Jolly Rogers 2009-What You Need To Know

[Dive4Blood]

This should answer all your questions, but feel free to PM me if you have more...

Jolly Rogers 2
A 43' Torres with TWIN Detroit 692 diesels giving her a true 17-19 knot cruise when fully loaded for a weekend trip. Fully enclosed cabin, large dive platform, bunks, full kitchen, 3000# fish box capacity, private head w/shower, 200 plus gallons hot/cold fresh water available on deck/cabin/head, TV/DVD, AM/FM-CD player, and A/C available.

Twin Engines
Twin engines give one the added margin of safety and redundancy. In the event of an engine malfunction (granted unlikely, but it happens), do you want to be floating in the water 75 mi. offshore diving off of a single, or a twin screw boat? A twin engine boat will also get you back to shore on one engine, and not leave you stranded at the mercy of the USCG, or with the uncertainty of a commercial vessel tow.

Weekend Trip
Leave Friday, and return Sunday evening. Bring six tanks. Trips will be to your choice of either the Florida Middle Grounds with depths ranging from 85-130 fsw, or the remote offshore waters of Steinhatchee out to 70 nm in depths up to 110 fsw. Three days of diving depending on Friday’s departure time with two full nights of hook and line fishing. No more than 2-3 divers MAX on any one dive spot for any trip.

Overnighter Trip
Leave early Friday or Saturday morning, and return the following evening. Multiple dives on each of the four tanks (any size) you bring. You will get two full days diving the offshore waters of Steinhatchee out to 40 nm offshore with depths ranging up to 85 fsw. In the case of weather not allowing a full weekend trip, we will conduct this trip as our Plan B option.

Pricing
Full weekend trip with FIVE DIVERS $620pp
Single overnighter with FIVE DIVERS $420pp

Charter pricing subject to change due to diesel fuel costs

A $100 deposit which can be used toward the trip must be paid in advance to reserve your spot. Deposits are nonrefundable within two weeks of departure unless YOU provide your replacement. Four person trips are available as long as the group splits up the cost of the fifth spot. You will also be able to bring the extra tanks, and divide them how you see fit.

Tanks
HP120, HP100, and AL80 tanks are strongly recommended. With the boat's transfill whip, you should be able to get more than one dive per tank. Due to space reasons, we only have room for eight LP tanks max per weekend trip (does not apply to single overnighter) which will be allocated on a first come/ first serve basis. Up to twelve rental tanks (AL80 and HP100-120) per trip can be made available waiting on the boat if needed. Price will be $14 each including nitrox. Please exhaust all your tank possibilities first, and rely on us for rentals only as a last resort.

Qualifications/Requirements
Divers need to be advanced certified, or have commensurate experience, use nitrox, have a dive computer, and a dive alert. Waivers which are now available on the JR2 website must be signed before departure no exceptions. Divers under eighteen must have waivers signed and notarized by parent or legal guardian.

Safety
The JR2 is equipped with 3 E bottles, and 2 M60 bottles of 100% O2. USCG response to the Middle Grounds is on average a couple of hours so your typical dive boat 1 or 2 E bottle oxygen supply will not cut it!! VHF radio (2), sideband radio, Class II 406 MHz EPIRB, self deploying life raft, high water/smoke alarms, and ample fire extinguishers.

All crew are USCG licensed captains, and at minimum divemaster certified. Crew will dive also.

Trip Includes
All meals are included. You are in charge of your own beverages, and in between meal snacks. Let us know if you want us to prepare something in particular for your group. All bait & tackle is included for night fishing, and we will set you up with a rod & reel if you don't have one. Air conditioner will run during the summer months from late evening to dawn, and is included in the price of the charter.

You can go to http://www.jollyrogersii.com/Trip%20Report.htm to see most of the dive trip reports and videos from the past several years. Feel free to PM any past guests to get their opinion of the charter experience we provide.

PM me with any questions, or if you want to get a trip reserved. Thanks.....

www.jollyrogersii.com

[Dive4Blood]

We're certainly not the least expensive charter that goes to the Florida Middle Grounds, and wouldn't want to ever be the cut rate option anyway. If you are already spending several hundreds of dollars on a trip you may only do a couple of times per year, here are some points that may help you figure out if the extra money is worth it.

Experience
The JR2 has been in continuous operation now for sixteen years with the same owner, and much of the same crew of captains, mates, and divemasters. I would venture to say no other overnight dive charter can come close to the total number of trips that the JR2 has run to the MG. If nothing else, this intangible is worth the extra price of admission. You would be amazed at the list of current charter captains, commercial spearos, and all around "Gulf of Mexico mack-daddies" whose first MG weekends were spent aboard the JR2 .

Balance Of Speed And Comfort
Are you paying hundreds of dollars for a boat ride? With the JR2's 17-19 knot cruising speed, you'll get to and from the MG in around five hours, and be in the water shooting fish well before then. A low profile combined with a 16' beam will insure a better ride in sloppy sea conditions. The boat's speed also gives us better flexibility of hunting different areas in the Middle Grounds if circumstances dictate.

More Time Spent Fishing And Hunting
You'll dive Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on a full weekend trip, and get TWO full nights of hook and line fishing.

