Mid Florida Keys Trip Report..The Finished Version

The finished version is not showing up, so I'll try again.
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Price" <gprice3@cfl.rr.com>
To: "George Price" <gprice3@cfl.rr.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2004 2:28 AM
Subject: Re: Mid Florida Keys Trip Report


> Oops, I wasn't quite finished and sent instead of drafted it. Here's the
> rest.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "George Price" <gprice3@cfl.rr.com>
> Newsgroups: rec.scuba
> Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 12:32 AM
> Subject: Mid Florida Keys Trip Report
>
>
> > We had a short two day dive trip planned for the mid Florida keys to Key
> > Vaca, better known as Marathon. Ever wonder why it's not called
Marathon
> > Key (as some may call it)? Marathon is the town located on Key Vaca,
but
> > everyone refers to it as Marathon anyway. One can fly into Marathon if
> need
> > be, but we chose to drive from Orlando.
> >
> > My last TR was to Key Largo for our twins OW check out dives some weeks
> > back, and this trip was to get them back in the water ASAP to work on
> > buoyancy control, get some shallow bottom time.....and just have fun.
> >
> > This trip was not a non-stop from Orlando, which I did in four hours to
> Key
> > Largo via the Florida Turnpike. I was not traveling at MGS (Mike Grey
> > Speed, hell, I was only doing 85...most of the way). We made an
overnight
> > stop at my mom's snowbird condo in Boynton Beach to drop stuff off,
where
> we
> > were to return for a couple of days after the dive trip. The Orlando to
> > Boynton trip usually averages 2.5 hours, but almost an hour of that is
the
> > getting on the turnpike, and getting off to where our final destination
> is;
> > it can take twenty minutes to get from the turnpike, down Boynton Blvd,
to
> > Federal Hwy (US 1) south of Woolbright. For all of the people that go
to
> > Orlando and Central Florida, looking for good open water diving, it's
not
> > that much in time to get to the West Palm Beach - Ft. Lauderdale....or
Key
> > Largo area by car. I would not recommend for a day excursion, but it's
> not
> > hard to do for a weekend.
> >
> > We made the trip from Boynton Beach to Key Largo in about two hours?,
> making
> > our way through the Miami toll booth extravaganga on a Saturday with no
> > traffic (again no MGS speed...maybe 75 average). The Sunpass prepaid
toll
> > payer....automatic take it out of your bank account wireless device..is
a
> > real time saver. We hit Florida City at the end of the pike, and
stopped
> to
> > get Mark some extra weight at the Divers Outlet. Nice shop. We have
one
> > here in Orlando, and their prices are reasonable. Plus, anything over, I
> > think, $200 (with their customer ID card), we get a whole ten bucks
> > back...but its better than nothing...and with the kids diving..we'll
> > probably get more than ten bucks back real soon. There was a guy in the
> > shop that had a hat I wanted, that in plain lettering on the front of
the
> > cap said, "Bank of Dad". We could use one that says, "Bank of Mom"
more,
> > since Sheree does all of the karate, dance class, kids summer camp
> finances.
> >
> > Key Largo: We always had our obligatory stop at The Shell Man, now
called
> > Shell World, and found prices are a lot higher..........The Shell Man in
> > Marathon apparently is still just that....still the same. A couple of
> doors
> > down, the Divers Outlet store has closed. I could never figure out why
> they
> > had a store in Florida City, and one twenty miles down the road in Key
> > Largo. I'm just surprised they kept the one in Florida City vs Key
Largo,
> > but I'm sure it has to do with taxes and such. We could stay in Florda
> City
> > at a Motel Six for $40, and if they had a motel six in Key Largo it
would
> be
> > $120....of course they can get more for location in Key Largo, but I
think
> > it's more than that. We prefer to pay the extra, and not worry about
the
> > half hour drive to Key Largo, or beyound due to the draw bridge at Jew
> Fish
> > Creek at he southern end of the twenty mile "no man's land" between
> Florida
> > City and Key Largo.
> >
> > Traffic backs up for miles; a few weeks back this happened - we were
north
> > bound -thank God- close to the draw bridge. Traffic stopped. I can
> imagine
> > it could back up into Largo as well, were it would take some time to get
> to
> > the Card Sound Rd. South bound is always an accident waiting to happen
in
> > these situations. As one passes these people in the opposite
> > direction...after a couple of miles, they are getting out of their cars
> > trying to figure out what is going on. Ever been in a traffic jam where
> > nothing moved closed to ten minutes? Actually, it's more like five,
and
> > one will get out of the car to get a better look ahead. Actually, it's
> not
