The Flower Gardens of Texas

[sbernard]

My wife, daughter and myself would like to make a trip to the Texas Flower Garens. If it were just myself, I'd take the first boat out, all of them I've found tend to bunk people 4-8 to a room. Obviously, this will never work for my wife and daughter. Anyone know of a liveaboard to the Gardens that offers private staterooms?

Thanks, Steve

 

[archman]

As far as I know the only liveaboards that go to the Flower Gardens are the MV's Fling, Spree, and Sea Searcher II. None of these are what anyone would call "luxury liveaboards," not like a Nekton or Aggressor boat anyways. They're a couple steps above Blackbeard's sailboats out of Miami. Usually everyone has a great time.

 

[DandyDon]

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How old is your daughter, and are all three of your certified with at least a little ocean diving experience? It'd help if you're profile gave more info...?

don

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Welcome to Scubaboard.

That being said...

The Spree and the Fling have a couple double beds on them in a forward compartment. They generally count on at least one couple making the trip who will sleep together in the double. You could give the double to your wife and daughter.

The beds do have good privacy curtains. They also block the AC so it gets warm in your bunk quickly. I don't know how modest your spouse or how old your girl is, so I don't know if that would be acceptable.

The forward compartment is going to be noisier, and have more motion. Not good if it gets rough.

Please understand... most dive shops will sell a spot on the boat to anyone. I have said it many times...

The Flower Gardens is NOT A NOVICE DIVE SPOT.

Feel free to PM me all the questions you wish. You can also search the board and find several trip reports.

Read this thread http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13284&highlight=Sea+searcher+trip+report

Happy holidays

TwoBit

 

[IceBergSlim]

dandydon once bubbled...

How old is your daughter, and are all three of your certified with at least a little ocean diving experience? It'd help if you're profile gave more info...?

Good questions!
The Flower gardens are a great dive site. There is plenty to see and the Oil Rig dives are remarkable. (1000' of water in some cases, so good boyuancy control is required to stay within Rec Limits). Reefs are within 60' to 120'. The sea conditions can be a bit rough. (as was my experience anyway) These sites are very far from the land and the weather can kick up things in an alarming way. Our trip experienced mad current and high seas. If you get lost here...YOU GET LOST HERE. (always carry a "dive alert" and safety sausage...which are required there anyway)
Not to say that it is a bad place for newer divers (I was one when I went there-did my AOW on that trip), but I must say that this is a place that "You Never Know What You Will Get" .
All that said, My time there was remarkable. We all had some great dives. I was on the MV Fling (aparently the MV Spree is the same deal.) Ours was a nice boat- but as to luxury...all they had to offer was "3 hots and a cot". The "hots" were good simple food and the "cot" was a berth with 3 other men...engine noise and all that...
Hope this helps in you adventure choice,
Peace, DG

 

[domino22]

sbernard once bubbled...
My wife, daughter and myself would like to make a trip to the Texas Flower Garens. If it were just myself, I'd take the first boat out, all of them I've found tend to bunk people 4-8 to a room. Obviously, this will never work for my wife and daughter. Anyone know of a liveaboard to the Gardens that offers private staterooms?

Thanks, Steve

Hey here is my opion. #1 Where will you be coming from? These boats all three do not decide to go untill the last minute. You have to call the day you leave to see if the trip is on. I went on the Sea Searcher last July and got the go at 12 noon for boarding at 9 pm. Nice boat group sleeping I was in a four bunk room. The other two boats take alot more people the Sea Searcher takes 16. But a few feet smaller but all three get good reviews. The diving in MOST cases is not novice and the currents can change in a split second and so can the waves. But the diving is good and so was the food. I know one guy who took 15 yrs to make the trip because the weather screwed him each time he booked a weekend trip. An other times they were booked. It took me three trys but I hit a three day weekend and they closed the pool only for two dives last July. The second one was a night dive and I had started happy hour my fault. If you get sea sick eat pills or what ever we had alot of people BLOW big time. Oh ya bring a compass if you loose sight of the mooring line you will find yourself in a forrest of coral and it all looks the same.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

The Flower gardens are a great dive site. There is plenty to see and the Oil Rig dives are remarkable. (1000' of water in some cases, so good boyuancy control is required to stay within Rec Limits).

