Blue Water Explorers Dive Trip

May 7, 2014

I’ve been asked to write a little about our upcoming trip with Blue Water Explorers down in Bradenton, Florida on Sunday June 29, 2014. I think in order to do that, a little bit about their history is in order.

Blue Water Explorers and the SCUBA Shack has been scuba diving and spear fishing in Sarasota, Bradenton, Longboat Key, St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area for over 30 years. They are the largest dive charter operator in the area and offer daily trips to the many (over 100!) offshore reefs, ledges and wrecks in the beautiful waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  They utilize two boats. One is a 20 person plus vessel. The other boat is a little 12 person island hopper. Both vessels are Coast Guard Certified.

Most dives are in 40-65 feet of water and 10-18 miles off shore, but their specialty dives are usually in 80-100 feet depths and up to 25 miles out. Visibility varies, with an average of 30 feet. But, there are also days with 80+ feet of visibility! There is a huge variety of marine life to be seen and each site such as the Jenga Pile and Tug Orange have “regulars” that live there in addition to fish that are just passing through.

In addition to scuba and spear fishing charters, they offer snorkeling and shelling excursions. They’re located right on the Intracoastal Waterway and can get out to the Gulf in only 5 minutes. It’s all about convenience….park your car next to the Scuba Shack/dive shop, get your tanks and gear inside and walk down the ramp to get on the boat. No shuttle vans or gear hauling.

They offer everything from Spearfishing, Bubble Watching, Deep Dives, Snorkeling Excursions, NITROX, gear rentals, and even training. Their Staff is first class and they know how to make each diver feel excited to get into the water.

This is why I use them for my classes and why I always try to dive with them for my own enjoyment.

Hope to see you all there.

Dive Safe

Richard D’Angelo

NAUI Instructor #39803