Stone
Contributor
Key Largo, Florida. Saturday, May 25 to Thursday, May 30, 2002.
Operators: Horizon Divers and Paradise Charters
Five 2-tank morning dives. One 3-tank dive. One night dive.
Sites: Different mooring buoys on Molasses and French Reefs; USCG Duane
Viz: 30 to 50 ft on the reefs; 80 ft on the Duane
Depth: 15 to 45 ft on the reefs. 110 ft on the Duane:
Water Temp: 79 to 83 F
Seas: 6 feet on Saturday, 3 feet on Sunday, less than 2 feet the rest of the week.
Weather: Partly to mostly sunny, air temp in the high 80s
Horizon Divers: I highly recommend this operator. Twenty divers (max) on a 45 foot catamaran does not feel like cattle boat diving at all. The boat had a ton of space for setting up, room to stretch out on deck, plenty of dry storage, fresh water shower, and head. The boat was fast (twin 250s), stable, and comparatively quiet. For multi-day diving, you can rinse and store your gear on site. Reef dives were an hour long. The crew was superb! The daily rate ($55 including tanks/wts) is good, but Multi-day discounts are a great value (basically, pay for 4 days and get the fifth day free). They also have package deals including lodging that sounded great.
Paradise Charters: Only spent one day with this operator. Six divers plus dive guide make for a really crowded boat (28 ft six-pack). I was glad to have the dive guide help me keep an eye on my oldest son and his girlfriend until I was comfortable with their UW skills, but experienced divers can ignore the guide if they so choose. This boat has a 50 minute per dive time limit. The daily rate for a 2-tank dive runs $60 (tanks/wts). They also have a 38 ft boat that they use as a 12-pack (which is probably the way to go).
Diving: Molasses and French are patch reefs on Pennekamp State Park. Lots of coral heads, sand channels, and swim throughs. No reason to navigate (when there is little current); the sites are so shallow that you can surface halfway through the dive (determined by time), take a heading to the boat, and descend to continue sightseeing on your way back. The operators may require 800 psi back on board, but we usually had 1500 psi to spare after an hour. The sea life includes the usual tropicals: parrots, puffers, triggers, angels and the rest of the butterfly family. Since the reefs are in a no-take zone, the groupers are large and unafraid, and the barracuda abound. We saw a few rays (eagle and southern), morays (big green and small spotted), and turtles (loggerhead). Very easy reef diving.
We only dove one real wreck, the USCG Duane. Horizon does not currently have Nitrox, so we rented a couple of tanks from Conch Republic in Tavernier Key
Operators: Horizon Divers and Paradise Charters
Five 2-tank morning dives. One 3-tank dive. One night dive.
Sites: Different mooring buoys on Molasses and French Reefs; USCG Duane
Viz: 30 to 50 ft on the reefs; 80 ft on the Duane
Depth: 15 to 45 ft on the reefs. 110 ft on the Duane:
Water Temp: 79 to 83 F
Seas: 6 feet on Saturday, 3 feet on Sunday, less than 2 feet the rest of the week.
Weather: Partly to mostly sunny, air temp in the high 80s
Horizon Divers: I highly recommend this operator. Twenty divers (max) on a 45 foot catamaran does not feel like cattle boat diving at all. The boat had a ton of space for setting up, room to stretch out on deck, plenty of dry storage, fresh water shower, and head. The boat was fast (twin 250s), stable, and comparatively quiet. For multi-day diving, you can rinse and store your gear on site. Reef dives were an hour long. The crew was superb! The daily rate ($55 including tanks/wts) is good, but Multi-day discounts are a great value (basically, pay for 4 days and get the fifth day free). They also have package deals including lodging that sounded great.
Paradise Charters: Only spent one day with this operator. Six divers plus dive guide make for a really crowded boat (28 ft six-pack). I was glad to have the dive guide help me keep an eye on my oldest son and his girlfriend until I was comfortable with their UW skills, but experienced divers can ignore the guide if they so choose. This boat has a 50 minute per dive time limit. The daily rate for a 2-tank dive runs $60 (tanks/wts). They also have a 38 ft boat that they use as a 12-pack (which is probably the way to go).
Diving: Molasses and French are patch reefs on Pennekamp State Park. Lots of coral heads, sand channels, and swim throughs. No reason to navigate (when there is little current); the sites are so shallow that you can surface halfway through the dive (determined by time), take a heading to the boat, and descend to continue sightseeing on your way back. The operators may require 800 psi back on board, but we usually had 1500 psi to spare after an hour. The sea life includes the usual tropicals: parrots, puffers, triggers, angels and the rest of the butterfly family. Since the reefs are in a no-take zone, the groupers are large and unafraid, and the barracuda abound. We saw a few rays (eagle and southern), morays (big green and small spotted), and turtles (loggerhead). Very easy reef diving.
We only dove one real wreck, the USCG Duane. Horizon does not currently have Nitrox, so we rented a couple of tanks from Conch Republic in Tavernier Key
