Just returned from a long weekend in Key Largo. Thirteen dives in three days. I am exhausted and a bit sore, but it was worth every minute.
Flew down on Thursday night to Ft Lauderdale. A short drive later and we arrived at Amoray Dive Resort. A friend and I were sharing a double room, two beds, a bathroom, small fridge, coffee maker, microwave and toaster. Nothing special, but we are here to dive and the boat is just a short walk from the room and that is what matters. So, a bite to eat at the Fish House (yum) and stop at the supermarket and then chill for the night.
At the boat at 8 AM. Amoray's boat is a 45 foot catamaran. One big platform to dive from, very comfortable and even when full, plenty of room. So, out to Elbow Reef to dive Mike's Wreck and City of Washington. Good viz on a couple great shallow dives. Easy to navigate and lots of marine life. On City of Washington, we got to swim with the resident Goliath Grouper and Psycho, a six foot barracuda.
Back at the dock, half hour turnaround, enough time to grab a couple sandwiches and get back to the boat. Afternoon, the first dive is Spiegel Grove. Tied up on the port superstructure. Nice tour through a few interior passages, including the mess and dinner line. Current was moving so we used the wreck to shield us. Got to see some new places. After the Spiegel, a nice trip to Molasses Reef - Eagle Ray Alley. Of course, just as we start the dive, with my camera off, a huge eagle ray swims past. Oh well, it was a great dive anyway, the reefs and marine life look great.
Day two was similar. Morning dives at Train Wheel Wreck and South South Ledges. Current was a bit heavier, but the spur and groove reef makes it easy to keep out of the current. Afternoon was back to the Spiegel for more swim-throughs and exploration. Then the Benwood for the shallow afternoon dive. This is my favorite dive site for fish. There were points in the dive where you couldn't see the wreck the fish were so dense. Found a nice size crab and a conch hiding under some plates.
A quick dinner break - Arby's - and then a night dive on the Benwood. Was a good contrast diving the wreck during the day and then hitting it at night. Huge parrot fish had settled between the pieces of the wreck to sleep. Spotted some bit crabs, but really didn't see much else. Visibility wasn't great, but it is a very easy site to navigate and we easily found our way back to the boat.
Day three morning dives were back to Molasses Reef - Winch Hole and Wellwood. Current was a bit heavy on the first dive, so it was into the current along the grooves. Lots of healthy reef and orange sponges. Spotted a couple big barracuda and some Atlantic Spadefish. Apparently one pair of divers didn't listen to the briefing about the current. They surfaces WAY off the reef. Another dive boat spotted them and hailed us. Reinforced why I carry an SMB, they were hard to see. A third dive boat had just collected its final divers and picked up our strays. Did some navigation on the second dive for my specialization. Easy compass work and some natural nav. Happy to say made it back to the boat on every dive without having to do a "peak of shame."
The afternoon was the "double deep." First dive on the Duane with the deck at 105 feet. As soon as divers started going down the line we knew the current was RIPPING. The mooring ball was under water. So, down the line, and as soon as we got below the gunwale current dropped, but was still fierce, hitting the bow, just to port. So, down the port side of the ship, cut through the superstructure and then up the rooms on the starboard side. Back at the front of the superstructure it was a crawl along the starboard gunwale to get back up to the mooring line. What a rush in the ripping current.
Second dive was to the Spiegel. After a sufficient surface interval, we descended on the port crane. Current was negligible, the mooring line was practically slack. Amazing that only a couple miles away from the ripping current on the Duane, there was nothing here. Did great interior dive to the laundry room. It is a fabulous dive.
Had an awesome time. The Amoray crew is just awesome, Captain Joe, and DM's Jacob and John were just great. Both my buddy and I had regulator issues (loose hoses in my case and an airspool in her's). The crew was more than happy to help. Orange slices after the second dive of each trip. Very stable boat, great briefings and a willingness to help.
Please note that all dives on the deep wrecks were with an extremely experienced and knowledgeable guide. I have my AOW with Deep and Wreck specialties. We were diving Nitrox on all of the deep dives and carefully watching our air and no decompression limits.
I will follow up with some pictures taken on the trip.
