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Bill,
You're kidding of course?? I'm trying not to flame you here however if you
are relying on a pony bottle to augment your gas supply because you
consumption rate is not very good, then you should not be contemplating the
dive. First I would have to ask what you define as a deep dive - 100ft,
200ft? There are several scuba shops in Key West (e.g. Billy Dean's Key
West Diver) that will rent you a set of doubles if you are qualified to do
the dives. IMHO a PADI Master Diver and NSS Full Cave diver doesn't
necessarily mean you are qualified to do deep dives (i.e. the NSS
recommended limit is 130ft). If your prior training was complete, you would
realize this. You should already have the answer. 

My recommendation is to do no-decompression dives not to exceed 100ft with
no overhead and forget the pony bottle. Use a good regulator with an
octopus and dive with a buddy FOLLOWING a conservative air rule - you
should know how to plan that from your NSS FC course - I hope. Don't rely
on a crutch. Work up to the deeper dives and you will realize better gas
consumption as your anxiety diminishes and you adjust to the dive
environment. Dive within YOUR personal limits - not someone elses. If you
monitor your gas consumption during the dive you should have no problems.
'But I feel awkward telling you that because you are the Master Diver and I
am not. This is a big problem I have with certification agencies that let
"you" believe that "you" are something that you're not. There is no
replacement for experience (50 or 100 dives don't add up to any significant
experience). Dive with people who have it and you will learn. Collect cards
and you may become a statistic. I realize I've made an assumption here that
may or may not be correct.

The most beautiful part of the Keys can be found in the first 40ft of
water. 'And you can stay at that depth forever. 'And the Key Largo area has
better reefs.

Take care,
Doug

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