Help me pick my Key Largo dive sites

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I'm also wondering if Nitrox is worth it for the wrecks if I'm with the Rainbow Reef guided groups. If we're limited by the lowest NDL (or air supply) diver in the group, it would presumably only help if everyone in the group is diving nitrox. Is that usually the case?

Again from memory, as the reef/ shallow dive winds down the DM will lead you back to the boat, you're then free to swim around 'under' the boat, enjoying the last minutes of your dive. People short on air can simply begin their safety stop and surface when they're ready to call their dive. They're also pretty firm on the time limit's set by the captain, so keep in mind no matter how much air you have left, you won't see a 'super long dive' with their boats...
 
I'm also wondering if Nitrox is worth it for the wrecks if I'm with the Rainbow Reef guided groups. If we're limited by the lowest NDL (or air supply) diver in the group, it would presumably only help if everyone in the group is diving nitrox. Is that usually the case?

I'd definitely do Nitrox on those wrecks, if only for the additional safety margin for not that much more cost.

Don't know how the DMs would handle it, perhaps they'd split Nitrox divers from air divers. I suggest you ask them this question directly.

When I've dived with Rainbow Reef I'm either diving solo or I'm with one or more buddies and we do our own thing (there's no requirement to stay with a guide even though one is provided at no charge).
 
I'd be surprised if they separate the nitrox from the air divers. It's likely all the divers will be limited by gas supply, not NDL.

One downside of Rainbow Reef - at least when I dove with them - is they run on a very tight schedule. They want the boat to LEAVE the mooring after 1 hour, and STRONGLY encourage all the divers to get back on the boat at ca. 45min.
 
I'd be surprised if they separate the nitrox from the air divers. It's likely all the divers will be limited by gas supply, not NDL.

Don't know where you're getting that from. My two recent dives on the Duane were 25 and 30 minutes on an AL80 and my SAC rate isn't anything special. As per the dive logs I posted it averages around .6. At my average depth on those dives ~105 feet, I would have had to end the dive closer to 18 minutes or so if I was diving air.

If the Op has a buddy also diving Nitrox one option could be to discuss with the DM that they want to be guided but at the end of the dive, if gas supply allows for it they can spend some time near the mooring line on their own. One thing's for sure, unless the visibility is poor, the SG and Duane are very easy wrecks to navigate.
 
@caruso Well, you're right - NDL is the limiting factor in the dives you described - but limiting gas supply is very close behind.

If you've got an Al80 (77cf) starting at 3000 psi and back on the boat at 500 psi, an RMV of 0.6 gets you 26 min of gas at 105 fsw. NDL is about 18min on Air and 28min on EAN32 (I used DSAT tables, so different tables or PDC could change the NDLs by a couple of minutes either way).

But change that RMV to 0.7 (maybe a fighting a little current?) and your gas should only last 22min at 105 fsw.

Put a few heavy breathers into your group and gas supply will be a bigger concern than NDLs.

Disclaimer: that's assuming a square profile, no SS, etc. Also assuming I didn't screw up the gas supply calculations :wink:
 
Using an AL80 my usual dive times on the Spiegel Grove is about 45 minutes and about 40 minutes on the Duane. Using EAN32, NDL and gas time usually fight it out until the end.
 
I'll be diving with Rainbow Reef Oct 21-23. This will be my first time to the Keys and my first warm water dives (woohoo!).

I'm having a little trouble choosing which boats to book, given the multitude of different sites available on each day. I am definitely planning to do the Duane and Spiegel Grove, if conditions allow. For my other dives, I'm most interested in seeing lots of cool critters (large and small) and healthy, interesting reef structures.

Here's a list of the 2-tank itineraries that are available over my three days of diving. Would love advice on which ones are not-to-be-missed, which I should skip, and which are so good that I might want to hit them up twice.

FYI, I'm not especially interested in the Christ Statue, unless it's really worth it for the reef & life at the site.

  • Benwood/French
  • Snapper/Pickles
  • Horseshoe/Minnow Cave
  • Drift French/Drift Molasses
  • Christ Statue/Banana Patch
  • Spanish Anchor/Hole in the Wall
  • Eagle Ray Alley/North Star
  • Fire Coral Cave/Eagle Ray Alley
  • City of Washington/Elbow Reef
  • Christmas Tree Cave/Benwood
  • French Reef/French Twist
  • Christmas Tree/French
  • Molasses/Hole in the Wall
  • North Dry Rocks/Double North
As you can see, it's a bit overwhelming. Would love any advice on top picks out of these options so I can choose my boats.

Thanks!
 
I like the Benwood. Tons of fish. They usually pick the site on RR divers according to the vis and you dont really get to choose. That is, if they do what they have in the past when I dove with them.
 
I dove with RR at the end of September (first keys dives). I went down with a group and wasn't able to have much input in site selection. We did several dives on the Spiegel Grove, several on diferent locations on French Reef, and 2 dives on the Ben Wood. I was not a huge fan of the BW, but I really enjoyed the Spiegel Grove. We also did a night dive on Snapper Ledge. I would strongly recommend doing a night dive if you have the chance.
 
I did the Spiegel and the Duane using my own HP100s and EAN30-32. IME no stop times constrained my dives more than gas times, so I think Nitrox would be worth it even at the inflated prices you pay in the Keys.
 
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