Scuba Diving In Florida

Scuba diving is popular in Florida

Scuba diving is popular in Florida. Not only does the location have something to offer absolutely everyone but for divers, there is so much to see and the water is lovely and warm. Last time I dived there, I dived in a bikini and husband dived in his trunks. Its a fab experience and makes a change to the cold waters of the UK which we were used to.

The atmosphere before and after dives was always happy and cheerful, however I found every dive trip to have very stringent safety checks.

The first experience was in Key West. A shallow dive but the sea life was so plentiful. We were circled by 2 territorial Barracuda which was quite scary due to the fact that their razor sharp teeth are naturally displayed at all times.

The second dive in just 9 meters of water gave our party the terrific experience of diving with a shark. This sounds dramatic and thrilling and to me it was. To my fellow more experienced divers, it was a great experience but the shark was a harmless nurse shark and posed no threat to us.

One of my favorites was an underwater paradise. Soft white sand, coral reefs to explore around us, warm water, sunlight shining down through the clear turquoise waters, and the thrilling experience of 2 enormous beautiful spotted Eagle Rays.

There are so many dives available which are suitable for all levels. There are plenty of wrecks to explore. Some have been internationally sunk for divers as artificial reefs.

A prime example of an artificial reef is the USCG Cutter Duane. The 327 feet long Duane was built in 1936 and worked for wartime and peace missions. The Duane and sister ship Spencer sank the German U-Boat U-77 in 1943. The Duane rescued 346 people at sea and in 1980 she shipped thousands of Cuban refugees who were coming to the USA. In 1987 she was sank to be dived as a reef.

I dived The Duane in 2002. It was an exhilarating experience. The water was warm and clear. From the surface other divers around the ship were easily visible, though looked like dots. As we made our way down the shot line we ventured through huge curtains of air bubbles from the other divers. Eventually after working our way down the shot line we joined them.

The first amazing site was the huge bright green moray eel. On entering one of the ships rooms, we discovered it was already occupied by the largest fish I have ever seen. My initial thoughts were that it was a whale. I believed this until we discussed the dive later and I was told that the fish was a very large and harmless Jew Fish.

It is easy to find diving schools to book with before you go and also when you get there. I would book a few trips beforehand and this leaves you with time to take spontaneous dives.

Accommodation is plentiful. My advice would be to book into a base hotel or find you and your party a couple of private Florida villas. They sleep up to 10 people per villa so the cost per person is minimal. This gives you opportunities to explore the Keys and staying in Key West in the south for a night or two without worrying about wasting huge amounts on your base accommodation.

by: Suzy Powell

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