> > one, it's many people trying to figure out what's going on. These are
the
> > people that have never been here before. I would call them tourists,
but
> we
> > can all be tourists fifty miles outside of our home city
> > lilmits.........it's a matter of having been there before. I'm sure
most
> of
> > the population of Miami would not have the slightest inkling about this
> > predicament getting from Florida City to Key Largo. Okay, I could make
> some
> > bad jokes here, but this crossing is not to be taken lightly. The
Drive
> > Safely signs people now put up at memorials to loved ones that died on
> that
> > spot are getting very frequent, particularly along this twenty mile
> stretch.
> > I think they are at seven so far this year (they post it on a flashing
> sign
> > at Florida City before entering the crossing).
> >
> > I think it boils down to two types of people: Those that don't give a
> > s**t, and those that are plain brain dead behind the wheel. They are
both
> > equal to me has road hazard. Same old thing on our every day road trips
> to
> > and from our daily lives, only here it is magnified. As an example of
"the
> > crossing" between Florida City US 1, overland highway magnifies this
> > greatly. This is everyday roadhazard magnified by 20 on this crossing.
> It
> > seems really benign at first, but magnifies greatly within the first
five
> > files when people get impatient.
> > Someone doing 45 in a fifty five zone, a tourist doing 40, a boat in
> > tow(most of them do 55+).
>
> We decided to try Card Sound road, and it was a bit rough as we were
> informed; didn't see any where near the "Drive Safely" things on the side
of
> the road. It took about ten minutes longer than the other route, but the
> aim being missing the possible back up from the drawbridge going up. We
did
> see an Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) with someone pulled over just over the
> bridge. I was trying to figure out how the guy could have been speeding
> between the toll booth and the bridge...maybe he was trying to get some
air
> at the top of the bridge? But, couldn't figure out where the cop was
> sitting in the first place. Needless to say, it is patrolled.
>
> Traffic was still backed up getting into Marathon from a single engine
plane
> that did an emergency landing on the Overseas Highway. Luckily no one was
> hurt. There was no room on either side of the road where it landed for
> anyone to go; solid trees. As a result of the traffic backup, I couldn't
> give an accurate timeframe from Boynton.
>
> Where we stayed: The Banana Bay Resort and Marina. Information can be
> found at:
>
> http://www.bananabay.com/marathonresorthotel.htm
>
> Although not a new place by any means, we really loved it. After turning
> off of the Overseas Highway (US 1) and its stark landscape, Banana Bay is
a
> jungle...banana trees, various palms, royal Poinciana, etc. The growth is
> significant enough that the various buildings on the property are hidden
> from view from each other. It was not extravagant, nor cheap. Room rates
> for the building closest to the marina, without ocean view, in the off
> season here in Florida were $165 for Sat. night, and dropped to $145 for
> Sun, Mon night. For two people it would have been less by $30 a night.
> It's one of those places that gives rates for double occupancy, then
charges
> $15/person extra in the room. Then add the room taxes that where roughly
> $19 and $17 for the two rates we were working with. All said and done it
> was $500 for three nights.
>
> The room was very clean, with a small refrigerator (7 cu.ft). Bathroom
area
> had a separate vanity/sink area with blow dryer and iron/ironing board.
> Great air-conditioning, although they kept the outside doors on the
building
> open for some reason. Kind of strange for 90 degree weather.
>
> The building was located right next to the pool/restaurant area. The pool
> is large, not quite Olympic size, but larger than one usually gets at a
> place like this. Large enough that Captain Morgan's offered free scuba
> orientation in the pool for people that wanted to try it out. There is
also
> a hot tub/spa next to the pool that has a royal Poinciana draped over the
> hot tub. It was quite idyllic to be relaxing in the hot tub as the orange
> flowers from the royal Poinciana would occasionally sprinkle in. Royal
> Poinciana are a large tree with orange flowers..not sure it they only
flower
> once a year. These look to be the same tree found in the Cayman Islands,
> and I'm sure other tropical areas. In Cayman, they are called casurina
> trees.
>
> The pool area is where the complimentary continental breakfast is served.
> Cereals, bagels, English muffins, sliced melon, grapes, coffee, and ,
fruit
> punch, grapefruit, cranberry, orange juice. There is also a small bar
next
> to the pool. We did not use the restaurant, but opted for the Marathon
