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For Divers since 1975 The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 |
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Captain's Corner - Key West: "Excellent Operation!", May, 2019,by James Wise, AR, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 10931 has 3 Helpful votes.
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Photos Submitted with this ReportClick on an image to see an enlarged version and captions 
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Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Accommodations |  |
Food | N/A |
| Service and Attitude | |
Environmental Sensitivity | |
| Dive Operation | |
Shore Diving | N/A |
| Snorkeling | N/A | ||
Overall Rating |
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| Value for $$ | |
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| Beginners | |
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| Advanced | |
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| Comments | Very professional outfit. No prepayment required for making a reservation. You checkin with Leslie at the kiosk on 631 Greene St. rather than the dive shop on 123 Ann St. Arrive early in Key West because parking is tough in that section of town. The nearest public parking garage is about a 10-15 minute walk. At check in there is a form to fill out front and back with the usual caveats and questions. Having your dive cards handy saves time at checkin rather than accessing a web site. For the Vandenberg and Cayman they do have 30% Nitrox available, though I didn't use it. After checkin Leslie gives you a ticket to get on the boat which is 2 or 3 piers over. You will no board without a ticket. Once you hand your ticket to the Captain (ours was Scott), you will sign your name to a manifest and place your gear onboard. You must have a ticket to get on the boat. The dive boat is a Newton 46' Dive Special which is truly the Mercedes Benz of dive boats. Spacious, well set up. At pier side you board from starboard or port. But you enter and exit the water from the stern. It has a private head area in the bow. There is an upper level the captain drives from that has a wonderful view and seating for 10. While I needed only tanks and weights, their rental gear appeared to be all Atomic brand. The dive masters on these trips were Rick and Cheddie. They were business with a smile. We hired Amanda as a guide as one of our group was only OW certified. The dive masters were very helpful in helping get your gear on board. They had basically everything for a Save You Dive kit onboard. Tools, O-rings, extra gear etc. Roll was called before leaving port and after each dive. Reminded me of muster in the Navy. Roll call after every dive. First we did the Vandenberg in low vis ( 5ft), high current conditions ( 2-2.5 knots). The crew's professionalism made it less stressful. But it was a very tough dive. Increased exertion with less bottom time for sure. So we pulled out from there and went to the Cayman. Which had slightly better visibility and less current. It was much more enjoyable. Pulled back into the pier for about 45 minutes for lunch. The Fisherman's Cafe ( red awning) is 20 steps from the pier and is excellent for a small food stall. They had Lechon Asado for a lunch special that was awesome. For the afternoon dives we did Rock and Sand Key, dive sites which are shallow reef dives. Basically long coral and interdigiting sand fingers. They basically let us dive for an hour at each site. Big Fans on Sand Key. Saw one Silky Shark on Sand Key. 2 or 3 Nurse Sharks. Couple of Bugs on Rock Key. Sand Rays, etc. On the way back the dive masters helped break down the gear. We used the freshwater shower heads to rinse off on the way in. Nice to have someone actually work for your tip. They were certainly one of the most professional dive operations that I used during my week in the Keys. Highly Recommend. 5 stars. | ||
| Websites | Captain's Corner - Key West | ||
Reporter and Travel |
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| Dive Experience | 26-50 dives | ||
| Where else diving | Cuba, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Florida, Arkansas | ||
| Closest Airport | EYW - Key West Internation. | Getting There | |
Dive Conditions |
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| Weather | sunny | Seas | choppy |
| Water Temp | 82-78°F / 28-26°C | Wetsuit Thickness | 1 |
| Water Visibility | 5-30 Ft/ 2-9 M | ||
Dive Policy |
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| Dive own profile | ? | ||
| Enforced diving restrictions | Dive Buddy only restriction of shallow reef dives. If diving the Vandenberg or Cayman ( Both wrecks are greater than 100 ft deep) and not AOW certified, you must hire guide ($60). | ||
| Liveaboard? | no | Nitrox Available? | yes |
What I Saw |
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| Sharks | 1 or 2 | Mantas | None |
| Dolphins | None | Whale Sharks | None |
| Turtles | 1 or 2 | Whales | None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Corals |  |
Tropical Fish | |
| Small Critters |  |
Large Fish | N/A |
| Large Pelagics | N/A | ||
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Subject Matter | |
Boat Facilities | |
| Overall rating for UWP's | N/A | Shore Facilities | N/A |
| UW Photo Comments | [None] | ||
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above. |
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