Anyone dive Looe Key or the Vandenberg today (May 18)?

[Norrm]

^^^ obviously not a wreck diver.

Of course not. How could I be a "wreck diver" like you if I don't like swimming around in almost zero visibility looking at almost nothing but walls and paying almost $300 for the luxury to do so.

EDITED It was about $206 per diver for a total of $412 -my bad

As an aside to those who aren't so opinionated- it's a good thing we did hire the dive guide or we wouldn't have seen anything at all because we weren't familiar with the wreck. At least we got to swim through a few lifeless empty holds for 20 minutes.

 

[tomfcrist]

1) you overpaid.
2) there’s more to see inside that wreck than walls.
3) I apologize on behalf of Mother Nature for the dive conditions during your trip.

 

[AdivingBel]

Been on the Vandy many times with a guide and never paid $150 for the guide. Yep, Mother Nature can be a biatch. Been there with rippin' current and less than optimal viz. Also been there smooth as a baby's bottom and saw both bow & stern on a midship drop (that's sounds incred but true, it was a very special day ). That's divin'... YMMV.

 

[spoolin01]

Heard from a shop that viz was up to 15' yesterday. Said it had been crappy all year. Oh well, maybe head back up to Key Largo for a day on the way out.

 

[llBuckshotll]

Of course not. How could I be a "wreck diver" like you if I don't like swimming around in almost zero visibility looking at almost nothing but walls and paying almost $300 for the luxury to do so.

As an aside to those who aren't so opinionated- it's a good thing we did hire the dive guide or we wouldn't have seen anything at all because we weren't familiar with the wreck. At least we got to swim through a few lifeless empty holds for 20 minutes.

To each their own I guess. The 4 of us spent 4 days diving the Vandy (inside), 2 of us also have 3 other days. Vis & current sucked all week, so exterior Vandy & reefs were useless. We all ended up having a good week of diving, which is what we came for, we get plenty of reef dives locally here in West Palm & Jupiter. I guess we could have just stayed in the condo

Not sure who you paid $300, but Captains Corner is $85 for double dip, $65 if your and "Alumni", and $60 for the guide. I think $10-$15 for tanks & weights.
Maybe you mean as a couple its close to $300.

Either way, we go to Key West to dive, and specifically the Vandy. $225 for the wife and I, 4 hours of diving on a world class wreck, as long as the boat doesnt get blown out, back to the dock by 1 and drinking by 1:10. That's how we vacation, but I could see that its not for everyone.

 

[llBuckshotll]

Heard from a shop that viz was up to 15' yesterday. Said it had been crappy all year. Oh well, maybe head back up to Key Largo for a day on the way out.

I've seen many FB & IG posts that viz has been 80'+ this year. Specifically the week after I was there lol
I have also personally seen it change from 10'-80' and back to 10' again in 48 hours. You never know what its going to be until you get out there.

 

[spoolin01]

Well, a DM at Looe Key resort told us viz had been 50' at Looe Key on a day when it was 10' about 4 miles west (prior to the outgoing current). Pretty sure that was dive shop speak. Anyway, I figured the guy in KW meant atypically crappy overall, not invariably crappy. Out of maybe 30 dive days out there over a half dozen visits, the 3 days this week were as bad as the one really bad one I recall prior. I haven't had that many days over 30' viz, but usually not like this either. On the other hand, even the murkier site yesterday up at Key Largo was 3x the best viz we had down here.

 

[Norrm]

To each their own I guess. The 4 of us spent 4 days diving the Vandy (inside), 2 of us also have 3 other days. Vis & current sucked all week, so exterior Vandy & reefs were useless. We all ended up having a good week of diving, which is what we came for

We did 2 dives that morning on the Vberg and I got nothing out of swimming through murky lifeless rooms, think I saw one or two small fish.

To me, the thrill of wreck diving is to descend upon the wreck as it's shadowy form comes into view, and finding places to swim through and observing the coral growth on the structures, and of course the wrecks are usually teeming with schools of marine life and large fish including sharks, barracuda, and moray eels under hull plates. I saw none of that on the low vis dive on the Vberg.

Doesn't make one diver a "wreck diver" and me "not a wreck diver", it's all about "different strokes".

Not sure who you paid $300, but Captains Corner is $85 for double dip, $65 if your and "Alumni", and $60 for the guide. I think $10-$15 for tanks & weights. Maybe you mean as a couple its close to $300.

We dived with Southpoint Divers. They charge $85 for the double dip plus $10 for tanks & weights, and 2 Nitrox tanks adds another $36 so that's $131 for each of us plus the guide (I'm almost positive it was $150 for 2 guided dives if it was less it wasn't by much) made the total about $411. My original number was a bit off sorry.

Either way, we go to Key West to dive, and specifically the Vandy. $225 for the wife and I, 4 hours of diving on a world class wreck, as long as the boat doesnt get blown out, back to the dock by 1 and drinking by 1:10. That's how we vacation, but I could see that its not for everyone.

Yeah, no not for me. I don't drink much if at all, and even if I did, I'd never spend the day sitting around a dock drinking. There's just too much to see and do other than being a couch potato filling my body with toxins. Especially on a dive trip.

 

[Norrm]

1) you overpaid.
2) there’s more to see inside that wreck than walls.
3) I apologize on behalf of Mother Nature for the dive conditions during your trip.

1) My number was wrong- it was about $206 per person including rental dive tanks and $75 each for the guide for 2 dives.
2) I saw nothing inside the wreck but walls other than 1 or 2 small fish I'm telling you the visibility was terrible, only slightly better inside you couldnt even see the other side of the room
3) Don't apologize for Mother Nature she has her own ideas the rest of the diving of the trip was great and we just missed Irma by 2 days.

 

[tomfcrist]

missed Irma by 2 days.

Well that would account for the vis.

As far as seeing stuff inside the wreck, there is plenty to see...your $75pp dive guide probably wouldn’t take you there even assuming he knows where the interesting stuff is.

Wrecks are like art to many of us. As rare as it is to dive an intact wreck(usually an artificial reef), it’s a lot of fun. Get good training, go back and you can find the cool stuff.

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• tomfcrist
• May 19, 2018