North America Dive Operators

Tavernier, Florida - "Conch Republic Divers"

Dive Operator Snapshot

Mile marker 90.8
US 1 South,

Conch Republic Divers
90800 Overseas Highway #9
Tavernier, FL 33070
(800) 274-DIVE

Dive operations in the Florida Keys are usually not major dive shops.  But the Conch Republic Divers shop offers more than just T-Shirts and anti-fog.  They actually had enough product lines to totally outfit a diver from scratch including products from Akona, Atomic, and Dive Rite.

Dean Hubenig manages the operation.  He is a PADI IDC Staff Instructor as well as a USCG Captain.  Now this may not seem like such a big deal, but it is the manager who "manages" the staff.  The staff will only be as good as the manager makes them.  You'll read more below when we review the crew.

Dean is very sharp, personable and professional. He helped me get my 100's aired up and ready for the afternoon deep dives. He also hooked up fellow Divemaster Robb Hawks with some Nitrox 100 tanks.  Their air fill station is slick and computerized.

Robb and I took a peek at all their rental gear.  Let's face it, not everyone who dives the keys is a regular diver who has purchased all their own equipment.  We were very impressed to see that they were using Dive Rite gear.  This is how their website lists their rental gear, "Our Rental department is equipped with the latest new DiveRite "Wreck Pac" BCD's, "RG-2010" regulators, Gauge sets, "Nitec Plus" air/nitrox computers, and "Luxfer" tanks. We also have available steel 100cf tanks with DIN connectors." They have really taken a first class approach to diving.

The Owners:
"Admiral" Brenda Mace is listed as the fearless leader of this dive operation.  Her husband, Captain Gary Mace is a Florida native with 35 years of diving experience.  He is a PADI  & SDI/TDI Master Dive Instructor and Full Cave Diver.  He is currently working on a new TV show called "Treasure Divers" that will be appearing on ZoomHD starting in 2007.

The Crew:
Captain George Ruiz: The key to any dive operation is the boat captain.  George is a great guy with a big smile who does things by the book.  Divemaster Robb has completed his USCG Captains training and was evaluating George from the moment he stepped on the boat. George did a great job with the initial boat orientation and continued to shine when he gave us a thorough dive orientation and instructions.   The Keys have been his home for 21 years and he has been a captain since 1993.

Divemaster Jason:  Jason once lived in Toronto, Canada.  His dad operated a dive operation in the Keys.  According to Jason, one day he woke up in the cold weather and decided it was time to take his dad up on moving to Florida.  He has been a dive professional for 12 years with PADI Instructor certifications.

George and Jason worked in perfect harmony with the one complementing the other in their duties.  George went out of his way to make sure the boat was situated at mooring buoys so that the divers would have the safest descent/ascent.  For example: We reached the Duane (see my review on this great wreck) and the surface conditions were a bit rough.  The seas were moderately choppy with 2-4' swells. There was an entire class of students working on their Advanced Open Water.  For many of the students these seas would be difficult to handle.  George had a solution.  Since there were no other dive boats on the Duane, he decided to use two mooring buoys.  He tied up the bow to one, and then, easing off the bow line he reversed the 46' Newton right up to a second buoy.  Jason quickly snapped on a 1/2" diameter stranded poly rope and then George advanced the boat back to its original mooring position while Jason played out the trail line.  When it can time to hit the water it was a since.  We stepped off the stern with a giant stride. As we bobbed to the surface, Jason pushed the lead line into our hands and then it was a quick 40' pull across the surface to the buoy, and down the descent line to the smoke stack of the Duane.  While everyone was down under having a great dive, George swung the boat around, reconnected to the ascent line, hooked up a 1/2" poly lead line from the buoy to the back of the boat where a trail or tag line awaited us for easy exit.

This system really worked and every one appreciated the extra efforts that George and Jason took to make the dive a success.

 The Republic Diver is a purpose built, Newton 46' Diver with a diver/passenger capacity of 38.  This 2002 boat is wide and spacious with plenty of room for gear.  The diver seating has storage under it as well allowing everyone room to store bags etc.  The helm is on the upper deck where their is sufficient room for up to 8 diver who want to catch a view from above.  Although fitted with a toilet, don't expect anything to classy, this is strictly a dive boat.  Two large dive ladders swing off an ample dive platform for easy entrances and exits.  The tag line was a heavy 1/2" stranded poly line.  I keep mentioning how they use these heavy stranded lines.  Some dive boats use less expensive 3/8" braided poly lines for their dive lines.  These lines tend to flatten out and slip through neoprene gloved hands making it a struggle to move along them in rough waters or currents.  The stranded 1/2" poly lines are easy to grab and your hands won't slip through them.  Their use is a sign that this dive operator is a diver themselves and wants what is best for their clients.

Location, Location, Location: What's true in Real Estate is true also in dive operations.  The Tavernier Creek Marina is located right on the Tavernier Creek.  This means that the trip to every dive location begins within minutes of the boat leaving dock.  Many of the other dive operators which are on the Gulf side must travel as long as 20-30 minutes just to reach a cut through such as Tavernier Creek to reach the Atlantic and begin the trip to the dive sites.  Add to this the high speeds that the Republic Diver makes way at, and well, you find yourself diving instead of boating.  Their location is also one of the very best in all the Keys.  They are close enough to dive most of the Key Largo locations, and yet they can turn South and hit some great dive sites like the Eagle.
 

Our second dive was at Snapper Ledge.  Most people will view this as a 5 star reef dive.  We saw massive schools of fish.  Thousands of fish swam in the various schools.  There were schools of grunts, lane snappers, and schoolmaster snappers.  Huge parrot fish, both stoplight and blue, hogfish, and a stone fish.  Moving very slowly and controlling your breathing allows you to drift right through the schools of fish.  A great experience.

Our afternoon dives took us to the Spiegel Grove and the Duane.  Both of these 5 Star wrecks are a joy to dive when the conditions are good.  Our seas were moderate but the surface current was minimal.  The viz was in the 50' range and the bottom current on the Spiegel was minimal.  We were able to swim the entire length of the ship and back!  A variety of small fish have set up housekeeping as well as a mammoth goliath grouper and the occasional black grouper.

The Duane is a Coast Guard Cutter that was intentionally sunk years ago.  It has some of the best coral growth I have seen in the entire keys.  There are fish galore.  The current was a bit strong and since it was running down the length of the boat was difficult to hide from.  But we still had time to swim the length and check out the great structure.

The Bottom Line: This is one great dive operation.  They have a 5 Star Team, 5 Star Gear, and a 5 Star Boat.  Ad to this their 5 Star location and you have an almost perfect set up.  We will continue to dive with the Conch Republic Divers.  They offer dives for the novice, the advanced, and the adventurous. They even offer "hunting" trips for us spear hunters!  What is not to love!

http://www.conchrepublicdivers.com

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