Southpoint Divers in Key West

[King Neptune]

I recently went diving in Key West with Southpoint Divers. Their shop is very convenient to anyone staying in the "old town" area of Key West and where they keep their boat is very near their shop unlike some other outfits. I thought that their dive boat was very easy to get on and off and there was plenty of room for everyone's gear.

 

I went on two days, the first day there were 20 divers (some off of the RCC ship that was town) and the second day there were 10 of us.

 

The first dive on both days was to the Cayman Salvage Master. She sits in about 100ft and visibility on both days was very good with lots of different fish sightings. Watch out for the eel living in the cable pay out spot on the bow.

 

The second dive on both days was to one of the shallow finger reefs at about a depth of 30ft. Also saw a varied fish population including a shark on day two.

 

Overall, Southpoint provided a very enjoyable experience and they let you dive your own profile so no following a dive master around. I wouldn't hestitate to go diving with them again if I was back in Key West.

[scubaran]

I recently went diving in Key West with Southpoint Divers. Their shop is very convenient to anyone staying in the "old town" area of Key West and where they keep their boat is very near their shop unlike some other outfits. I thought that their dive boat was very easy to get on and off and there was plenty of room for everyone's gear.

 

I went on two days, the first day there were 20 divers (some off of the RCC ship that was town) and the second day there were 10 of us.

 

The first dive on both days was to the Cayman Salvage Master. She sits in about 100ft and visibility on both days was very good with lots of different fish sightings. Watch out for the eel living in the cable pay out spot on the bow.

 

The second dive on both days was to one of the shallow finger reefs at about a depth of 30ft. Also saw a varied fish population including a shark on day two.

 

Overall, Southpoint provided a very enjoyable experience and they let you dive your own profile so no following a dive master around. I wouldn't hestitate to go diving with them again if I was back in Key West.

 

Hi,

 

I totally agree with SouthPoint. I visit KW quite often and I got my PADI AOW and Enriched Air certifications while on vacation through them. I found the crew very safety conscience which I can't say the same for Captains Corner who seems to be the other large dive shop in KW (reported them to PADI on unsafe practices). Anybody cruising to KW will always see me recommending SouthPoint. Glad you had a good experience with them and that they're still doing fine (they moved from 1/2 way down Duval to full time at the Hyatt right after hurricane Wilma flooded out their store (I was there the week it happened)).

 

Randall

[scubaran]

Sorry double post

[vplsh]

We'll be in Key West on 12/26. My husband would like to dive and it looks like Southpoint is the place to use.

We are in port from 7-2. Think he will have enough time?

Also, what's the water temp like in December? Will his light wetsuit be warm enough, or should he rent a thicker one?

Thanks for the info.

[scubaran]

We'll be in Key West on 12/26. My husband would like to dive and it looks like Southpoint is the place to use.

We are in port from 7-2. Think he will have enough time?

Also, what's the water temp like in December? Will his light wetsuit be warm enough, or should he rent a thicker one?

Thanks for the info.

 

Hi,

 

They run a morning 2-tank I believe leaves around 9:00am and they're back by Noonish which should be no problem with getting back to the ship (e-mail them for times and reservations). They're at the Hyatt which is really only 3-blocks from Mallory Square where most of the ships dock (the other dock is one block further). The water in December can be chilly in Caribbean-terms. I was there in January and the water temp was 72 (see, log books are useful for other things than storing your dive pins). Plus be aware that in the winter the winds kick up so sometimes the vis can drop due to the sand flats outside the reef. But the diving's good all the time in the keys!

 

Randall

[scubaran]

I looked in my logbook again and:

 

Twice I went out with Southpoint in the morning (assuming 1/2 hour out and 1/2 hour in) my dives looked like:

 

In 9:45 out 10:13 @82ft (wreck)

In 10:36 out 11:12 @23ft (reef)

 

In 9:50 out 10:24 @ 81ft. (wreck)

In 11:06 out 11:33 @ 66ft. (wreck)

 

So we must have gone out between 8:30-8:45am and returned around Noon. :)

 

r

P.S. I was doing Nitrox training so I was able to do a quick turn around on the dives but there were other divers on the boat so they must have been near these times as well.

[vplsh]

Thanks for the info, Randall. I'll email them for a reservation!

[Denise&Paul STL]

Thanks for the referrals to Southpoint. I have an e-mail to them to see if they can accommodate my hours at shore in Key West (9-6). If not, is there anyone else anyone out there recommends?

[scubaran]

Thanks for the referrals to Southpoint. I have an e-mail to them to see if they can accommodate my hours at shore in Key West (9-6). If not, is there anyone else anyone out there recommends?

 

After Southpoint I'd recommend Dive Key West then Subtropic Dive Center. I'd stay away from Captain's corner. I had to report them to PADI for unsafe dive practices when I dove with them (they had us diving in unsafe conditions with 0 vis and a swift current. I thought I'd lost my diving touch until the dive master surfaced and was totally confused on how he'd ended up where he surfaced and another party lost a diver for fifteen minutes until we found them safe but scared).

 

Randall

[vplsh]

Just wanted to post a quick review of my husband's dive with Southpoint in Key West last Friday.

 

The shipped docked in KW at 7:30 and he walked to the shop, arriving there before they opened. It was kind of a cloudy day, but warm. Unfortunately the seas were very choppy. He was one of 5 people (including an employee) who got seasick on the way to the dive site. He said it was very difficult to see anything during the wreck dive and most of them opted to stay on the boat rather than dive at the second place.

 

To be honest, I think they should have cancelled due to weather, but I'm not a diver. Steve said he didn't think he'd dive in Key West again.

[scubaran]

Just wanted to post a quick review of my husband's dive with Southpoint in Key West last Friday.

 

The shipped docked in KW at 7:30 and he walked to the shop, arriving there before they opened. It was kind of a cloudy day, but warm. Unfortunately the seas were very choppy. He was one of 5 people (including an employee) who got seasick on the way to the dive site. He said it was very difficult to see anything during the wreck dive and most of them opted to stay on the boat rather than dive at the second place.

 

To be honest, I think they should have cancelled due to weather, but I'm not a diver. Steve said he didn't think he'd dive in Key West again.

 

Hi,

 

Sorry to hear the dive went badly. We were just talking about the "iffiness" of diving the Keys in the winter. He just got unlucky. I've been to KW many times in the winter and some years the weather was so uncooperative that some of the operators were worried they'd go out of business due to so many cancellations. Southpoint is generally good about cancelling if they know the weather's bad (one winter I stayed in KW for a week and only got to dive one day out of a week's plan to dive everyday). Problem is on those days when it doesn't look too bad on shore and you get out there to find worst conditions on the reef.

 

As far as seasickness, it strikes everyone once in awhile. I remember once in KW a lot of people were sick on a first dive (I'm blessed with a cast iron stomach). One guy in particular was really bad. On getting on the boat after my second dive he was curled up in a fetal position in the middle of the boat. I was talking to the captain saying something like, "Poor guy, didn't even get in the water" and the Captain said, "It's ok, he'll get in tomorrow, that's our new dive master!" :)

 

Tell your husband to consider a summer dive there. It's totally different. More like the Caribbean.

 

Randall

[tombo]

Key West is a fun place but for diving it's considered by most to be the least attractive venue in the Florida Keys. There are few accessible reefs, so most day trippers will end up diving the Cayman Salvager wreck and/or Joe's Tug. Time permitting, it would be worth it to figure out how you could dive at the Looe Key Marine Sanctuary off Big Pine Key, about 20 miles north of KW. It's easy shallow diving but beautiful and good for snorkelers too.