Scuba gear for Southwest Florida?

[IncreaseMyT]

Awesome man for sure, just saying we should get someone to go with us is all. I am sure you will be fine, just saying me and you shouldn't go alone. Even the guys with a lot of experience run into trouble sometimes.

For instance two of my buddies were out about a month ago, one of them has over 300 hours under water. The other just under 100 hours. They were diving a 45 ft ledge and saw a rain storm coming in. They only had half a tank and were just planning on dropping down to look for some hog fish and then getting right back to the boat. It was just them two on the boat so your anchored down and no one is in the boat.

So as they tell the story, it got really dark all of the sudden down there. They had gotten separated and the first guy saw the anchor slipping and decided to surface to it pouring rain and 4 foot swells. The other guy had no idea, as far as he knows his buddy is still down spearfishing. He doesn't realize the first guy went to the boat and pulled anchor to get back closer to the ledge and entry point. He is looking for the anchor line and its not there, but he knows thats where he was because they have dived that ledge so many times. So he surfaces.

He gets to the top to pouring rain and 4 footers and the boat is nowhere to be seen, so he literally starts filling his mask with rain water. Luckily fired his marker and the first diver who is now driving the boat found him. But scary nonetheless.

I bet they wont drop down with no one on the boat and a storm coming in again lol. Lesson learned.

Point is the gulf side here is nuts in the summer with the storms. You can go from completely flat calm water to 4-6 footers with 35 knot winds and water spouts in as little as 10-15 minutes. When the storm rolls through it really messes up the water.

So just saying since we are both not extremely experienced we need to get another guy or two to go with us

 

[WVScubaSteve]

I couldn’t agree more. We would be fools to do anything but.

 

[Texasguy]

I'd get a 3mm and a vest. You can dive 3mm and when cooler add vest and extra hood on top.

During summer there is a lot of jellies out there, specifically near the surface. You don't want to dive without a protection and 2 dives may chill you out on deeper dives. So, still need a 3mm.

I'd get a good one $150+ range. One that stretches, has zippers on the ankles, etc.

 

[WVScubaSteve]

Again some great advice. Greatly appreciated. I have a two piece 7 mm for cold water up north here and a 3 mm shorty. Would I be ok with the shorty and a hooded long sleeve rash guard over top? Thanks again

 

[Texasguy]

Rashguard does very, very little. It can protect you from jelly in most mild cases and acts as a UV filter, if you are not too deep (you can get sunburned underwater, it is a fact). But overall, it does not help you stay warm all that much. You can have it as an extra layer UNDER 3mm, to keep the water from moving in/out as much.

3mm shorty can be ok on 1st dive but once you go in on your 2nd dive, in 10-15mins you can feel yourself freezing. Depending on water temp and wind during the surface interval. Combining it with a rashguard gives you little.

7mm is a bit too much, btw. I personally find 7mm undivable and I'd rather drysuit instead. Water rarely goes below 70F even at recreational depth. 5mm is most that people dive where I live. Just surface intervals in winter suck due to low air temps. In winter, many times the water is warmer than the air temp.

 

[WVScubaSteve]

Thank you for your advice. This forum appears to like in sharing their knowledge and one can’t have enough when it comes to diving. One more ? Do the currents differ much on the Gulf side compared to the Atlantic side? Being an ocean newbie I realize it’s much different from northern lake diving.

 

[Texasguy]

Thank you for your advice. This forum appears to like in sharing their knowledge and one can’t have enough when it comes to diving. One more ? Do the currents differ much on the Gulf side compared to the Atlantic side? Being an ocean newbie I realize it’s much different from northern lake diving.

I am not sure if anything is even diveable on the Gulf side in S. Florida. I know of zero spots myself. On Atlantic side currents can be bad. When going to the wreck at times it feels like highschool gym where you had to climb the rope. But this is down and the current can be a bit at a different vector pushing you somewhat sideways. It is like climbing a rope to the bottom with a weird gravity shift. People lose masks and fins. Safety stop can be a death grip experience, you let go, you'll leave Broward county in a NY minute.

 

[WVScubaSteve]

I believe there are dives anywhere from 9 miles and further. I’m told summer storms can kick up pretty fast much like Lake Erie due to the shallow depths. I better get some more experience before heading to the Atlantic side.

 

[Texasguy]

I believe there are dives anywhere from 9 miles and further. I’m told summer storms can kick up pretty fast much like Lake Erie due to the shallow depths. I better get some more experience before heading to the Atlantic side.

As they say, there is no experience as one received in a battle. Just jump, hold on to the rope for dear life (gloves help a lot) and don't breath third of your tank on the way down. Got to control the efficiency of the descent to result in less air use. When you are "climbing a rope in the middle of a hurricane level winds", you tend to feel like finishing the tank in one gulp. This is where you wish you ran more often to build stamina. Also, it is a part where you can pickup a lot of CO2.

 

[WVScubaSteve]

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