> Pasta and Pizza at the Sombrero Reef Resort. Between the building and the
> marina (this is located on the bay side), there are very clean picnic
areas
> with grills for those that choose to use them. The marina looks to have
> about thirty slips, although it looked as if some people had been there
for
> quite some time. Captain Morgan's dive operation is at the marina, as
well
> as Jerry's boat rental and deep sea fishing charter. The boat/ personal
> water craft rental was quite reasonable from what we've encountered in
> Boynton Beach...literally half the cost. Rates for all rentals, dive,
etc.,
> can be found at the link above for Banana Bay. There is also a Tiki bar
at
> the front of the marina for drinks while watching the sunset. Great
> unobstructed views of the sunset for the green flash. Hell, I see the
green
> flash before the sun sets.
> Oh yes, there is a small beach area on the bay side there. There is a
real
> small island a couple of hundred feet off shore with accommodations that
can
> be had for $1000/night...they supply a small boat to get to/from the
resort.
>
> Who we dove with: After having reserved Capt. Banny's four pack, Banny
blew
> an engine a week before our arrival and decided it was not worth it to
spend
> 12K (God, I had no idea those outboards could cost so much) for just one
> more year. Banny told us to call Capt. Morgans, they would be expecting
us.
> That is also how we ended up at Banana Bay. Hawk's Cay was booked except
> for the $1200/night villas, and Banana Bay had a lot more to offer than
the
> Holiday Inn or Ramada for $15-20/night more; a big plus having the dive op
> on site...maybe 150' from the building to Capt. Morgan's at the marina.
> Capt. Morgan's can be found on the Banana Bay site or at:
>
> http://www.captainmorgansdive.com/
>
> I called and made the reservation. I asked if they wanted a credit card
to
> hold the reservation. Capt. (Doug) Morgan; "Naw, if you're one of Banny's
> people, you okay with us". Capt. Morgan runs a six pack, but his boat,
the
> Narcosis was in for, guess what?, new engines. We used their SeaKat
> catamaran boat that was very comfortable.
>
> Our goal this trip was to get our recently certified (junior open water)
> twelve year old (thirteen in September) twins back in the water after
their
> check out dives in Key Largo two weeks ago.
>
> After checking in and signing the waivers (Banny, I still miss your,"Those
> damn things aren't worth the paper they're written on") they will have you
> set up your equipment on a tank there on the dock. Hmmmm. Was this
their,
> "Do I really know what I'm doing test?". I think it was, however settle.
A
> good way to know if someone really knew what they where doing, at least to
> set up the gear. Then they move it to the boat for you. I purposely
> ignored the kids....they were done before I was done doing the paper work
> (C'mon dad, we're ready.) My hat is off to John Shimkoski at Scuba World
> here in Orlando. Great instructor, particularly for kids; he's very
> thorough and patient. My kids got far more instruction than I did in
1986,
> although I had a very good instructor, I didn't do compass navigation
> (surface and OW), two methods of pulling a tired/injured diver at the
> surface, and some other things.
>
> The boat was real nice, a six pack, and the catamaran hull was real smooth
> through the waves on the way out.
> Our Captain was, for lacking his last name, was Capt. Jonathan. Jonathan
is
> a young pup by most of our standards, and has had his captains license
about
> four years? His license is rated for 100 ton ships, so he's capable of a
> lot more than a six pack, and our experience with him was outstanding.
>
> Day One: 7/11/04: Since we wanted to dive shallow we asked for the Barge
> and Sombrero Reef. First was Sombrero. What a parking lot! Marina at
sea!
> We could have gone somewhere else close by but we were there so what the
> hell. This was about 1:00pm. when we had been there in the past with
Banny
> at 9:00 am there were two boats there; but that was two years ago, and
> things change. Jonathan said they are seeing almost no change to having a
> "off season". Sombrero was crowded enough for one to show up at the wrong
> boat while surfacing, and the cat came in handy for that...no one else had
> one out there (very easy to spot underwater). The marine life was
> wonderful....it's no wonder its crowded........and under great stress,
like
> Molasses Reef in Pennekamp. We found some HUGE schools of silversides to
> swim through and play with, one small Hawks Bill turtle (I think), and
some
> black grouper, to name a few.
>
> The Barge: This has to be the best shallow dive in the keys. This Barge
> went down 25-30 years ago in about 20 feet of water. It is totally
> encrusted, broken out from most of the sides, and about two thirds of the
