Trip Report Key Largo/Tavernier Dive Trip (pics)

[Skeptic14]

I finally downloaded my logs from my computer.

Dive length comes up a lot when considering an op and area.

This time as last time, the Capt. with CRD gives the dive brief and "opens the pool" for an hour. Typically he rounded up to the nearest 5 minutes so if you were near the back of the boat and first ones in you were actually (air permitting) able to get over an hour dive.

My shortest dive was 52 minutes. This was the first dive and had the most current, my SAC was .69 due to a combination of the current and not diving regularly. The rest of my dives were between 59 minutes and 65 minutes, where my SAC was back to my usual of around .55 when diving regularly.

I've read that other ops in the area limit the dives to 45 minutes, but I cannot confirm which ones or if that's true. But the extra 15-20 minutes per dive is a big deal if that's true.


That's another consideration for me for planning a Jupiter/WPB/Boynton trip, what will the bottoms times be by comparison? When I lived on the FL panhandle the dives were deep (80-90, and square), and I didn't like diving with HP100s. I didn't wear any additional lead with the HP100s and was still overweighted and I was top heavy and they caused me to roll. Sticking with the AL80 meant dive lengths of around 48minutes with my SAC. Not bad, but you add in decent, ascent and safety stop and the bottom time is definitely reduced.

 

[DavidFL]

It is harder with drift diving / hot drops to setup and accomplish having the camera rig handed down after you're in the water. In some combinations of current and sea state it just isn't practical. I take my smaller rig (compact camera; small housing; either 2 video lights or 2 strobes on arms); it is clipped into a D-ring at the jump and for the whole dive. Instead of a giant stride I turn around on the platform and do a fall on my back entry to provide a little protection for the rig. Some photographers, including me, keep the cover on the dome through the jump, then remove it underwater and stow it in a pocket until starting back up from depth. I usually, but not always, hand up the rig at the end of the dive.

Photography on the drift dive sometimes allows you to get down low or behind some protection and take your time, and sometimes it doesn't. Again, depends a lot on the current on the day, and your own willingness to use up a lot of energy and gas to accomplish it. If you are trying to stay within visual range of the boat's diver in the water towing the float, and he or she doesn't stop when you stop for a shot, it doesn't take much time on a normal day before you will lose sight. I'm usually diving solo and planning to stay in sight of the flag/carrier, but I'm not particularly freaked out if I lose contact, but that means being ready to shoot your DSMB as you start up to give the Captain a better chance of seeing your marker as he/she plans how to pick up the group.

I go back and forth between trying to take stills on high current drift dives, or taking short videos and doing my best in post if I want stills. This is a still from a video clip that happened within the first minutes of a dive that was a hot drop on the Jupiter Wreck Trek; I was still more or less upside down falling through the water column, had just removed and stored the dome cover, hadn't even turned on the lights and spread out the arms yet. The dive guide, Anne (from Kyalami), was clearly better setup with her Gopro than I was!

 

[drrich2]

That's another consideration for me for planning a Jupiter/WPB/Boynton trip, what will the bottoms times be by comparison?

Deep, near square profile group drift dives where the group needs to come up together won’t be real long. With Jupiter Dive Center in 2014, I rented steel 120’s. NDL can limit dive time, even with nitrox. Perhaps others can give more recent typical dive times.

 

[DavidFL]

This is a profile from April 19 this year; out of Boynton Beach; hot drop on the wreck of the Castor. Wasn't a large group, just me and dive buddy @JimBlay plus the dive guide on that trip. I went from steel HP100s to HP130s for my personal tanks for SE Florida (120s would have probably been optimum but that height tank is a challenge for me when seated). This is a more-or-less typical profile for these kinds of dives.

I think we started up when we ran out of things to see at the stern and were ready to get out of the ripping current, and I had about 5 minutes NDL at that point (GF 70/85, EAN36).

And this is a still photo from this dive, Olympus TG6, two BigBlue 15K video lights, some reasonable capability to do still photos in the "lee" of the current behind the wreck superstructure.

 

[Skeptic14]

It is harder with drift diving / hot drops to setup and accomplish having the camera rig handed down after you're in the water. In some combinations of current and sea state it just isn't practical. I take my smaller rig (compact camera; small housing; either 2 video lights or 2 strobes on arms); it is clipped into a D-ring at the jump and for the whole dive. Instead of a giant stride I turn around on the platform and do a fall on my back entry to provide a little protection for the rig. Some photographers, including me, keep the cover on the dome through the jump, then remove it underwater and stow it in a pocket until starting back up from depth. I usually, but not always, hand up the rig at the end of the dive.

Rolling in backwards does seem like it should be easier on the rig, I don't think I'd risk a giant stride entry, seems asking to cause a leak in the housing.

This is a still from a video clip that happened within the first minutes of a dive that was a hot drop on the Jupiter Wreck Trek; I was still more or less upside down falling through the water column, had just removed and stored the dome cover, hadn't even turned on the lights and spread out the arms yet. The dive guide, Anne (from Kyalami), was clearly better setup with her Gopro than I was!

Cool shot!

May just have to take a pared-down rig for first day to get a feel for things and see how it goes.

 

[Skeptic14]

Deep, near square profile group drift dives where the group needs to come up together won’t be real long. With Jupiter Dive Center in 2014, I rented steel 120’s. NDL can limit dive time, even with nitrox. Perhaps others can give more recent typical dive times.

Looking back at my logs, with AL80 dive times were 36-42 minutes with similar square profiles.

View attachment 669072

Did you ever see AL100s available from any operators, or just steel?

 

[drrich2]

I don’t know what all JDC had. I think Scuba Works had Steel 100s with generous fills, IIRC, for diving with Emerald Charter.

I learned researching a Caribbean trip that 100 cf AL tanks are often rated for a 3300 psi fill pressure, yet often only get filled to 3000 psi so divers often get about 90 cf, not 100.

 

[tomcatbubba]

I don’t know what all JDC had. I think Scuba Works had Steel 100s with generous fills, IIRC, for diving with Emerald Charter.

I learned researching a Caribbean trip that 100 cf AL tanks are often rated for a 3300 psi fill pressure, yet often only get filled to 3000 psi so divers often get about 90 cf, not 100.

They are probably filling them to more thank 3000, but they fill quick, because, they want to get on to other things than filling tanks. So the tanks cool after a quick fill, and then the pressure drops. Its one of the reasons I fill my own LP tanks SLOWLY. It is easier on the metal, and it keeps the temp lower to keep the PSI drop minimal.

 

[sunshower]

Nice write up, I’ve always enjoyed diving with Conch Republic; good op and lots of great dive sites nearby.

 

[Agamemnon]

Great shots! Considering you were able to get these nice shots, did you feel you had sufficient time to take photos or, with CRD, did you have to catch up to the group occasionally? Or, did you have the ability to just do your own thing and take photos?

I have a hard time keeping up with the group when joining as a single and trying to get some photos...

Great shots and report again!