residents who live south of MM88. You can't get in. They won't let you. They aren't even talking about moving the checkpoints to Tavernier. It's just closed in Florida City.

If I seem terse, there are looters in Key West, and I'm not there to defend my place. Sorrynotsorry.

 

[ScubaJill]

Federal government is seeking federal civilian volunteers from all agencies to support FEMA in areas impacted by Irma. They're saying 45 day details across a range of activities, including debris clearing. The amount of work to be done is staggering. I'm so sorry for all the folks in those areas hit by Irma, and Harvey. My heart goes out to you all.

 

[Altamira]

I would think if the dive shops get up and running, and dive tourists are wanting to book trips, they would be let in. Who would be stopping them from coming in? FHP?

My biggest concern is a place to stay in Key Largo. So far, no one has commented on the hotels in this thread. When will they be up and running around Key Largo?

You might want to pay closer attention to the news channels and reports showing video clips of the FHP not even letting the residents back into the Keys. Lots of upset residents from what I saw on the reports, but keeping people out of the Keys is best for their own safety, as well as the responders that are trying their best to make the infrastructure functional. The last thing they need right now is a bunch of divers saying "Hey, let me in, I have a dive vacation scheduled." Come back and dive the Keys when you will not be an additional risk or pain in the ass to people trying to get things working again.