Key Largo
Author: Tom Shropshire

KEY LARGO 13-18AUG99

Friday, August 13: Fly Cayman Airways from Grand Cayman to Miami. Plane packed, everyone going to MIA for the weekend. Customs/immigration was "seamless". Alamo Car Rental easy and convenient with good directions in "all directions".

AMORAY DIVE RESORT: MM104.5, 104250 Overseas Hwy/Key Largo, FL 33037 PH 800-426-6729 or 305-451-3595; FAX 305-453-9516; Website - www.amoraydive.com E-mail - amoraydive@aol.com

Envelope on office door with direction to accommodations. Unit 30H (Highhat Drum), located next to pool. Walls are thin and can hear folks in the pool, as well as "pool pump" go "on-and-off". Had forgotten that ADR has no phone in the room (so much for the internet connection).

Saturday, August 14, 1999 -

QUIESCENCE DIVING: MM103.5, Box 1570/Key Largo, FL 33037 PH 305-451-2440; FAX 305 451-6440; Website - www.keylargodiving.com E-mail - info@keylargodiving.com

WEATHER/SEAS: Mostly cloudy, low 80s. Drizzle. Seas were 2-4ft.

STAFF: greeting was friendly; service was prompt.

BOAT(S)/BRIEFING: 3 small V-hull boats, 6 persons maximum leave plenty of room to move about. Boat briefing was adequate, but not complete (no mention of emergency procedures or equipment); cooler on board.

DIVE SITES/BRIEFING: 1) French Reef Ledge (drift). Briefing was thorough and complete with an explanation of the "ledge" and the drift we would encounter. 53ft. - 53min. Vis. 50ft. 2) Benwood Wreck. Again, good explanation of the former phosphate carrying ship which sank in 1942. Plenty of fish life (spotted moray, adult and juvenile spotted drum). 40ft. - 56 min. Vis 50ft.

SUMMARY: Trip was inexpensive ($59.13). Never realized that you can "bring your own tanks" on-board. Basic "boat trip" was only prices at $35. Used a "compact 80 tank" which was four (4) pounds negative buoyant.

Sunday, August 15, 1999--

OCEAN DIVERS/AMERICAN DIVING: 522 Caribbean Dr, Key Largo, FL 33037 PH 305-451-1113 FAX 305-451-5765; Website - www.www.oceandivers.com E-mail - info@oceandivers.com

WEATHER/SEAS: Sunny, high 80s. Seas 2-4ft.

STAFF: greeting was courteous, and quick at check-in. Stood on dock while boat was being prepared with no communication or direction from staff. Course Director Jason ? was very nice and informative once everyone was on boat.

BOAT(S)/BRIEFING: Newton 46 and a second vessel, Ocean Diver. The Newton 46 was new and looked to be in great shape. Our boat, Ocean Diver, was adequate but not immaculate. Ice cooler on board, fresh water showers were available. OD was "full". Ran into a gentleman I'd met and dove with in Freeport. . . he indicated the boat may have been oversold (it is usually not that full - 27 divers plus staff/instructors. Briefing was very thorough (again, Jason was excellent). Jason knew most guest "first name" by day's end.

DIVE SITES/ BRIEFING: 1) USCGC Bibb. Current was "ripping". Dives site briefing was excellent by Jason. Stressed that everyone on-board was a "recreational" diver; no decompression diving. Briefing puts emphasis on using the "lines" to pull to front of the boat and down the mooring line. Once "on the Bibb", you could block some of the current using the boat itself as a shield. The Bibb was sunk as an artificial reef in 1987. The boat lies on its port side in 80-130ft. of water. 114ft. - 29min. Vis. 40ft. 2) Molasses Reef (Winch Hole). Slight current. 32ft - 57min. Vis. 60ft.

SUMMARY: For all I've heard about Ocean Divers, I was a bit surprised at what I viewed as their "non-chalant" approach. Smoking was permitted on the boat, not only by guest, but by staff members. We were greeted back at the dock by a staff member with a "cigarette hanging" out of her mouth (waiting to tie up the Ocean Diver). Jason, and the two (2) girls that did the check-in (one of which was Michelle), were what this diver viewed as a lone bright spot.

Tomorrow, Tavernier Dive Center.

Tuesday, August 16, 1999 -

TAVERNIER DIVE CENTER: P. O. Box 465, MM 90.7, Tavernier, Florida Keys 33070 PH 305-852-4007 or 800-787-9797 Website - www.tavernierdivecenter.com E-mail - tavdive@tavernierdivecenter.com

WEATHER/SEAS: Partly sunny, mid-80s. Seas 2-4ft outside the reef area.

