Keys Diving - BIG Disappointment!

njdivr

Re: Key Largo, April 10th–12th
Silent World Diving
Ocean Divers

Hi Folks:

I just wanted to relay my experiences on my recent trip to the Florida Keys; Key Largo specifically. Back in January a buddy of mine asked if I would accompany him on a dive trip to Key Kargo. I’m not looking to insult anyone but, the Keys have never held much interest for me because they do not have a reputation for being tech friendly. Unfortunately, this trip as you will read lived up to that reputation. Anyway; with a little arm twisting I agreed and my buddy and I started looking for a rebreather friendly shop/operation.

Based on some threads in Rebreather World (Rebreather World), some diver recommendations and training agency referrals, we began looking more closely at Horizon Divers, Conch Republic Divers and Silent World Diving. Three (3) emails to Horizon Divers went unanswered, so they fell out of contention immediately. My buddy spoke with Conch Republic and they sounded promising, but they were not based in Key Largo where we would be staying. Silent World replied to emails, seemed to be reasonable on the phone and seemed OK based on posts/threads on Rebreather World.

We made it very clear that we were looking to dive wrecks not reefs, and that we were looking to run extended (60-90 min.) profiles using rebreathers. I informed Silent World that my buddy was new to his Dive Rite O2ptima and that we weren’t looking to go deeper than 130/140 fsw. I also informed them of my interest in diving the Spiegel Grove, the USS Duane and the USS Bibb. During one telephone conversation, I even conceded to diving on shallower wrecks, if necessary, as long as we could dive 60-90 minute runs. This was all agreed to by Silent World prior to our trip.

About a month or so prior to our trip, my buddy injured his arm and required surgery to repair some tendons. This obviously knocked him out of the dive box. I relayed this to Silent World and was told that it would not be a problem; and that I could still dive according to the plan(s) I had made previously. Three days prior to the trip another monkey wrench fell into the works. My rebreather failed on a coldwater dive, leaving me rebreatherless for my trip; a godsend in hindsight. After not being able to correct the problem, I relayed the information to Silent World. To their credit, they didn’t have a problem with the last minute change and set me up with a set of doubles. I bring this up because as you will read, they had more than a few times to set things straight.

Now that you’ve got the background, here’s where the problems start.

On Thursday 10-Apr-08, I was directed to sign-in at the dive shop and pickup my rental gear; one set of doubles and a sling bottle. The owner (Chris) wasn’t there but, his counter-person, Jenn, was very helpful. I verified that we were diving the Speigel Grove and was told that the 2nd dive would be on a shallow wreck/reef. When I asked about running an extended profile, she politely referred me to the boat captain. Upon arrial at the boat, I spoke to the captain in private and was told that I would not be able to run more than 30-40 minutes, but that she would put me in the water 1st so as to maximize my time. Obviously, she was being as considerate as possible, but 30-40 minutes IS NOT 60-90. Because it was my first dive/outing with the shop/boat, I chalked it up to a checkout dive. I’ve been around long enough to know that operators/crews like to see how you conduct yourself before lightening up on the reins. I actually have a great deal of respect and admiration for operators who do this. Anyway, the first dive goes without a hitch and we move onto the next site, the Benwood – a whopping 30 fsw. Worse; I’m told that the allowed bottom time for the dive is 20-30 minutes! Well; that’s about all you need to dive the wreck BUT, you certainly don’t need doubles or a sling bottle for the dive (much less a rebreather). On the ride back, the captain informs me that this is the typical dive plan in Key Largo.

They leave at 9:00 am and need to be back before their 1:00 pm dive. We were back at the dock between 12:00 and 12:30 pm each day. At best, we’re looking at a 3-1/2 hour charter. 45 minutes out and then back sucks up 1 and a ½ hours, leaving 2 hours to dive, SIT and move. There’s no way they can accommodate a single 60-90 minute dive, much less two of them.

After the 1st day, I went back to the shop and spoke with Jenn. She informed me that the next days trip was going to be to two shallower wrecks, but that if I was unhappy with the destination she would pass me to another operator. After she made a few calls, it seemed that the other operators were all running to reefs. Choosing to dive wrecks rather than reefs, I stayed with Silent World. Fridays dives were to Mike’s Wreck and the City of Washington. Did I tell you that I was told the wrecks were supposed to be in approximately 50 fsw. Well the reality is you couldn’t make 30 fsw without the use of a backhoe on either wreck. On a positive note, I was allowed two 45 minute dives; HARDLY worth the effort of wearing doubles, much less a sling bottle!