> top. It has thousands of fish schooling inside...no exaggeration. It has
> been my favorite since Banny took us there several years ago, but alas, it
> is becoming a popular spot with GPS. There are no bouys on it; you have
to
> know where it is, but apparently plenty of people do. We had a dive shop
> and two Boy Scout sail boats - with snorkelers show up on our second dive
to
> it the next day. Besides the huge schools of grunts, some big barracuda
and
> the like, this day, we had two huge (two feet) porcupine fish swimming
> around, following each other closely. Since it's so shallow, I like it
for
> the photography aspects: Foreground encrusted softcorals and sponges on
the
> wreck, subject as huge schools of fish, and background the deep blue out
the
> back side of the wreck. It's at about 20-17 feet so an air hog like me
can
> spend an hour and come up with 1000 psi. I can lay in the sand just
outside
> the wreck for 10 minutes for the fish I scared out of my picture to fill
> back in. Outside the wreck there are everything from corkscrew anemone,
> octopus, cleaner shrimp, etc., to find.
>
> A final note: Visibility was 30' for both dives, water temp was 85 F. My
> wife and daughter both get cold in this after 30-40 minutes (shaking my
> head,,"are you kidding?"). My son, who is as skinny as my daughter, and
as
> thin as my wife, does not get cold..go figure.
>
> Day Two: 7/12/04 We went back to the barge for shallow photography. We
> had solved some of my sons
> bouncy problems the day before. He was a bit light with his shorty wet
> suit. He brushed his leg up against some fire coral, and as my dive buddy
> indicated he had a problem with his leg. I looked at it: no obvious
injury.
> I asked him if he wanted to go up? Yes. No panic, no obvious problem,
but
> yes, I want to go up. Tell the wife and daughter we are surfacing. On
the
> surface, Mark says it REALLY stings. Okay, Capt. Jonathon is right there,
> Mark gets on the boat, Jonathan administers some Sting Ease, two minutes
> later Mark is back in the water feeling fine. We stayed longer, but the
> women got cold again and surfaced at about 45". Bottom time:1:07. Hats
off
> to Jonathan: saved the dive for my son. The kid is good (Jonathan).
>
> Second Dive: Delta Shoals. A ship wreck of a Spanish Galleon, with some
> wreckage strewn about. Very shallow, near Sombrero Reef. Patch reef. Kind
> of boring. Some spotted morays. Did find five bugs a foot long, one came
> out to fight!
>
> Capt Jonathan did an excellent job. When you're ready to get in, they
bring
> the tank/rig to the side for you to get into. Strapped in, air on, etc,
> it's a side entry where you get to fall off the boat backwards on purpose.
> It was a lot of fun for me, and the kids thought it more fun than the
"giant
> stride"off the back as well.
>
> The second day, there was no one else on the boat.......private charter.
It
> was a question of where do you want to go? As inexperienced as our twins
> are, we kept the diving very shallow on purpose; they were at forty feet
on
> their second checkout dive, which they are supposed to be restricted to on
> their junior open water. We will keep them there for a couple of years
> until we feel their experience, or proven science tells us otherwise.
>
> The diving was expensive. Sure, it could be done cheaper if you had a
boat,
> tanks, etc. Capt. Morgan's is $75/person for boat-tanks-weights. They
just
> raised it $10. Next door is Tilden's dive op. They are $65 for a two
tank
> dive trip, but, and a big BUT, they are about eight miles up the road at
> Hawks Cay on a boat that takes twelve people. On site with six people vs
> 10-15 minutes away with twelve people? For US, logistically, it is worth
> the ten bucks to have an on site dive op, get everyone fed in the morning,
> and be at the dive boat by noon. We tried this with Banny, through Hawk's
> Cay. After getting up at seven, getting every one fed, out the door by
8:30
> am to get to the dive boat by 9. With the kids snorkeling above us diving
> shallow, their favorite part was bow riding on the boat. That is why we
> chose to do afternoon dives.
>
> I checked with Banny if we could coordinate ingoing or outgoing tides for
> visibility purposes, as someone here had suggested. In a word, he said
that
> was b**s**t . It was the same out story; "You don't know until you get
out
> there", getting reports and such from people already out on the water..
>
> All said and done:
>
> Diving for two days: $750 (ouch, they don't offer a kids menu for
diving)
> ($300 + 2 rentals for BC'S , regs, three t-shirts and
tax))
> Hotel: $500
> Total: $1350 for two days of diving
> Diving as a family for the first time: Priceless
>
> Welcome to the Florida Keys! And you thought Cayman was expensive. Of
> course, there are ways to do this cheaper.............
>
> George
>
> If I can get time for the pictures, I will add a link.
>

