Diving Guide to Underwater Florida - Neil DeLoach - 1991 - 312 pages
covers Florida's Springs, Keys, Panhandle, East and West Coasts. $10.00
(including postage).
Being a
SCUBA diver since the early 1950's when there wasn't any organizations or "standards" I have a keen interest in keeping abreast of what can be seen and experienced in the world beneath the surface of the seas.
I started
diving back when you had to make your own
equipment, suits, and other tools to survive and enjoy the underwater world. My first
regulator and tank were obtained as "demonstration" models from a brand new outfit set up by Jacque Cousteau that ended up being called "US Divers." Cousteau and Emile Gagnan's invented the "demand regulator" in 1942 and 10 years later I got my first "Aqua Lung" (see
photo below). It was a brown bakelite encased demand
regulator with two fat corrugated hoses running from the regulator to the mouthpiece and then back to the discharge opening in the regulator. Servicing and maintaining the
equipment was solely up to the individual and you had to learn D-I-Y everything about the underwater world. Which I did back in the early 1950's along with my other teen age friends. Masks and fins were available for regular swimmers and surface floating underwater sightseers. I cannot tell you what some of the activities we engaged in a teen-agers in the 1950's as this is a "family forum." But to us it was a wild and crazy time.
Long story - short I have been "diving" with
SCUBA since then and keenly interested in the sport. Naturally my equipment has advanced to the modern US Divers array of regulators, suits, and accessories. I have a basket full of the stuff under the aft bunk in OSIRIS.
Diving Guide to Underwater Florida - 7th Edition
The book breaks down the entire state into regions and lists the best dives in each region:
Reefs, Wrecks, Springs and Caves from 20fsw to technical dives in the 200fsw range. All the necessary details are there for each dive location. You can plan a multiple day, multiple dive trip with this in
depth volume and never leave the easy chair. Of course, it is always smart to check local conditions to see what going on in any area before you go flying into the
water.
If you're a diver living in
Florida, you must get this book. However it is reported that many (if not most) of the
GPS coordinates provided are just plain wrong but they are close to the real coordinates so you can "zero" in on the reported site.
Anyway, amongst the collection are some guides and
books on the subject I found this is one. It contains most all of the information you will need to explore what Florida has to offer. And also the laws, rules and descriptions of known dive sites around the State. Subjects like Treasure Diving/Collecting; Lobster
fishing; Sea Turtles; Spear-fising; Cave
Diving; Springs Diving;
Reefs and a hundred other areas of interest to SCUBA divers.
Looking around the "web" I can find versions of this book from $0 to $19 so I have set the
price as low as possible so as to cover the postage and packing, etc. necessary to get it to you.