mcse_jacksonvil
Guest
Hopped a charter with a LDS. Figured I'd give everyone a brief report.
Cost: $60.00
website claims hot dogs and refreshments, we were provided with cheese crackers and an assortment of canned beverages that left a lot to be desired.
Vessel: a 30' dive boat well equipped, a little over crowded with 13 divers and gear but very manageable. I think they would do well to lessen their maximum to 10 divers.
Called a day in advance to find out where we would be going, they refused to even give a list of possibilities. Said it would depend on Ocean conditions. I find it hard to believe that they don't have a "top ten" list of sites to check out. This was kinda frustrating but some people may not care I guess as long as they get to dive.
The Crew: Very polite DM and Captain. Made no apologies for the shortcomings in advertised food but all acted very professional and eager to help the Noobs. Exception: the Captain tried to leave the dock without casting of the stern line. Seemed a very amatuerish mistake to me. Faith was restored when returning to port, he manuvered the vessel quite expertly in the close confines of the marina.
The Dives:
First Dive was a Tugboat, I'd love to give more details but none were provided. Approximately 9miles offshore due east of the Jetties and perhaps south a mile or less. Visibility was approximately 10-20 feet, the excessive numbers of newbies kicking up sand on the bottom reduced this to a pretty consistant 10'. The wreck had a large quantity of baitfish, along with a few yellow tailed damsels, large gorgonians and several large sportfish such as grouper. Several Sheepshead and even a sizable flounder were spotted. Strong Bottom currents, Depth 77'
Second Dive:
a sunken Barge, broken and collapse no doubt from old age. unsure of exact location but it was within a minutes drive from the first dive. By this time a lot of the Noobs were seasick and passed on the dive. Visibility was about 20-25' but this dive was much more enjoyable due to the lack of silt being kicked up. A large abundance of grouper, Triggerfish, and other spearable specimens. Many more corals than the first dive and since the sun had come out from behind the clouds by now, the colors were much more inviting. One of the DM's jumped in with his speargun and bagged two groupers and a large trigger within ten minutes. Bottom current was lighter than the tug, Depth: 72'
Overall, There's no such thing in my opinion, as a bad dive so long as no one gets hurt. This being my first ocean experience, I was hoping for more but did not walk away thoroughly disappointed. I was disappointed that the charter advertised better food and did not provide it. I was also disappointed that they would not give me any clue as to possible dive sites we may be visiting until we were underway. Being as the vis was so bad at our first dive, I would think that they would try to make our second dive better by trying another site that was within a mile or two. Obviously they would rather not spend the extra fuel. Overall, I had a fun day and what was supposed to be a half day trip returning to port around 1:30pm, actually turned out to be a quarter day trip returning to port at 11:30am. For this I would have rather slept in the extra two hours and been on the water with the full sun above to improve the Vis for the dives. For $60 bucks, I'd do it again, but I will definitely bring a small cooler. By the way, the Thermocline sucks, bottom temp was 67 degrees and surface temps were high 70's
Cost: $60.00
website claims hot dogs and refreshments, we were provided with cheese crackers and an assortment of canned beverages that left a lot to be desired.
Vessel: a 30' dive boat well equipped, a little over crowded with 13 divers and gear but very manageable. I think they would do well to lessen their maximum to 10 divers.
Called a day in advance to find out where we would be going, they refused to even give a list of possibilities. Said it would depend on Ocean conditions. I find it hard to believe that they don't have a "top ten" list of sites to check out. This was kinda frustrating but some people may not care I guess as long as they get to dive.
The Crew: Very polite DM and Captain. Made no apologies for the shortcomings in advertised food but all acted very professional and eager to help the Noobs. Exception: the Captain tried to leave the dock without casting of the stern line. Seemed a very amatuerish mistake to me. Faith was restored when returning to port, he manuvered the vessel quite expertly in the close confines of the marina.
The Dives:
First Dive was a Tugboat, I'd love to give more details but none were provided. Approximately 9miles offshore due east of the Jetties and perhaps south a mile or less. Visibility was approximately 10-20 feet, the excessive numbers of newbies kicking up sand on the bottom reduced this to a pretty consistant 10'. The wreck had a large quantity of baitfish, along with a few yellow tailed damsels, large gorgonians and several large sportfish such as grouper. Several Sheepshead and even a sizable flounder were spotted. Strong Bottom currents, Depth 77'
Second Dive:
a sunken Barge, broken and collapse no doubt from old age. unsure of exact location but it was within a minutes drive from the first dive. By this time a lot of the Noobs were seasick and passed on the dive. Visibility was about 20-25' but this dive was much more enjoyable due to the lack of silt being kicked up. A large abundance of grouper, Triggerfish, and other spearable specimens. Many more corals than the first dive and since the sun had come out from behind the clouds by now, the colors were much more inviting. One of the DM's jumped in with his speargun and bagged two groupers and a large trigger within ten minutes. Bottom current was lighter than the tug, Depth: 72'
Overall, There's no such thing in my opinion, as a bad dive so long as no one gets hurt. This being my first ocean experience, I was hoping for more but did not walk away thoroughly disappointed. I was disappointed that the charter advertised better food and did not provide it. I was also disappointed that they would not give me any clue as to possible dive sites we may be visiting until we were underway. Being as the vis was so bad at our first dive, I would think that they would try to make our second dive better by trying another site that was within a mile or two. Obviously they would rather not spend the extra fuel. Overall, I had a fun day and what was supposed to be a half day trip returning to port around 1:30pm, actually turned out to be a quarter day trip returning to port at 11:30am. For this I would have rather slept in the extra two hours and been on the water with the full sun above to improve the Vis for the dives. For $60 bucks, I'd do it again, but I will definitely bring a small cooler. By the way, the Thermocline sucks, bottom temp was 67 degrees and surface temps were high 70's