Interesting reading your article. I've been diving with Banny for 8 years and
we've become good friends. It was a sad day when he "hung up his fins." We're
diving with Doug Morgan next week for opening day of lobster season.

I never asked about what he charged. Boy, that's expensive. Banny was
charging us $45 for a 2-tank. We have our own tanks, but still that's a lot.
I dive with Hook's once in a while. Last year they only charged $40 for a
2-tank. You might want to try them. Get on a boat that Jerry is the captain
on. He's a fabulous person. If I'm not happy with Doug Morgan, I'll probably
dive with Jerry at Hook's.

I think the positive side was that we were on a six pack, vs, a twelve pack?
Would that be a twelve pack ? Jonathan was a great captain (did a lot of
his dive training with Banny) , even if he is a young pup. Keep in mind the
kids were renting BC's and regs, which added to the total, but the $75
seemed a bit steep. I asked out of curiosity because of escalating fuel
prices. We filled up at Burdines (no, not the department store), and fuel
was 35 cents a gallon more. As Jonathan pointed out, and anyone with a boat
would know (not me yet), the waterbound people pay up to 25 cents and up,
for the same fuel you put in your car. I don't know if it has to do with
greater regulation at the waterfront..........Jonathan had to have a paper
towel to make sure nothing spilled into the water while transferring the
pump to the tank and back. Wouldn't that make filling your car
interesting? It looks to be a, "We got you by the balls thing", kind of
like the Florida Turnpike service plazas...but that's a different story;
because the West Palm Beach area has to be the highest gas prices in the
state...always has been. I heard some lame explanation once, but that's
what it was ,...lame. Prices are cheaper in the keys for Gods sake.

You can still get in touch with Banny with his cell at 305-743-7265...the
same number he always used, and he likes to hear from his old customers. I
thought maybe enough of us could entice him to get a new engine?

We thought Morgan's was great for the on site, small boat service, but it
has to be cheaper for having your own tanks/equipment. We have two 80's,
but have been to lazy to travel with them. If we get the kids a couple of
64's, we may take the tanks long. They can use 80's, but they don't need
that big a tank for shallow dives, which we will keep them at for some time.

Tilden's, right next door to Banana Bay is $65 for a two tank, and they are
about eight miles north at Hawks Cay, but it's a bigger boat, and at 10-12
person per boat, it is not a cattle boat either, but no where the comfort of
a six pack. I haven't had time to look at Hooks boat, and how big it is to
compare.

Thanks for the info on Hooks. At least Capt Morgan seems to be going out
for mini season. They seemed to take those two days off last season for the
problems it causes, but when you got to pay for some new engines?

Let me know how it goes, say hi to Banny (and bug him to get a new engine),
and give our regards to Doug and Jonathan.

