My Key Largo dive trip - July!

[gr8jab]

My son was just accepted for camp in Daytona in July. As a happy bonus, I get a road-trip to Key Largo for a few nights. Here's my plan so far...

Drive south on Monday. Spend four nights at Courtyard Marriott. Drive home Friday afternoon.

Four days of diving at Rainbow Reef. Morning+afternoon, or morning+night on Tuesday-Thursday. Just morning dive on Friday. Adding Advanced Open Water at the same time.

I've never dove in the Keys before. I hear the reefs are shallow. I like to dive Nitrox, and plan to upgrade when appropriate for the profile. I am traveling alone, so I'll have to find a buddy on the boat, or stick with the provided guide as a buddy. I hope this doesn't excessively limit my bottom time.

In Cozumel, I dove with a 3mm shorty in 80deg water. I'm assuming that in July in KL, it will be 85deg, and I can dive in a rash guard. Any comments on this?

Also, I'm wondering about the weather that time of year. I lived in Orlando for a while, and am used to the afternoon thunderstorms in the summer. Is this the same in the keys?

I plan to pop over to Divers Direct and buy some gloves. I assume these are a benefit for wreck diving, and is not forbidden like other places I've been.

Is there anything special about July? I know it is not quite yet lobster season. Do the jellyfish have a season, or maybe algae blooms? Anything I should watch out for?

I plan to make lots of movies and pics using my new Sealife Micro that I first used in Cozumel in Feb.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

The reefs generally are shallow. The water is plenty warm, you could dive bare skin if you like, I did a couple times. The afternoon shower pattern is not as bad in the keys. Gloves definitely help with grabbing the mooring lines on the way down to a wreck.
I haven't bothered to use Nitrox on the reefs yet. Maybe since you'll be doing lots of repetitive dives it would be more useful. I'm not super conservative with my air consumption though the wife is.

 

[scubaguy655]

Most of the reefs you will dive are in the 25-35 ft range with some of the deeper balls being 45=50'. I personally wouldn't spend the extra $$ on nitrox for these depths.

Water will be in the 85 degree range. When I was a few years younger, I dove the keys in swim trunks in the summer but now I typically wear a shorty - whatever you are comfortable with works.

Weather in July is usually the typical Fla summer pattern - rain showers come and go relatively quickly in most cases.

The only time I wear gloves diving in the keys is on a deep wreck as current sometimes forces a close connection with the mooring ball line

I have seen moon jellies in large numbers in late July but don't remember about earlier in the month - One of the local guys can probably answer that better than me.. Diving in July is usually fantastic with good opportunity for calm seas and warm water.

 

[drrich2]

Reefs are shallow; the wrecks (I'm talking Spiegel Grove, Duane & Bibb, not the shallow wreckage of the Benwood) are deep. You'll need AOW or similar if you want to dive the deep wrecks.

Richard.

 

[CajunDiva]

Lucky you! You'll have a great time The guys at Rainbow Reef are great, and you will be happy to have your Advanced Certification. I would suggest you get that knocked out in the first couple of days, then you can dive some of the deeper wrecks on the last two days. That's where nitrox use will come in handy.

July is a GREAT time to dive Key Largo. The water will be like bath water. Wear whatever exposure protection you are comfortable in. You won't have any problems with shorter bottom times. The standard is one hour. The guys at Rainbow Reef have always respected that and never pushed us to hasten our dives. It will feel like you're diving with your best buddies - they're awesome!

Glad to hear you'll be taking lots of pictures and videos. I hope you will come back and post a trip report for us - would love to hear about your experiences.

 

[mselenaous]

What they ^^^ said.
Water temps will be in the low 80s...for me that's a shorty or just a rash guard.
Jellies, usually thicker in August, are in the top 8-10 ft, so a full length suit or skin can be protective.

I recommend nitrox for any of the deeper wrecks, Duane & Spegiel Grove, which will be included in any AOW class. Gloves are recommended for the wrecks as the mooring lines sometimes have razor clams & fish hooks.
We still get short afternoon rainstorms which rarely interfere with diving. It kind of cool to look up to see rain during a dive.

Have fun, dive safe & do report back with some of your pics.

 

[gcarter]

Had fun with Rainbow Reef last May. Dove a 3/2 full suit for 20 dives over 5 days, so your 3mm should be fine. Don't waste money on Nitrox except for the deeper wreck dives - not worth the cost for a shallow reef dive. Don't get spendy on gloves. I use work / dexterity gloves, many use gardening gloves. The idea is to protect your hands on the line, not warmth.

Have fun!

 

[Oldbear]

If you are EAN certified I recommend spending a few extra dollars are dive Nitrox on all dives. The shallower dives lend themselves to EAN 36. IMHO anytime you can reduce your nitrogen exposure it is a good thing.

Save some time and visit the History of Diving Museum in Islamorada...great place. While in Islamorada try the Liofish sandwich at Daze Inn...probably the best meal I had on my Keys trip.