Tips on diving the Spiegel Grove?

[siebharinn]

My buddy and I dove the Spiegel Grove in January of this year and I ruptured my eardrum just after touching down on the boat. So there is a tip for you: don't rupture anything! :11:

We used Scuba-Do and were pretty happy with them. I even got a refund for the second day of diving, since I was broken and couldn't go. It's not a cattle boat, and the crew was very friendly.

 

[stevetim]

Havent' had a chance to dive it myself. I have heard that some dive operators require you to have your AOW cert. or else they won't let you dive with them. From your post I couldn't tell if you were AOW, or not. Calling ahead to verify this couldn't hurt.

 

[Violeta]

I do have my advanced... I do not yet have Nitrox, which is only due to the cost of the class. I'm actually considering getting Nitrox certified in Florida, so it would help if I could find a shop that will also do that with me while I'm there...

Havent' had a chance to dive it myself. I have heard that some dive operators require you to have your AOW cert. or else they won't let you dive with them. From your post I couldn't tell if you were AOW, or not. Calling ahead to verify this couldn't hurt.

 

[mike_s]

I've always heard that most places required you to have AOW to dive it, but we had people that didn't have AOW with us and they let everyone dive it. We also had an instructor in our group so that might have been the reason for that.

I think that if you have proof of logged deep dives in recent time period, most
shops will take that in leiu of AOW.

You can always do the Nitrox class here and the checkout dives down there as an option, but sometimes shops aren't comfortable with that. I don't know what the
class will cost down there if you call it all there, but I think my "classroom" portion of the class took about 4 hours I think. The problem might be getting a class scheduled during your time frame. If you're entire group was to take it though, you shouldn't have a problem.

-Mike

 

[Talon]

Just did the SG twice on Saturday morning. Our club went out with Conch Republic and we had a GREAT time overall. The viz went to the crapper on the 2nd dive as the current picked up, but it was awesome seeing her in her new orientation.

Who to use: Conch Republic: http://www.conchrepublicdivers.com/home.html

Brenda and Gary will take AWESOME care of you. Very friendly and safty orientated - but not to the point where they turn into dive nazi's! They will let you have fun, but won't let you be stupid

You "can" do the SG on air - but I suggest Nitrox. Especially if you are pretty good on air and/or plan on doing her back to back. No way I could have done my profile without it. Once again, talk to Conch about the cert - they can take care of you.

Where to stay: We stayed at Ocean Pointe. It was my first time and I would say it was "okay". But if I wanted a place for more then just a bed at night - I would do elsewhere myself.

Michael
Down Under Dive Club

 

[The Dive Bum]

I dive with Keys Mobile Diving. Steve Moore is the guys name . He puts 6 on his boat and will dive whenever and wherever you want. Check out www.keysmobilediving.com for all his info. We have used his boat in Key Largo and then pulled it out of the water and taken it to Key West at NO extra charge. This is one of the best dive boats I have used in the Keys

 

[Scubageezer]

I did the SG this past spring with SilentWorld. I don't have a lot of experience with Keys charters but they treated us extremely well. Safe and knowledgeable.

I can't remember who mentioned it, but your dive boat needs to get there early. We were a bit late in the morning and had to "settle" for a bow mooring. It was still freakin' awesome. What a boat! We got lucky in that there wasn't even a breath of current, but don't plan on it. Happy diving!

 

[pickens_46929]

I'm planning a trip to the Spiegel Grove next weekend. Any tips would be appreciated... best shop to use, rent a boat instead, nitrox or not, etc.? It will be my first time there. I'll also be diving with my bro and sis-in-law. Thanks for any help!!
Vio

Violeta,

I use Silent World in Key Largo. It's a no frills kind of shop but the dives can be cheap. $25 per dive or less depending upon how many you purchase. Rick has a 10 dive special for $200... http://www.silentworldkeylargo.com/charters.htm

He can do Nitrox as well. I generally use EANx30 or 32 on the Grove. It gives that extra margin of safety and adds bottom time. It's a really large ship so don't even think about seeing 1/2 of it on the dive.

Call Rick or who ever is at the shop and ask about conditions. They'll know what it's been like lately in terms of surf, water temp and current.

Haven't been on the Grove since it was turned. Was there the weekend before and the current was pushing a good 2 to 3 knots.

Alternatively, you can dive with Island Ventures which can provide a "double dip" on the Spiegel Grove... good people too... little nicer than Silent World but slightly more expensive... if you want to get 2 dives on the Spiegel Grove, this is the shop to do it with... http://www.islandventure.com/

Do a couple warm up dives to get bouyancy nailed down and add a couple pounds to be on the safe side. Don't switch from air to nitrox like I did the last time... the air tanks were neutral 80's... had my bouyancy dialed in perfect... switched to nitrox and the tanks weren't neutral so I was 4 lbs. light and had trouble getting down.

Take your reef gloves as the mooring ropes can be rough sometimes.

Enjoy!

 

[pickens_46929]

We will be diving Saturday and Sunday, as much as our computers will let us... So, we can do the Spiegel Grove more than once. Are there any good strategies for how to split up dives to get the most out of it and see the best areas?
Thanks!!

Ok, so I am a cheap cheap cheap diver... I admit it... want the best value for my money. Here's my dive group's "normal" Key Largo trip:

Friday
Leave Indianapolis first thing Friday morning
Arrive Ft. Lauderdale Noon to mid-afternoon
Thrifty Rent-a-Car
Head straight for Silent World Dive Center in Key Largo
http://www.pennekamp.com/sw/
Sign Waivers, get weights...
Check in at Hungry Pelican http://www.hungrypelican.com
Head to dock and do night dive on City of Washington
Grab grub where ever is open
Saturday
Head to dock and do some shallow reef and wrecks (2 dives)
Scoot over to subways and grab lunch
Back at dock for 2 more dives
Quick dinner
Back at dock for night dive
Sunday
Head to dock for Speigel Grove + shallow reef
Scoot over to subways and grab lunch
Back at dock for 2 more dives
Hotel to clean up for nice dinner and rinse rinse rinse gear
Whale Harbour Seafood Buffet for dinner
Monday
Final drying and packing
2pm Flight to Indy

Our group does this at least once a year for $700 car, diving, airfare and hotel (incl. brkfst). Nitrox extra.

Like I said I am cheap cheap cheap.... so in 4 days we get 10 dives in easily. When ATA flew into Ft. Lauderdale we could actually get 12 dives in. the last trip we took in July, we stayed until Tuesday and some of us got 14 dives in!

Some of the dive sites we do typically:

Benwood
City of Washington
French Reef
Molasses Reef
Carysfort Reef and Lighthouse
Spiegel Grove
Minnow Caves
Mike's Wreck

Dave

 

[Talon]

I'm sorry to be rude here, but Pickens... What the heck are you talking about?

Nitrox (simply a higher percentage of O2) is not adding weight to your tanks! Well, maybe 1/100000 of a gram based of molecular weight of oxygen versus nitrogen... Which is the heavier molecule

2nd DO NOTADD MORE WEIGHT just for the Spiegel. Your just asking for trouble!!!!!!