TRIP PREPARATION
No matter how you choose to get to the 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 insuring 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 insure
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 you personal care items such as sun screen, medications, etc.?
- remembered to pack your field guides and FGBNMS observation report forms (Sighting Cards)?
CHALLENGES OF DIVING
The Flower Garden and Stetson Banks are considered, by most dive professionals, to be an
intermediate to advanced dive. 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 salt water experience is strongly recommended before diving in the
sanctuary. One hundred miles of water lies between you and the nearest medical facility.
This is not the place to overestimate your abilities and physical condition.
FLOWER GARDEN BANKS BOUNDARIES (NAD83)
The maps shown on this page were created using high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry data
manipulated with GIS (Geographic Information System) software. In addition to illustrating
the relative depths and slope of the banks, the images show the sanctuary boundaries and
locations of the mooring buoys. The bright red portions of the banks are generally within
recreational dive limits These areas are typically referred to by scientists as the reef cap.
For larger views of the maps, click on each image.
East Flower Garden Bank