Well this finished me with Silent World, so I put my tail between my legs and went back to the shop. Oddly enough, Saturday’s game plan was going to be a repeat of Friday’s. So I opted to be passed onto an operator going to the Spiegel Grove. At first, I was passed onto Quessance only to find out later that they didn’t have an arrangement with Silent World. Back to Silent World and another handoff to Ocean Divers. I had heard of OD’s large scale operation and wasn’t too pleased. However, I was assured that they only had 12 divers on a boat meant for 24. I was also told to speak to the crew about getting in the aft/port corner to allow easy immediate access to the water upon arrival. In fairness, Jenn informed me that OD would not allow an extended profile, but that they would allow me in the water 1st.

Saturday came and I arrived at OD at 7:15 am as directed in order to speak to the staff before other customers started to arrive. Mike and Craig appeared less than pleased and advised me to wait for everyone else to arrive; after 7:30 am. When I asked about getting the corner spot, I was abruptly told that the spot was for crew. When boarding time came, I was placed forward of their camera table with no less than 8 single tank divers (not crew) placed closer to the entrance. When splash time came, I was given NO extra consideration to get in the water 1st. Worse; the 12 divers turned out to be 26 divers. Prior to splash time, the captain dictated that no decompression dives would be permitted and that no dives were to last longer than 30 minutes; so much for extended range. The trip continued downhill when our 2nd dive wound up on the Benwood.

I realize that my main beef lies with Silent World for putting me on Ocean Divers’ boat. However, I have to say that I was more than shocked with OD’s operation. I can’t see how their operation continues to get such high rating in the recreational dive magazines. They had 26 divers onboard and only one person, Mike, claiming to be the boat’s divemaster. The captain apparently drives the boat and that alone. The only positive here was that they allowed the divers to dive their own plan. However, there were more than a few who had some issues with their gear and their plan. Their DM did nothing to correct problems and the captain hid on the fly bridge, reading a book and munching on Fritos. Granted 26 divers is a lot to keep track of, but some of the problems were blatant. As the divers readied for the dive, the DM waited in the back of the boat and I’ve already told you what the captain was doing. The capatin didn’t even assist the DM when the divers were returning. Based upon what I saw, this is a really scarey operation.

Why am I relaying this information? To help those who are seeking reputable technical diving outfits. Just because an operator allows rebreather and twinset divers onboard, doesn’t mean they’re rebreather/technical diving friendly. To the operators: if you don’t offer extended profiles, don’t say that you do. If shallow, single-tank, OC scuba trips are your thing, let the people know it. If I knew I’d be doing such diving, I could have saved myself a lot of grief in carrying extra gear and paying airline bagage surcharges for it.

Silent World is by what I could see a very good recreational dive outfit. They are not however anywhere near being a technical outfit. I only hope that my experience helps the next diver who is looking for a tech outfit. Overall, the diving side of my vacation BIT THE WEENIE. Caveat Emptor!

__________________
Take care,
-Charlie.

Still breathing...

netmage

Charlie,

I'm sure it comes down to managing expectations... where to start....

Ocean Divers - a large scale operation that caters to the warm water weenies, and they have the advertising budget to prove it - of course the recreational magazines love them....

Walking into any 'public' trip in the keys means your dealing w/ a planned recreational trip... Your a walk-on paying for a spot... which means your runtime and dive plan is at the whim of the schedule... As your note mentions, set departures and returns to pick up the afternoon trip leave little more for much beyond 45-55 mins w/ a SI...

Chartering the whole boat, while more $$$, allows you infinately more flexibility w/ determining runtimes, so long as the trip parameters are defined.

I'd have to say the key issue was when/whomever planted the idea of delivering 2 x 60-90 min runtimes on a 'public' charter, or switching you from a double-drop to a wreck/reef combo.... In all likely hood that was the miscommunication. On scheduled 'double drops' both Silent World and Conch Republic will allow a single deco dive...

Sorry you had a bad experience,... we'll have to set up some sort of S.C.R.U.B.S. invitational where we take over an operation for the entire weekend. With recreational depths, I'd imagine we could talk Chris or Gary into 3 x 6-90min dives on an all day charter... With only one run out and back, I'm it has to save a ton of gas and time... The key is bringing enough bodies to make it economically viable for their business.

-Tim

sfldiver

Charlie, I'm acually headed down to the Keys this afternoon for a few days of diving with some other rebreather divers through Conch Republic. Our plan is to do back-to-back dives on the Speigel Grove and the Eagle on Saturday and Sunday respectively, which gives us the option of one long dive or two shorter ones each day - Hopefully everything goes according to plan!