Steinhatchee Diving
Even though it takes five hours to the MG, you'll have the option of being in the water shooting quality fish within 2-3 hours of leaving the dock. The local waters of Steinhatchee have an unbelievably productive fishery that the waters further south along the FL Gulf Coast cannot even compare with. You should expect a healthy fish box before we even enter the Middle Grounds.

Single Overnighter Option
Because of the amazingly productive rock piles, ledges, and wrecks within 40 miles offshore of Steinhatchee, you'll still have an opportunity to have a great trip even if the weather only gives us half of a weekend to work with. Expect limits of gags 8#-25#, hogs 3#-8#, and amberjacks to 50# along with plenty of red snapper in season, mangos and cobia on these inshore trips.

Again, feel free to reply here or PM me if you have any questions. Thanks, we look forward to diving with our many regulars, and taking some new guests to the spearfishing nirvana of the Florida Middle Grounds. Standing by......

[Dive4Blood]

Here's some more FAQ for you. Besides the obvious stuff you would bring on an overnight dive trip (change of clothes, toiletries, bedding, etc.)

BRING

Bugspray- Depending on the time of year, the sand gnats and no-see-ums can be brutal on the Steinhatchee River in the evening when we are off loading.

Cable Ties- To mark your fish. All the fish go into one massive fish box, and it is infinitely easier to ID your catch when we unload it if everyone has a different color cable tie.

PVC Boots Or Heavy Rubber Soled Shoes- The deck at night especially during the summer months is usually a minefield of sharp finned and toothed snapper, grouper, king mackerel etc. If you are planning to hook and line fish, your feet will thank you for bringing a pair of white "shrimper" boots.

Dive Certification Card- IF this is your first trip with us.

PLEASE DO NOT BRING

"Suitcase" Style Dive Bags- These usually have a hard frame, don't collapse, and take up way too much room. Please don't go old school with laundry baskets, milk crates etc...

Tackle Boxes- We have EVERYTHING you need in the way of tackle should you desire to hook and line fish.

PVC Shaft Tubes For EVERY Diver- Trust me, you will not need ten extra shafts on your trip. If you do, you may want to reconsider a MG trip. Consolidate shafts, and bring 1-2 PVC shaft tubes between the 4 or 5 of you.

Your Dive Weights In Your Dive Bag- We keep dive weights and dive bags in different places on the boat. Plus, we're not looking to get a hernia anytime soon....


As far as food bring anything you like (remember that meals are included), but if you need to cook any of it, make sure you can do so in the microwave or on the stove top. We have a George Foreman Grill on the boat, but don't count on being able to use it. That's a possibility only if the seas are calm. Same deal with grilling fish and lobster that we catch.

The boat is located at the Gulfstream Motel & Marina 352-498-8088 www.gulfstreammotelmarina.com. Rooms are available for those that want to spend the night there before and/or after the trip. The marina has excellent fish cleaning facilities, and a tiki bar with full menu/full liquor. Be advised that July 1st through the weekend after Labor Day is scallop season, and room availability might be limited. Make sure you mention the Jolly Rogers 2 when you make a reservation.

That's all I can think of right now, but feel free to reply here or PM me with any other questions. Standing by.....

[Dive4Blood]

Bag Limits
Since the JR2 is federally permitted charter you will be allowed a two day bag limit on all applicable species. You will not be allowed to shoot into someone else's limit unless authorized by the other diver. Full group charters may pool their limits together if desired. Every diver will have his catch tallied by species throughout the trip.

[Spear One]

Hey guys, if you have not been up to the Hatch you are missing the best overall spearfishing in the Gulf in my opinion. I spent the last 7 years of my commercial career shooting up there for one reason................tons of fish! It is not uncommon to see 30, 40, 50 or more Grouper on one spot in the late fall and early winter up there. The Mango's are thick as well and larger than you might expect to see in that shallow water. My favorite time up there is from November 15th to the end of December. The water is usually in the low to mid 70's and the vis is very good, usually 25 to 40 feet which is ideal shootin' vis IMO. The only thing you give up are the monster Hogs you typically see in the Grounds, but there are plenty of Hogs in the 3 to 7 lb range.

Another great benefit of diving off the Hatch is you get incredible bottom time. If you are diving 36 mix, you can easily do 35 to 45 minute dives with one hour intervals. The Hatch is a great place to hone your spearfishing skills............shallow water with lots of bottom time, tons of fish, & lots of repetitions = tons of fun. The Hatch is also a great place to finallly get "off the leash" if you have been itchin' to give freeshaftin' a try.

The JR11 has plenty of kick a$$ numbers up there and I assure you, it will be a trip of a lifetime. There were fish in that area all summer which is sort of abnormal because they usually head deeper during the summer months. From my experience, when the fish stay in there late into the summer, there are tons, & tons of fish up there once the glass minnows show up in late October. The glass minnows get so thick up there on the rock piles they sometimes block out the sunlight. However, the Grouper love those glass minnows and spend most of their time gourging themselves on the feast. From my experience, a big school of glass minnows = a huge school of Gags underneath just "wantin' to get shot"