This is a good statement for bouyancy control. We have all seen inexpericenced divers who had poor control. In blue water it is easy to hit 100ft and not realize it. If you go over 100ft on a dive with either the fling or the spree you Sit the next dive. Do it again and you are FINISHED.

Reefs are within 60' to 120'. The sea conditions can be a bit rough. (as was my experience anyway) These sites are very far from the land and the weather can kick up things in an alarming way. Our trip experienced mad current and high seas.

THis is also a good claim for experience.

If you get lost here...YOU GET LOST HERE. (always carry a "dive alert" and safety sausage...which are required there anyway)

If you don't have one, they (Gulf divers, Sea Searcher didn't when I dove with them) issue you one. They hold a DL or C-card in return

Not to say that it is a bad place for newer divers (I was one when I went there-did my AOW on that trip), but I must say that this is a place that "You Never Know What You Will Get" .

Exactly the reason this is a bad place for a new diver. It can be glass calm or it can be borderline rough. It can go from one to the other quickly.


TwoBit

 

[chrpai]

This is a good statement for bouyancy control. We have all seen inexpericenced divers who had poor control. In blue water it is easy to hit 100ft and not realize it. If you go over 100ft on a dive with either the fling or the spree you Sit the next dive. Do it again and you are FINISHED.


Exactly the reason this is a bad place for a new diver. It can be glass calm or it can be borderline rough. It can go from one to the other quickly.

TwoBit-

Admittedly I've just recently moved to Houston and I havn't been out with them yet, but their website disagrees with what you are posting here.

http://www.gulf-diving.com/faq.html

Specifically they say:

"Divers must hold a minimum certification of open water "

"Surface signaling devices (See-me, safety sausage) and whistles or Dive-Alert's are also highly recommended" ( NOT REQUIRED )

"130 fsw for the first dive of the day ONLY, and 100 fsw for all subsequent dives"


I see you are quiet enthusiastic about stating how the flower gardens is not for new divers, but I seriously doubt this can be nearly as hard as the diving I've done up in the Mid-Atlantic.

 

[redacted]

TwoBit-

I see you are quiet enthusiastic about stating how the flower gardens is not for new divers, but I seriously doubt this can be nearly as hard as the diving I've done up in the Mid-Atlantic.

The FGB can be a kitten or a wild cat. When the seas are calm, currents mild, and vis is good; it's a dive that damn near anybody could handle. But when seas are at their maximum safe diving limits (The boarding ladders are barely staying in the water), currents are higher than you can swim against, and vis drops from 80 ft to 15 ft; the dive may challenge even the best. Granted, they don't involve cold water, penetrations (unless someone gets stupid enough to search those dead-end coral tunnels) or deco - its not the Doria. But injuries and death at FGB, in spite of excellent safety precautions by the operators, attest to the number of divers who have underestimated the Gulf or overestimated their ability & condition.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Chrpi,

I dove with Gulf diver last year. If you did not bring a sausage you were issued one.

Ok... Consider this... Novice OW diver books trip a month in advance. A front rolls through and makes things borderline. The trip goes. OW diver has several choices... Cancell and eat the trip cost. Go and put him/herself in a position to dive in conditions over his head. Go, not dive, and take a long expensive boat trip.

You are correct.From what I have been told, these boats would cancell for conditions that an Atlantic boat wouldn't. I have never dove on the Atlantic coast. Would you recommend a newbie diver to take a trip out on an Atlantic boat in 4-5 foot seas, cross currents, surge, and limited vis?

I guess I really want people to understand what the dive shops will not tell them. New divers go out to the gardens every year. They come home in one peice all the time. Last summer was one of the best the trip operators had as far as weather. But on my trip in 2001 the weather was rough and several people either didn't dive or made very few dives.

I'll get off my soapbox now. :box: