Dry Tortugas - Scuba Diving Trip Report Aboard the Ultimate Getaway

I was recently on a 3 day scuba dive trip aboard the live-aboard Ultimate Getaway boat out of Ft. Myers, Fl. This was a great trip and focused on spearfishing and lobster gathering. The boat was great. I think we had about 20 divers on board. The bunks were comfortable. The food was great and I think I was full the entire trip.

The diving was great; spearfishing was so-so. I had high hopes of being able to shoot a big black grouper but I don't think I saw a fish over 15 pounds the entire trip. With that being said I was able to shoot plenty of hogfish and smaller grouper and went home with a cooler full of fish and lobster. We also had shots at quite a few nice Mutton snapper.

The diving ranged anywhere from 30ft to 110ft. The visibility was great. The Tortugas area is full of life and the coral reefs seemed very healthy. The crew kept us in the water a lot. I think I did 7 dives the first day, a night dive and 7 more dives the next day. The 2nd day the captain took us over to the Marquesas a bit west of Key West. This area proved to be great for lobster with the divers putting a ton on board. The water visibility in the Marquesas seemed to be a bit better than what we say in the Tortugas as well. On the final day we hit an old WWII wreck and an old loran tower. Both were covered with Goliath grouper. Also a large Dusky Shark on the loran toward.



Overall it was a great trip. Plenty of fish and lobster but I would have liked to have a few shots at some bigger fish.

Pics: Dry Tortugas Diving Photos