Namaste' ECO

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Key West Snorkeling Tip #3

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Key West Snorkeling Tip #3: If you are a beginner be honest to your hosts

Key West Snorkeling and Sailing Adventures-Reef Creatures-Blacktip Shark
No fear! its just a Blacktip

Well it was bound to happen after seven years and four guest books of filled with positive and encouraging comments we got a blow by our Wednesday guests. The Tripadvisor comment read “we were disappointed because we did not see big fish” . Ouch! Trish was crushed, I was mad, and Captain Ron was indifferent. I just did not understand, we took them to a really cool spot. Lots of pretty coral, Trish guided by them by the  hand, and we got pictures of a big Nurse shark and a really nice Barracuda. I saw plenty of Parrot fish,  Butterflyfish, Damsels, and tons of the usual tropicals. What could have gone wrong?

After reviewing all of the 70 something photos I realized that, for the most part, our guests were swimming with their heads out of the water. No wonder they did’nt see any fish. Rule number one when snorkeling— remember to look down. I am sure we went over the basics with them but I think that these guys, even though they told us they were experienced snorkelers,  were not real comfortable in the water.

You really don’t have to be an expert swimmer. Trish has taught novices from 5 to 70 and without exception (except for Wednesday’s group) everyone got it and had an incredible experience. Oh well  live and learn.  Next time we will to a better job of insuring a comfort level before we set our snorkelers loose on the reef.

If you are one of the guest from Wednesday’s trip and are reading this please know that we pride ourselves in delivering a quality experience and your comments are taken seriously. Also know that when asked for  your level of experience, whether it be snorkeling our sky diving,  please be honest.  Had we known that you were not comfortable we could have altered our destination to accommodate you better.

For all potential guests reading this please know that we welcome the novice and will not think any less of anyone for sharing your concerns. We are pros and given accurate information can help turn your first time Key West snorkeling experience into a life changing event.

Key West Snorkeling Tip #2

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Waiting on the mooring for the weather to clear.
Waiting for the Weather to Clear.

Just imagine this: It’s July 4th – Independence Day and we’re booked solid. We’ve got another wonderful Key West snorkeling trip on the books, plus ten people booked for the Fireworks Cruise. Yoo-hoo! Jeff and I wake up anticipating a great day of sailing and snorkeling and a wonderful night of sailing and partying on the Namaste’. We look outside and see dark, ominous clouds hanging over Key West. When we check Sailflow.com for a wind report, we find that the experts are calling for 20 knot winds at fireworks time! What to do?

It’s a moral dilemma. We could go ahead with both trips and put almost $1000 in our pockets. We’d probably never see any of those guests again. They would have bobbed around on our boat for four hours, eaten a few burgers, drank a few beers, and probably a few would have spewed all that over the side, just like on all the other boats that went out. We can’t do that! Would we want someone to do that to us? No way.

Key West Snorkeling Tip #2: Ask about inclimate weather refunds

We are more fortunate than our competitors. We don’t have to answer to anyone but our own conscience. Our competitors have bosses that make the call. So what if the weather isn’t optimum! The bills still have to be paid. They have to go no matter how bad the weather unless it’s absolutely unsafe. Uncomfortable doesn’t count. Lucky us, we cancelled our trips for the day, hoping that good karma will send more good folks our way in the future. We may be $1000 poorer, but we can hold our heads up, knowing we upheld the Namaste’ Promise. We treat our guests the way we want to be treated, like the gods and goddesses we know we all are. So there it is, another Key West snorkeling insight and our  sincere wish for a Happy Independence Day!

Captain’s Blog-Key West Snorkeling Insights

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Key West Snorkeling Tip #1: Read the Captains Blog for Namaste Sailing :>

July 2nd

What a great day for some beautiful Key West Snorkeling! Took our good friends Julie, Joe, Patrick, and Joe out to Sand Key. Sat out a squall and them watched as Joe and Trish swam like reef squids for about two hours. Finished off the day with a wreck snorkel and some tasty birthday cake ( Joe’s 39th ish) A wonderful day on the water with great friends.

Trish’s Picture of the day:

Flamigo Tongue Snail feeding on Seafan algae
Flamigo Tongue Snail

June 27

Looks to be another wonderful day for a Key West snorkeling adventure with Namaste Sailing.  Wind is blowing 15 to 20 out of the east so it looks like we will heading to our favorite near shore snorkel with good vis and calm seas. Can’t wait to get Trish back in the water with the reef cam; that girl’s got talent! Check out yesterday’s picture of the day. Way to go Trishi

Plume Coral Key West
Plume Coral at Cotrell Key

June 16

We’re having an amazing time with our new friends Tod, George (adult leaders), Maverick, Michael, and Matthew. Yesterday we sailed to Looe Key on a northwest wind and snorkeled for about an hour there. Looe Key is a bit off the beaten track for Key West snorkeling but it is well worth the extra time. We saw so many beautiful fish! We started our contest with the “geek cam” an underwater camera that is integrated into a snorkel mask. Maverick won the right to be first. He had a really cool shot of a shark. It’ll be hard to beat. Way to go! Talk about boyscout high adventure

We rafted up with the Rosa del Mar, Captain Russ’s boat that held the rest of the troop and had a fabulous dinner of tacos. These guys can really cook.

Looe key was so beautiful that we had to go back for more this morning. It was Matthew’s turn at the geek cam. We haven’t seen his pictures yet, but he was getting way down and taking some interesting shots, so he’ll surely be a contender for the prize.

Next, we sailed over to Munson Rocks, another cool reef. Michael was the photographer here. I can’t wait to see his photos.

The guys all have shipboard jobs. Maverick is our quarter master, the guy in charge of food. He’s been doing a great job. We’re all eating good. Michael is in charge of anchoring and mooring. That’s a really important job, and he’s very good at it. We sleep like babies knowing that Michael has secured everything well.

Matthew is our helmsman. He shares the job of driving the boat with Captain Jeff. At times it’s an exhausting job. We’re currently under way back to the Key West neighborhood. We plan to spend the day tomorrow snorkeling all day, and there are some great spots close by. We want to make an early start and see as much as possible. I’ll keep you posted on our progress and the geek cam competition.

Manatees in the Mangroves

Hawksbill Turtles

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