Dive Review of Conch Republic Divers/Ocean Pointe Suites in
The Continental USA/Tavernier

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Conch Republic Divers/Ocean Pointe Suites, May, 2006, by Richard Sziede, VA, USA . Report 2490.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The sixth time is the charm. The Spiegle Grove has always been my bad-luck dive. Previous attempts all came a cropper. First try the damn thing hadn't sunk. Second: flooded camera. Third: Wilma. Conch Republic Divers had three Speigle Grove dives this weekend. I merrily did all three. Finally overcome my jinx. All three Spiegle dives had wicked current. Up and down on the mooring line, hung out like flags, attended by a school of curious (I hoped not hungry) barracuda. First dive I missed the mooring line for the ascent. My computer was deep into the yellow zone, so rather than spend time hunting for the line, we came up free. Current put us way out of swimming distance from the boat. Scenes from "Open Water" began playing in the back of my mind. Another dive boat sent a swimmer with a rope, and we were soon reunited with Conch Republic. The dive masters were kind about my blunder. Pointedly kind. The second and third dives we kept the mooring line in sight. My jinx held for the second dive. I had rigged the video housing very slightly off. It didn't leak, but I couldn’t turn the camera on: a fact I didn’t learn ‘till I was in water. I no longer have the right to make fun of Perkin Elmer for not performing that end-to-end test on the Hubble before launch. Finally got good footage on the last dive. Conch Republic runs a tight boat. In and out on time, no slip-ups, cheerful and helpful crew. Two-man crew handled a crowded boat with aplomb. An additional hanging rack for dive skins and BCDs would be nice. Last boat in had no place to hang wet gear other than over the stuff already hanging there. The shop didn't see this as a problem. Fish life seemed thinner than my last visit. Fewer 'cuda and Grouper. The huge green moray I remembered from my last dive on the Benwood was on vacation. The schools of Atlantic Spadefish were entirely absent. But there were plenty of Striped Grunts, File Fish, Pipe Fish, and other little guys. A Goliath Grouper is in residence in Speigle Grove's wheelhouse. (Some wag wondered if Florida would rename Jewfish Creek.) Most shallow sites have a compliment of Nurse Sharks. Got good footage of a High Hat patrolling a coral cave right under the nose of a Green Moray. Lobsters and crabs came out to pose for my camera. Ocean Pointe Suites had some negative reviews on travel sites. They lived down to them. Seafood lovers can't go wrong in the Keys. Fishing boats bring their catch right to their favorite resturants. In DC you have to go to 3-star joints to get fish from "day boats." In the Keys, just go to Fish House, or Snappers. Don's Diner in Key Largo provides a belly-bustin' breakfast. Atlantic's Edge in the upscale Cheecha Lodge is not much more expensive than Fish House, with a big step up in ambiance. A wedding in the lodge presented a South Florida fashon show that was a refreshing change from Washington DC's boring business suits. Many guests wore Florida's high-maintenance woman uniform: dress too tight, makeup too thick, tottering on Manolo Blahnik shoes. Love the Keys, liked Conch Republic. Won't use Ocean Pointe again.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Florida Keys, Belieze, Bay Islands, Saba, Turks & Caicos, Cayman, Cozumel
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	77-78°F / 25-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Could use a better rinse tank.

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Dive Review of Conch Republic Divers/Ocean Pointe Suites in The Continental USA/Tavernier

Conch Republic Divers/Ocean Pointe Suites, May, 2006,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Conch Republic Divers/Ocean Pointe Suites in
The Continental USA/Tavernier