George


>"MHDiver" <mhdiver@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040728235802.29660.00002325@mb-m16.aol.com...
> Interesting reading your article. I've been diving with Banny for 8 years
and
> we've become good friends. It was a sad day when he "hung up his fins."
We're
> diving with Doug Morgan next week for opening day of lobster season.
>
> I never asked about what he charged. Boy, that's expensive. Banny was
> charging us $45 for a 2-tank. We have our own tanks, but still that's a
lot.
> I dive with Hook's once in a while. Last year they only charged $40 for a
> 2-tank. You might want to try them. Get on a boat that Jerry is the
captain
> on. He's a fabulous person. If I'm not happy with Doug Morgan, I'll
probably
> dive with Jerry at Hook's.

BTW, Banny still lives in Marathon and is running a "Ft. Luderdale/Miami to
anywhere in the keys " shuttle service. You can meet him for lunch or such,
but he's usually tied up in the afternoon with the shuttle service. He has
also mentioned diving with some of his past customers for the fun of it when
he gets the chance. Give him a call.

George


"George Price" <gprice3@cfl.rr.com> wrote in message
news:r9lOc.408$Hu2.124@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
> I think the positive side was that we were on a six pack, vs, a twelve
pack?
> Would that be a twelve pack ? Jonathan was a great captain (did a lot
of
> his dive training with Banny) , even if he is a young pup. Keep in mind
the
> kids were renting BC's and regs, which added to the total, but the $75
> seemed a bit steep. I asked out of curiosity because of escalating fuel
> prices. We filled up at Burdines (no, not the department store), and fuel
> was 35 cents a gallon more. As Jonathan pointed out, and anyone with a
boat
> would know (not me yet), the waterbound people pay up to 25 cents and up,
> for the same fuel you put in your car. I don't know if it has to do with
> greater regulation at the waterfront..........Jonathan had to have a paper
> towel to make sure nothing spilled into the water while transferring the
> pump to the tank and back. Wouldn't that make filling your car
> interesting? It looks to be a, "We got you by the balls thing", kind of
> like the Florida Turnpike service plazas...but that's a different story;
> because the West Palm Beach area has to be the highest gas prices in the
> state...always has been. I heard some lame explanation once, but that's
> what it was ,...lame. Prices are cheaper in the keys for Gods sake.
>
> You can still get in touch with Banny with his cell at 305-743-7265...the
> same number he always used, and he likes to hear from his old customers.
I
> thought maybe enough of us could entice him to get a new engine?
>
> We thought Morgan's was great for the on site, small boat service, but it
> has to be cheaper for having your own tanks/equipment. We have two 80's,
> but have been to lazy to travel with them. If we get the kids a couple of
> 64's, we may take the tanks long. They can use 80's, but they don't need
> that big a tank for shallow dives, which we will keep them at for some
time.
>
> Tilden's, right next door to Banana Bay is $65 for a two tank, and they
are
> about eight miles north at Hawks Cay, but it's a bigger boat, and at 10-12
> person per boat, it is not a cattle boat either, but no where the comfort
of
> a six pack. I haven't had time to look at Hooks boat, and how big it is
to
> compare.
>
> Thanks for the info on Hooks. At least Capt Morgan seems to be going out
> for mini season. They seemed to take those two days off last season for
the
> problems it causes, but when you got to pay for some new engines?
>
> Let me know how it goes, say hi to Banny (and bug him to get a new
engine),
> and give our regards to Doug and Jonathan.
>
> George
>
>
> >"MHDiver" <mhdiver@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20040728235802.29660.00002325@mb-m16.aol.com...
> > Interesting reading your article. I've been diving with Banny for 8
years
> and
> > we've become good friends. It was a sad day when he "hung up his fins."
> We're
> > diving with Doug Morgan next week for opening day of lobster season.
> >
> > I never asked about what he charged. Boy, that's expensive. Banny was
> > charging us $45 for a 2-tank. We have our own tanks, but still that's a
> lot.
> > I dive with Hook's once in a while. Last year they only charged $40 for
a
> > 2-tank. You might want to try them. Get on a boat that Jerry is the
> captain
> > on. He's a fabulous person. If I'm not happy with Doug Morgan, I'll
> probably
> > dive with Jerry at Hook's.
>
>