Aquarius Undersea Station

We went out a few days ago with New York’s THE DAILY production team to catch a glimpse of the action at Aquarius undersea station, where NASA astronauts were doing their training. Flakey’s own “King Neptune” (Joe) was guiding the film team and could not help to bring back some shots he did himself. Truly amazing, an encounter one of a kind – THANKS JOE! Sadly though the future of Aquarius undersea station is in question due to cuts in federal funding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more info about the Aquarius undersea station go to:http://keysnews.com/node/40582

Florida Keys Dive Center’s 29th Birthday

Florida Keys Dive Center recently celebrated 29 years in business on May 10th!
A special thank you goes out to everyone who wished us a happy birthday and to everyone who has helped us and been there for us in these 29 years.
We never could have made it this far and become such a success if it wasn’t for the support of our friends, family, and fellow divers and snorkelers.

Thanks again from Tom, Pam, and the staff of Flakeys(:

Still living the dream!

Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail

Among several thousand divers who visit the Keys annually to dive the destination’s shipwreck trail, 10 winners were randomly selected as part of the Florida Keys ‘Wreck Trek Passport Program’ that concluded in January 2012.
More than 100 divers completed a series of nine wreck dives to be eligible to win one of several dive and lodging packages and sets of dive equipment.
Rocky Welch, a diving instructor from Pinellas Park, Fla., was the program’s first grand prize winner, receiving a state-of-the-art scuba system from Aqua Lung, including a Zuma bouyancy compensator (BC) device, Mikron regulator, Airsource 3 second stage with power inflator and a Suunto ZOOP 2 guage dive computer.
Welch, who accompanied numerous diving groups to the Keys for customized weeklong trips to complete the Wreck Trek dive challenge, said, “It’s the overall adventure of [the shipwreck trail] that divers love. There’s no other place you can do that,” said Welch, who thrives on introducing divers to new experiences.
“On three different Wreck Trek trips, I never saw the same thing twice,” Welch added. “My countless trips to the Keys are some of the best dive trips I’ve had.”

Nine other selected recipients were Paul Adams, Jr. and Patrick Hellman of Fairborn, and Tipp City, Ohio; Sarasota, Fla. resident Eric Lyons; Olexander Myronov of Palm Harbor, Fla.; University Park’s Mike Lesh; Tracy Matthews and Tabitha Dimas of St. Petersburg, Fla.; Clearwater, Fla. resident Sebastian Majewski; and Shari Vang from Baypoint, Calif.
Among the prizes awarded these individuals were a SCUBAPRO MK17/A700 Black Tech regulator, Sherwood Profile dive computer, Sherwood Gemini integrated power inflator Fusion dive fins, as well as two-night/three-dive stays for two at Keys lodging properties, including Doubletree by Hilton Grand Key Resort in Key West, Marathon’s Holiday Inn Express & Suites and Keys Largo’s Amoray Dive Resort and Ocean Pointe Suites.
Because of the dive program’s popularity, plans are underway for a “Wreck Trek 2.0” dive challenge, expected to continue through January 2014. Details are to be announced soon.

Mini Season!

Here are a few pictures from our Mini Season. Mother Nature may not have been cooperative this year, but we still managed to snag a few despite the weather!

Nite Dive Sunset

Thanks to Zach for taking these awesome pictures on our night dive last Saturday!

Message in a Bottle

Captain Tom was out on the water on one of our dive trips, and found this message in a bottle from the Bahamas!