Answering the phones in our shop sometimes perplexes me. The fishing questions are usually pretty straightforward. What’s biting right now? What’s in season? Do you allow alcohol on the boat? Do you allow women on the boat? Yep, pretty standard. However, on the scuba diving side of business, you absolutely never know what you’re going to get. Do I need to know how to swim? YES. Will I die if I swallow the seawater? NO. Is there a way I can answer a phone underwater? WHY. My personal favorite, I am a good swimmer, so I don’t need any training, right? ARE YOU SERIOUS? The list could go on and on. The calls I will always struggle with most are those involving the naiveté of locals. Floridians. People who have actually been certified, a stone’s throw from the Gulf. Fishermen and boaters who finally give in to their curiosity. We hear there is nothing to see in the Gulf? Do you go to the same spot every day? We were told the visibility is always terrible. It’s such a long boat ride to get to the dive site! 
To answer some of these questions, let me first tell you how our diving went this past March. We started the month off as we normally do, with chilly water and poor visibility. This unseasonably cold winter didn’t help. As the month progressed, the Gulf did what she usually does, and in this writer’s opinion, she becomes amazing. March 1st, bottom temps were still in the 50’s, and vis was around 5 feet. By the 10th, the water had warmed up almost 10 degrees, and we had topped out at 50 feet. By the end of the month, we were in the 70’s and visibility was anywhere from 20 feet to top to bottom. Our divers regularly saw lots of goliath groupers on the wrecks, with huge stingrays out on the sand. Loggerhead and Kemp Ridley turtles. Massive bait balls with all kinds of predators busting through for an easy meal. Amberjacks, mackerels, sharks, and even a few eagle rays passing by. And let’s not forget our hearty reef and tropical fish that can withstand water that fluctuates almost 40 degrees from summer to winter. Hogfish, snapper, and grouper that our spearfishermen and women target for a fresh catch meal.
Our diving here in the Gulf is not to be missed, and you are reading this article at probably the best time to take advantage of it. The water will only continue to get warmer. Most of us will be in board shorts and rash guards by the end of April. Visibility should rival that of our East Coast and Florida Keys neighbors until the end of June, when the daily summer rains return. If you have thought about getting certified in the past, give us a call and let us show you why we can’t wait to dive in and see for ourselves what we all watch on the Discovery Channel.
Getting back to some of those questions, a 45-minute boat ride or a 3-hour ride in a car to the East Coast for a 20-minute boat ride. Five hours if you’re headed to the Keys. Personally, I love the boat ride. Alcohol is allowed as long as you’re responsible. If women weren’t allowed, I am pretty sure I would not have this business. Now let’s go Dive.