Flew down on Thursday night to Ft Lauderdale. A short drive later and we arrived at Amoray Dive Resort. A friend and I were sharing a double room, two beds, a bathroom, small fridge, coffee maker, microwave and toaster. Nothing special, but we are here to dive and the boat is just a short walk from the room and that is what matters. So, a bite to eat at the Fish House (yum) and stop at the supermarket and then chill for the night.
At the boat at 8 AM. Amoray's boat is a 45 foot catamaran. One big platform to dive from, very comfortable and even when full, plenty of room. So, out to Elbow Reef to dive Mike's Wreck and City of Washington. Good viz on a couple great shallow dives. Easy to navigate and lots of marine life. On City of Washington, we got to swim with the resident Goliath Grouper and Psycho, a six foot barracuda.
Back at the dock, half hour turnaround, enough time to grab a couple sandwiches and get back to the boat. Afternoon, the first dive is Spiegel Grove. Tied up on the port superstructure. Nice tour through a few interior passages, including the mess and dinner line. Current was moving so we used the wreck to shield us. Got to see some new places. After the Spiegel, a nice trip to Molasses Reef - Eagle Ray Alley. Of course, just as we start the dive, with my camera off, a huge eagle ray swims past. Oh well, it was a great dive anyway, the reefs and marine life look great.
Day two was similar. Morning dives at Train Wheel Wreck and South South Ledges. Current was a bit heavier, but the spur and groove reef makes it easy to keep out of the current. Afternoon was back to the Spiegel for more swim-throughs and exploration. Then the Benwood for the shallow afternoon dive. This is my favorite dive site for fish. There were points in the dive where you couldn't see the wreck the fish were so dense. Found a nice size crab and a conch hiding under some plates.
A quick dinner break - Arby's - and then a night dive on the Benwood. Was a good contrast diving the wreck during the day and then hitting it at night. Huge parrot fish had settled between the pieces of the wreck to sleep. Spotted some bit crabs, but really didn't see much else. Visibility wasn't great, but it is a very easy site to navigate and we easily found our way back to the boat.
Day three morning dives were back to Molasses Reef - Winch Hole and Wellwood. Current was a bit heavy on the first dive, so it was into the current along the grooves. Lots of healthy reef and orange sponges. Spotted a couple big barracuda and some Atlantic Spadefish. Apparently one pair of divers didn't listen to the briefing about the current. They surfaces WAY off the reef. Another dive boat spotted them and hailed us. Reinforced why I carry an SMB, they were hard to see. A third dive boat had just collected its final divers and picked up our strays. Did some navigation on the second dive for my specialization. Easy compass work and some natural nav. Happy to say made it back to the boat on every dive without having to do a "peak of shame."
The afternoon was the "double deep." First dive on the Duane with the deck at 105 feet. As soon as divers started going down the line we knew the current was RIPPING. The mooring ball was under water. So, down the line, and as soon as we got below the gunwale current dropped, but was still fierce, hitting the bow, just to port. So, down the port side of the ship, cut through the superstructure and then up the rooms on the starboard side. Back at the front of the superstructure it was a crawl along the starboard gunwale to get back up to the mooring line. What a rush in the ripping current.
Second dive was to the Spiegel. After a sufficient surface interval, we descended on the port crane. Current was negligible, the mooring line was practically slack. Amazing that only a couple miles away from the ripping current on the Duane, there was nothing here. Did great interior dive to the laundry room. It is a fabulous dive.
Had an awesome time. The Amoray crew is just awesome, Captain Joe, and DM's Jacob and John were just great. Both my buddy and I had regulator issues (loose hoses in my case and an airspool in her's). The crew was more than happy to help. Orange slices after the second dive of each trip. Very stable boat, great briefings and a willingness to help.
Please note that all dives on the deep wrecks were with an extremely experienced and knowledgeable guide. I have my AOW with Deep and Wreck specialties. We were diving Nitrox on all of the deep dives and carefully watching our air and no decompression limits.
I will follow up with some pictures taken on the trip.
Okay, I guess that is more a trapazoid, but I got back to the starting point. With a 40% kick difference on the up and down current legs, you can imagine the current on top of the reef was decent.