I'm sorry to hear that you had a less than adequate experience. I'm surprised, because recently, Silent World has provided excellent service to some of our local Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s divers, which is evidenced by some great trip reports.

I wouldn't totally get jaded on the whole Keys experience, because it is possible to plan some quality technical wreck diving there with some advanced planning. Next time, I suggest you post your itinerary online in the Florida S.C.R.U.B.'s section, which may generate more interest from other local divers and give you more ability to dictate terms of a dive if you show up with more divers.

However, if you're looking for some good wreck diving, the Pompano Beach area has some awesome wrecks in all different depths, so I suggest you give that area a shot on your next trip. Also, there are a few quality six-pack dive boat operators that cater to the technical diving crowd, which makes the planning thing easier with few people.

__________________
Currently piloting & shooting...
Dive Rite O2ptima FX
*Rigged w/ a Dsix Custom Aluminum Frame, Nomad Wing, Transpac Harness and VR3 Computer w/ VPM-B/E & a 4th Cell Sensor Link.
Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera
*Rigged in a Patima-PDCH 2008 G9 Aluminum Housing w/ an Inon UWL-100 Achromat Wide Conversion Lens, 2 Inon UCL-165M67 Close-Up Lenses and 2 Inon Z-240 Strobes.

Chris at Silent World

Hi Charlie,

I am sorry you found your trip such a disappointment. I was here to help throughout your trip and said "hi how is it going?" numerous times and we had a bit of light hearted banter in the shop, so your comments are a real shock as you never once let me know you were not happy during your stay. I even called you on your cell to ask how your trip with Ocean Divers went, but you did not call me back.

We also need to set the record straight regarding what you booked and also your expectations. Firstly, there were only two of you initally booked for the trip. I clearly explained that 2 divers is not enough to run a boat out to the deep wrecks for a tech dive unless you charter the whole boat and have it as a private trip. I advised that we have an excellent opportunity to do tech diving for a buddy pair on our regular recreational dive trips where we do a double dip. (rec divers do 2 short dives and you do 1 long one). I also mentioned the caveat that if the conditions are not favorable for a 1hr surface interval or if anyone does not want to do do two deep dives in a row, then we would have to do a second dive on the reef.

I bought in more sofnolime and reserved CCR bottles for you for when you checked in. You called me in advance to say that it would only be you diving. "No problem" I said, you can dive on your own, but you can only do a tech profile if I can get you a buddy.

You called back just before the trip and advised that your Rebreather was broken and that you would still like to come down to the Keys. I offered you double 80's, a stage and ANY mix of He, 02, and air you would desire. "Great, thanks for being so accommodating" you said.

OK, now to the diving. I allowed you to dive doubles and a stage solo without a buddy and scheduled my entire diary to ensure you got some wrecks. When I couldnt get you a wreck on one day (because all my customers wanted to go shallow reef diving) I booked you a space (at my expense) on another boat rather than turn you away or put you on a reef trip. I am sorry if this was not to your liking, most customers praise us for getting them on the dive they want even if it means diving off another boat.

Our run times for half day recreational trips are 60 mins and up to 2.5hrs for a half day technical trip, so I am not sure where you are getting 30 mins from? My Captains do not tell tech divers their bottom time, they ask YOU what your run time is so that we can all plan accordingly.

I must admit, I am a little hurt by your comments as I have spent 2 years working to be a premier technical diving operation in South Florida. I regularly run tech trips and hold an annual wreckfest, with this years event looking set to be the biggest wreck diving event in the country. I am a TDI 5* facility, which means we run technical diving classes and people book on our boats because they have had a recommendation (usually from people that have dove with us first hand) I have just applied for GUE's new 'dive center' rating, which means I will need a GUE instructor on staff. I'm sure you are aware of how much time, money and not to mention level of excellence is involved in getting support from these premier technical diving agencies. If you read any decent dive magazine, you will see articles from people that have chartered our boats for technical diving and rate us as a top notch operation. I ma also the only shop in the Keys that carries a full line of tech gear such as Halcyon and Hollis. To suggest we are not really a tech operation is incorrect.

Unfortunately you were a lone CCR diver in a resort destination during a busy spring period. I advised you on how we strive to accommodate tech divers and how there were no guarantees that everyone else will be happy sitting on the boat whilst you run an extended profile. If you absolutely have to do 90 mins on the reef, then the only option is to charter a whole boat. There is also a liability risk and breach of standards that would have been incurred by me had you (God forbid) got hurt on a deco dive whilst diving without a buddy.

I hope you can appreciate our position and hopefully we will see you diving in the Keys again some day.

__________________
Chris
http://www.silentworldkeylargo.com