STAFF: TDC is a completely "non-smoking" operation (shop, boats, property, etc). A lot of first impressions are made "at the door"; with this in mind, Rick Dumiak certainly served his purpose. Although arriving early, TDC was open at 735a.m. and we were able to sign-in and do the paper work. My dive buddy commented, "what a world of difference". One could tell that the "customer" was No. 1 and that all would be taken care of. . . a comfort level. Brian and Bob (our boat crew) were very cordial and professional. Assistance was provide, if needed, getting out of water and directing the tank to the tank rack. Met the new owner of TDC, Mike Ho-Sing-Loy, upon return to the dock. He took the time to "be concerned" about how our morning went and asked questions. Tanks for the 1p.m. dive were "readied" on the dock with each tank marked for the diver with a piece of masking tape.

BOAT(S)/BRIEFING: TDC has two (2) boats, Shadow and Phantom. Today, we used Shadow, not in "perfect condition", but more than adequate. Cooler on board, no marine head. Freshwater shower available. Brian gave an exceptional briefing (made all nine divers feel very comfortable), including life boat, life vest, O2, first aid. The briefing was given on the bow as we motored through the short channel area. Brian's boat briefing was followed by a quick briefing of the dive, including a diagram of our first dive, the USCGC Duane. The complete briefing was to be completed at the dive site.

DIVE SITE/BRIEFING: 1) USCGC Duane. Sank in 1987 as part of the Keys artificial reef system. The deck of the Duane sits in about 90 ft. of water. The structure is such that one can use the boat to easily shield a diver from the current. Again today, we had a strong current, although a little less than yesterday. Hordes of barracuda "hung" in the waters at 50-80ft. Again, our descent was a "giant stride" entry from the stern of the Shadow, and a very quick grab to the surface line. After pulling yourself along the boat, making sure not to bang into port side, you came to the mooring line. Here, you begin your descent through the rushing current. Capt. Bob and Brian "complemented" one another during their briefing. Every aspect of safety was concerned. Once all divers were in the water, the boat would then relocated to the stern of the Duane. Should we miss the ascent mooring, we were carefully instructed on our "preventive maintenance skills", until the boat could meet us. Profile: 105ft. - 24min. Vis. 50ft. 2) Molasses Reef/Mooring #12. Not a common area for TDC to dive on. . . however, my partner and I could not have asked for more. Permit, barracuda, schools of various reef fish, lobster, highhats, spotted morays and even two (2) spotted eagle rays were viewed on our dive. Profile: 29ft. - 59min; Vis. 50-60ft.

SUMMARY: TDC has a high repeat customer bases, and it is no surprise why - customer service. Despite "crew" coming-and-going (that is the nature of the dive industry), there is a "solid foundation" at TDC. The staff is very thorough, professional and cares.

Wednesday, August 17, 1999 -

TAVERNIER DIVE CENTER:

More of the same "excellent service" from TDC.

STAFF: Mike, TDC owner and Brian served as the staff.

DIVE SITES: 1) The Eagle. Boat lies on the starboard side in 100-120ft. of water. The port-side of the boat is around 75-80ft. The Eagle was broken in half during Hurricane Georges. There are four (4) moorings on the wreck. Although we did not see any of the jewfish or a green moray that was mentioned in the briefing, there were plenty of schools of reef fish and a school of silversides. This wreck is excellent for a Wreck Specialty course. Profile: 104ft. - 29min.; Vis. 30ft. 2) Crocker Ledges. Not a great site, but we were unable to get the mooring, thus we anchored. The best part of the site was the deeper portion - 50-70ft. It was a nicely leisurely dive and a great way to end four (4) days of diving. Profile: 63ft. - 52min.; Vis. 70ft.

TRIP SUMMARY: Having not dove the "big wrecks" of Key Largo in four (4) years, I found them somewhat challenging. Key Largo diving is very good, yet, very different diving - and is certainly not for everyone (especially the new diver). As a reminder, Key Largo dive operators don't have divemasters in the water - they are an additional charge ($25-$35). Prior to doing the Duane, Bibb and Eagle, make sure you have done some drift diving, and wreck diving. The current can be very tough.

The opinions expressed in this report are of just that, "opinion". The report was derived from first-hand experience and all information is "personal observation". This information is to serve as a guideline for those heading to dive Key Largo. DIVE S.A.F.E. Thomas K. Shropshire/Reservations Coordinator/Parrots Landing/Grand Cayman. Should you need more information, please don't hesitate to contact me

Last edited on June 29, 2002