It’s that time of year again – the annual underwater visit from the Easter bunny! This special Underwater Easter Egg Hunt is open to divers and snorkelers visiting the Florida Keys who want to become deep-sea “egg-splorers” while supporting a Keys charity.
The unique event’s host, Captain Spencer Slate, recently renamed his popular Atlantis Dive Center “Captain Slate’s Scuba Adventures” and relocated to mile marker 90.7 oceanside in Tavernier at the Casa Mar Village shopping enclave. Since 1978, Slate has offered dive, snorkel, underwater wedding and glass-bottom boat packages in Florida Keys waters.
Slate also is known for staging offbeat dive events such as the Easter “egg-stravaganza.” Each year participants in this popular underwater game of hide and seek are awarded prizes, including a particularly valuable goodie basket for the fortunate finder of a “golden egg.”
Money raised during the annual undersea hunt benefits Kids In Special Situations, providing gifts and holiday cheer throughout the year to the area’s needy children.
Prior to the search, Captain Slate dons a giant bunny suit and dive gear and hides brightly colored Easter eggs for eager bounty hunters. Real eggs and nontoxic dyes are used to avoid negative environmental impacts.
Boats full of egg seekers then head out to a secret location adjacent to shallow reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, where the philanthropic revelers take the plunge to find the hard-boiled hoard.
A morning two-tank trip, the dive excursion is specially priced at $65 per certified diver, including tanks and weights, $30 per adult snorkeler and $20 per child snorkeler, including gear.
Divers and snorkelers are asked to check in at 8 a.m. at Captain Slate’s Scuba Adventures. Up to three boats are scheduled to depart at 8:30 a.m. Participants must pre-register for the event.
Event information: www.captainslate.com
