Diving the Keys

[Buoyant1]

Heck...first time I saw a shark that WASN'T a Nurse shark I swam TOWARDS it and thought..."WHAT AM I DOING?"

The cuda's will follow you like curious cats but nothing to worry about (just don't wear shiny dangly stuff)

The one thing to worry about is turning into a warm water wussy! (just don't tell your "northern" dive buddies you enjoyed it ...you know the warm water, the nice viz, etc.)

Have fun!

 

[gangrel441]

THat is funny, I forgot about them

My first dive in Bimini, I got too close to a nest in the sand, and that little guy would not leave my knee caps alone, and I was wearing a shorty.

When we were in Costa Rica, I had Beaubrummels (a large species of damsel) hitting me in the bicep...through a 3 mm suit, the hits were hard enough that I thought my buddy was tapping my arm to get my attention.

I know of at lease one incident of a diver who was diving bearback (no shirt or suit under his BCD), and had a damsel swim in under his BCD and tear a strip of skin off his back...little punk swam around in front of him and dangled his prize like he was waving a flag!

They don't get any meaner than damsels...

 

[Jcsgt]

In my experience, the feeling goes away gradually. I used to be apprehensive before each dive, but now I just can't wait to get in the water to see the sights.

 

[cudachaser]

Florida sharks don't take too much...just an arm or leg chunk

 

[Fish Wrangler]

Nobody told him about Goliath Groupers big as a VW bug...

Seriously, I've dove in the Keys several times over the past five years and have seen nurse sharks, squadrons of barracudas, and once a 2 foot hammerhead that turned around as soon as it saw the two bubbling monsters that were pointing at it.

Just don't think too hard about it -- easier said than done, I know.

 

[divingjd]

When we were in Costa Rica, I had Beaubrummels (a large species of damsel) hitting me in the bicep...through a 3 mm suit, the hits were hard enough that I thought my buddy was tapping my arm to get my attention.

I know of at lease one incident of a diver who was diving bearback (no shirt or suit under his BCD), and had a damsel swim in under his BCD and tear a strip of skin off his back...little punk swam around in front of him and dangled his prize like he was waving a flag!

They don't get any meaner than damsels...

You are absolutely right. If damsels were the size of groupers, you couldn't set foot in the ocean. Sharks are no problem. Barracuda look pretty nasty and they can give you the creeps following you around, but there is no real danger.

Don't mess with the animals and avoid any damsel more than a couple of inches long and there's nothing to worry about!

 

[DOkie]

My buddy is my husband... hmmmm Wonder if his insurance is paid up. HA HA Thanks for all of your responses. I know I sound like a big chicken, but as I've said before, we have three colors of fish and two colors of water. Brown and kind of brown. A good day of viz is 20 feet. The biggest fish I've run into is a 7' lawyer. It just seems a little overwhelming. I really appreciate all of the advice!

 

[Steve_Dives]

If you're too nervous, I'll volunteer to take your place! You're right to be cautious with the new diving situation. Pay attention to nav. If you're diving a popular reef, you might have 20 boats overhead and 18 will look just like yours.

 

[Saskia]

the scariest thing is getting wet when you jump in well, that's what i thought (i forgot zip up my drysuit once in near freezing waters so i'm a little paranoid now, yes, i continued the dive because i had no idea.....well...i was kinda cold...and a block of ice by the end of it....) so i get a little paranoid if i even THINK i might be getting wet the first thing i screamed when i hit the warm water was "****!!! i'm getting wet!!" of course, everyone else just laughed once over that, there's lots of fun things to see!!! just jump in and have fun!

 

[CrackedConch]

Keys Diving is great!! And perfectly safe!! Take your camera!

As stated earlier currents are the biggest thing to watch for on the wrecks. You might get some surge on the reefs, but just relax. There aren't really any marine life hazards as long as you don't mess with anything you shouldn't be messing with.

Once you get used to warm water diving, for an added kick it is still Lobster season!! Although lobstering hasn't been very good the past month, you could still catch one or two and have yourself a nice dinner!

You only need a FL saltwater fishing license with crawfish endorsement and you can even get a 3-day pass if you don't want to buy a year's license... Just go to a dive shop and ask for a pair of gloves, tickle stick, measure gauge and a bag and you're set! There are plenty of forums on here about lobstering and you can actually get some dive shops to do an instructional seminar/lobster dive trip...

I always take my lobster gear on the reef dives outside the no take zones. I enjoy looking at the reef and the fish and if I happen to see some 'bugs', then I've got the stuff I need to bring them home!!