Flower Gardens, TX Questions

Hey guys ! A newbie lurker coming out of the shadows... Great site!!

My question is for anyone that has been to the Flower Gardens off the Texas coast in the Gulf. Have any recommendations for dive operators? I see a couple list on the Gardens website itself but was wanting some input from someone who has been there.

I have heard from several that it is a great site...

Thanks in advance.

The Flower Gardens are located approximately 120 miles offshore from the Houston/Freeport area. This is open water diving and conditions vary widely with the weather. I don't know the exact percentage, but I would guess that about 1/3 of the scheduled trips don't go because of high winds and seas. The final call on each trip is made on Friday at noon for the weekend trips. For locals, that gives you the afternoon to get to the boat by 9pm. I live in Fort Worth and it's at least a 5 hour drive. For those coming from out of town, planning would be much harder.........you would need travel insurance for your airfare if the trip doesn't go.......plus, you would want to schedule your flight to leave right after the decision is made at noon.........actually, if you check with the NOAA weather buoy in the area you can get a pretty good idea of the expected conditions and know before Friday noon......I believe maximum seas are 5'

The diving is very interesting with lots of tropicals and the potential for mantas is pretty high. Whale sharks are also spotted occasionally. Hammerheads school in Feb/March, but these trips don't usually go because of weather.

There are three boats that regularly serve the area. The Fling/Spree and the Sea Searcher II. All are converted crew boats in the 100' range. The Fling/Spree takes 32 divers and offers Nitrox. The Sea Searcher II takes 18 divers and doesn't offer Nitrox. The diving is pretty deep with average depths of 65' to 90'. Current varies, but can be strong at times. Navigating is crutial to be able to get back to the buoy line.

Back to the boats, my wife calls these a "survive-aboard". The sleeping quarters range from open rooms for 4 to bunk rooms for 8..........privacy is with a curtain, but it's really not bad. Food is good and plentiful. Each boat has a couple of heads and at least one shower. Showers on the dive deck are the most popular.

Typical trip costs $360 to $390 plus nitrox and consists of boarding the boat at 9pm Friday. After briefings, etc. the boat leaves for an all night crossing and will arrive around 6am.......diving starts around 7am and goes all day.......2 1/2 hour mandatory surface intervals...........boat moves at noon to a different area............after the night dive, the boat will move again to the Stetson Banks area.......couple of hours I think...........pool opens at 7am on Sunday and you get in 2 more dives.........depending on time and conditions, they try to get in 1 oil rig dive before heading back.........boat returns at 7pm..........8 dives max.

Not a trip for new divers in my opinion, but a nice dive fix for a weekend trip

Karl

A very informative reply Karl, thanks for posting.