TRIP PREPARATION
No matter how you choose to get to Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, your trip will require preparation. Here are some basic check lists that will help you.
These are not comprehensive lists, but a starting point for your trip plan. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that you have taken all necessary precautions to maintain your health and well-being.
Have you.....
- reviewed standard safe boating procedures and checked all safety gear to ensure it is in good working order?
- printed off boundary and mooring buoy coordinates, if taking your own vessel?
- reviewed sanctuary regulations & removed any illegal fishing gear from your vessel?
- reviewed recommended reef etiquette, including mooring buoy use?
- checked the latest marine weather forecast?
- packed your dive gear and related items? diver's check list (22kb)
- determined that you can safely negotiate the challenges of diving in the sanctuary?
- recently refreshed your dive skills in a controlled environment?
- remembered to pack your personal care items such as sun screen, medications, etc.?
- remembered to pack your field guides and FGBNMS observation report forms (Sighting Cards)?
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CHALLENGES OF DIVING
Most dive professionals consider Flower Garden and Stetson Banks to be intermediate to advanced dive sites.
While conditions can be calm and suitable for beginners, those occasions are extremely rare and totally unpredictable. More typically, you will experience multiple currents, running in different directions and speeds at different depths. Currents may develop or disappear in the middle of your dive. Or, they may change direction and/or speed during your dive, requiring you to swim against a current to return to your exit point.
Wave height and frequency are also quite variable and can make it difficult to reboard the boat safely. Previous saltwater experience is strongly recommended before diving in the sanctuary.
Over one hundred miles of water lie between you and the nearest medical facility. This is not the place to overestimate your abilities and physical condition.
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SANCTUARY MOORING BUOYS & BOUNDARIES
For information about the sanctuary boundaries and mooring buoy locations, please visit our Buoys & Boundaries web page. There you will find maps and GPS coordinates to assist you in your travels.
