It is a waiting game in the Florida Keys.
Far to the north in the Gulf of Mexico, crude oil is gushing out of a broken well head. Deep underwater, it is proving to be a daunting task to curb the flow.
Not everyone agrees but scientists who study ocean currents say it is only a matter of time before the oil slick makes its way to what is known as the Loop Current. That current runs down the Florida West Coast around Key West and up the east coast of Florida. If the current was laced with oil, it would generate a disaster of major ecological proportions according to environmentalists and the economic impact on tourism would be catastrophic.
Could the oil really make it all the way down the west coast of Florida? The professional and commercial fishermen along with divers that make their living on and under the water say "absolutely."
"That's what my gut tells me," says Captain Scotty Gray, who pilots dive boats for Captain Spencer Slate's Atlantis Dive Center in Key Largo.
That seems the consensus in the middle and upper Keys where Monroe County Mayor Sylvia Murphy says, "Everything we have involves that water." She sees disaster looming.
And to back up their contention that the Loop Current can and will push oil around both coasts, Gray will tell you that after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Mississippi and Louisiana debris got into the Loop Current and floated right by the Atlantic side of Key Largo.
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"There were roofs of houses, barrels, anything that would float that got caught up in the storm and went right on up the coast towards the Northern Atlantic," said one boat captain.
Captain Scott Marlin from fishmonster.com and radio host on Marathon's WFFG verified the debris story. "That's been confirmed many times," he said. Heavy duty Katrina debris littered the Loop Current, now comes the potential of oil if the winds drive the slick to the Southeast.
"Oil and diving don't mix," said Gray, who sees his job impacted if the oil fouls the reefs, fisheries and beaches.
Sky Slate, who was manning the dive shop office for her father Spencer Slate, said the dive season is really booked. She prays the oil stays away from the Keys.
Much like waiting for a hurricane, the slick is staying put for now.
But not for long, said one charter captain, who did not want to be identified.
"We could be going down."
