January 26 1st Timers Luck...

What a Pleasure today was. The wind was bearable and the large swell held off until we headed home. Kristina and Fred joined us today from chilly Detroit for their first taste of Keys diving. So it was no surprise they were able to stay down for a 55 minute dive in 67* water wearing only shorty suits. They came to the surface beaming as they just had the dive of the lives. Molasses delivered everything Keys diving has to offer. Eagle Rays, a Nurse Shark, Junior, the Colossal Grouper, and a Sting Ray hiding in the sand. I have to admit after a 1st dive like that, the second dive seems a little lacking. However, there is a lot of life on the reef to enjoy. The schools of various snappers, butterfly fish, trumpet fish and more, along with the coral, sponges and fans make every dive a joy. So come visit us here in Key Largo. Kiddo can't wait to meet you!

January 21st 2009 The wind calms...for a day!!

Hello Divers,

Water 69*
Air 75*
Wind 5-10kts ENE

The wind settled down for a day finally and Pleasure Diver took the Gichtin guys out for a reef diving adventure. Father David and sons Max and Jake traveled from Baltimore for some Keys fun. Molasses Reef was in prime condition as we hooked up at Permit Ledge. Before we jumped in a pod of dolphins swam by which is always a treat. Jake had some ear issues unfortunately so David and Max made their way around the reef. They had a great encounter with a pair of Spotted Eagle Rays and the giant grouper made an appearance. At the next site, Eagle Ray Alley the Ballyhoo were jumping and we saw why. A good size Sailfish was hot on their trail.
The Parrot fish were everywhere and a baby turtle stayed near the boat for the entire dive.
A great outing. Come on down to the Keys for your turn!
See you soon.

Hello from Kiddo

Hello Pleasure Divers,

Kiddo just wanted to say hello to all of his Pleasure Diver friends out there in cyberspace. Our friend Larry Gates helped him out with his photo. www.larrygates.com

We hope everyone had a great time ringing in the New Year and may it include plenty of trips to the Keys!

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo

The Pleasure Divers

January 3rd, 2009 The LaCroix Clan

Air/Water Temp: 79/74

Wind: 10 Knots

Hello Divers,

Our mission today is to get Kim in the water for her first ocean dives! She was joined by Jeff, Richard and Julie for support. We have some good weather and great visibility to start her out with. We dove at Permit Ledge and Eagle Ray Ravine. We had a great encounter with the Biggest Goliath Grouper I have ever seen. I thought I had seen Mr. Big until today I realized I had actually found him. We also encountered a very friendly Cobia which hung out in the sand while a Remora cleaned it. We normally see these guys swimming by at turbo speed. All in all a great day with some awesome critter sightings. I think Kim is hooked!

Thanks for a great day and we hope to dive with you all again soon!

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo

The Pleasure Divers

January 1st, 2009 First Dive of the New Year!

Air/Water Temp: 78/74

Wind: 15 Knots

Dear Divers,

We are starting off our 2009 with a tiny hangover and a trip to Molasses Reef with Bill and Ashley. These will be her first dives since finishing her Open Water. Now it's time for some fun diving! Our beautiful weather has moved away so we are back to some wind and waves. Luckily the visibility and current behaved well. We got one dive in on Molasses and then headed in to White Banks for a protected dive. This is the beginning of a great new year.

Thanks for diving with us and we hope to see you both again soon!

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo

The Pleasure Divers

Happy New Year from The Pleasure Divers!

Happy 2009 to all of our friends and family! We hope to see you all over the next year................pray for business! XOXO Rob & Aja & Kiddo

December 31st, 2008 Fun in the Sun!

Air/Water Temp: 79/75

Wind: Nada....again!

Welcome back Pleasure Bloggers,

I know I keep saying this but the weather was awesome today! We have had so many windy days this year that the really calm ones seem so great. Today Albert brought Ashley back to finish up her certification dives. Bill came along again and Chris and Angela came as well. We cruised out to French Reef to mix things up a bit for everyone. The water was super calm and clear. We started at the South end and found a really big Scorpionfish hiding out and blending in. We dove up by the Minnow Caves as well but there weren't any Minnows for us this time.

Congrats to Ashley for completing her Open Water Certification!

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo

The Pleasure Divers

December 30th, 2008 Sun Shining Day!

Air/Water Temp: 80/75

Wind: Nada!

Hello Pleasure Divers,

We have got a great weather forecast today and two full charters to enjoy it with! For the morning charter we welcomed Jim, Rebecca, Marisa, Jon, and Allison for a friends and family trip to the Benwood and French Reef. We headed out for the Benwood but saw a few to many boats there so we decided to visit French Reef first. We swam with the fish and saw the beautiful coral lit up by the sun. We headed to the Benwood that had cleared out a little and hopped in to see what the shallow wreck had in store for us today. There were tons of fish out schooling around the wreck and some big Grouper were down by the bow hunting for lunch.

For our afternoon trip we were joined by our friends Albert and Leslie who brought their student Ashley. Bill also came along with Dave and Brenda. We cruised out to Molasses Reef for some nice easy diving. Ashley is here today to start her Open Water Checkout Dives. It is a great day for a first ocean dive, that is for sure! We did two long dives on Molasses just taking in the scenery. It really is a perfect day!

Thanks to all of our old and new friends that joined us today!

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo

The Pleasure Divers

December 29th, 2008 Another Big Diving Day

Air/Water Temp: 79/74

Wind: 5 Knots Beautiful Day!!

Welcome back divers,

The weather is finally cooperating with us and we have another full day of diving planned. Dave & Brenda joined us again along with Jeff, Paul and Karen. We headed out to the Spiegel Grove to double dip to start our day out right. The vis was great and there wasn't a whisper of current. We toured the aft cranes and the bridge deck. The light was great and it was so nice and peaceful.

For our PM Charter we headed out to the Duane which also had perfect conditions. We could see the whole ship from end to end. There were some huge Barracuda and Jacks schooling all around us. I love days like this. We finished out this marvelous day with a reef dive on Molasses where the sun lit up the reefs and it seemed as though all the fish were out enjoying it.

Thanks for joining us on such a gorgeous day!

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo

The Pleasure Divers

December 28th, 2008 Full Boat for a fun day!

Air/Water Temp: 79/75

Wind: 5-10 Knots

Greetings Pleasure Divers,

We had a full boat for both charters today which is great! For the morning charter we were joined by Dave & Brenda, Jeff, Joe, David & Wesley. We headed out to the Bibb to start out and found there was quite a current ripping through there today. The divers gave it their best shot but decided on a shallow reef dive for their second site. We headed in to Molasses Reef to finish out the morning and have a great dive there.

We headed back in at lunch to drop off some and pickup others. Jeff's wife Barbara joined in as well as Karen and Paul for the afternoon. We cruised out to the Benwood Wreck for some nice easy diving and finished up our day with a French Reef dive that didn't offer much visibility......like, none! We will find the vis tomorrow though, please!

Thanks to all for a great diving day,

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo

The Pleasure Divers

December 25th, 2008 Ted and Susan Dive Xmas Day

Air/Water Temp: 75/74
Wind: 10-12 Knots

Hello Divers,

Merry Christmas to all of our friends that celebrate today. Our friends Ted and Susan came out for another half day with us to get their last diving fix for a while. We visited the Duane and the Bibb and we had the wrecks to ourselves this morning. It was a bit rough on the surface but beautiful down below.

We hope that everyone had a very merry day and come dive with us soon!

Captains Rob & Aja & Kiddo
The Pleasure Divers