flower gardens

[beachP]

I want to go diving thier this summer I have my own boat that can make the trip. Just want to know witch area is better to dive I see that thier is an east and west. I have read that its as shoalow as 50 foot but thier looks like most of it is deeper what depth would i be diving to I do not like to go past 100 foot. Any insight would be nice thank

[Marsh Monkey]

I'd suggest you try and dive both the west bank and the east bank while you are out there. There are plenty of mooring bouys on both sites. We normally look at where the big dive boats are moored and go to the opposet bank. We prefer to dive the outside wall on both the east and west side. There is a rig, Mobil 389 I think on the East Bank that is a pretty awesome rig dive. It has more live coral and fish than most rigs outside the park (can't spearfish on it). I'd say the average depth is about 60 feet unless you dive the outside edges where it drops off. I think there is a website since it is a National Marine Sanctuary that gives allot of info. I'm not sure what the URL is but it should be easy to find. If the weather is good you will love diving there.

[disgusted]

East has more fish. 50 to 90' . If you leave a man in the boat, I suggest that you drift dive it. Lots more underwater time.

[michaelbaranowski]

http://www.flowergarden.nos.noaa.gov/

[Spechawg]

The West Flower Garden is slightly deeper than the East. I would suggest doing both if you can. You can see most of the stuff there while staying in the 60-90' range unless you are interested in diving the outer walls which drop down to I don't know how deep. Both banks are similar in terms of fish and coral cover. If you ever get a chance, dive Stetson Bank, which is also part of the Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary. It is completely unique from the other two, as the bottom is composed of siltstone and claystone. It's about 40% sponge cover and is more colorful with alot more fish and invertebrates. It's a little deeper with the average depth around 80'. They're all really cool. Oh, and any rig dives are awesome.