OceanObsessed
Guest
I saw my first bull shark there in 1978. I have not been back since.
Anyone Dive the Christ of the Abyss?
- Thread starter 13psi
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Fish_Whisperer
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I was with a diver on her first dive in the Big Water. She'd been entirely certified at Vortex Spring, which I and my own instructor personally disagree with, but I'm not writing this to bash another instructor. I was in the water with three of his other newly certified students, and all of them were under-weighted and couldn't get down.
I buddied up the two that couldn't descend, at the surface, and then told the diver I was with, who was pretty calm, to jackknife and swim down like she was diving for the bottom of a swimming pool, and once she got down, she was fine. We went around the statue a little, and then went away from it, to the reef in front of it.
It was one of those perfect dives... Viz was great, and everything was out! We saw a number of angelfish, several ubiquitous barracuda, a couple of good-sized grouper, a couple of spotted eagle rays, and caught a glimpse of a moray eel. When we surfaced, her smile outshone the sun!!
That was, hands-down, my most gratifying dive, and the most fun I've ever had on a dive, (in my very limited experience) to date.
I buddied up the two that couldn't descend, at the surface, and then told the diver I was with, who was pretty calm, to jackknife and swim down like she was diving for the bottom of a swimming pool, and once she got down, she was fine. We went around the statue a little, and then went away from it, to the reef in front of it.
It was one of those perfect dives... Viz was great, and everything was out! We saw a number of angelfish, several ubiquitous barracuda, a couple of good-sized grouper, a couple of spotted eagle rays, and caught a glimpse of a moray eel. When we surfaced, her smile outshone the sun!!
That was, hands-down, my most gratifying dive, and the most fun I've ever had on a dive, (in my very limited experience) to date.
we dove with horizon divers in nov 07
have wanted to get there for 20 years
my wife was crying in her mask enough to have to clear
great op with capt. bob at the wheel
meant more to us than the grove
good diving
have wanted to get there for 20 years
my wife was crying in her mask enough to have to clear
great op with capt. bob at the wheel
meant more to us than the grove
good diving
OP
13psi
Guest
Thanks for the quick responses. I'm excited to dive the site. How was the boat ride out? I get car sick easy, not sure if it's the same on the boat.
Going The Distance
Guest
Thats a very easy shallow dive, its easy if the weather is good, been there when its good and been there when it was bad.. On the good side theres all kinds of sealife there, viz is good.. Ive also dove it a few times when the waves and wind was houling and it made for a lousy dive due to getting tossed around from the waves on top and the bottom....
RonFrank
Contributor
Christ of the Abyss is likely one of the less interesting dives in the upper Keys. It's worth seeing once, but if there are snorkelers on the site, or a couple boats, it can get crowded, and stirred up.
There are so many cool dives in Largo, and I am sure your dive op will make sure you see a good variety assuming you spend a few days diving. There are a lot of good OPs in the Key Largo area. Some of the ones I would recommend are those that others have mentioned, but include Conch Republic, Blue Water Divers, Silent World, and Quiescence Diving.
As a new ocean diver, make sure to let the DiveOps know of your experience so they can schedule your dives accordingly, and partner you with more experienced divers. You may also want to consider hiring a Dive Guide to make your dives a bit more worry free. Most guides are instructors (not all), but they take the worry out of navigating, and generally know where some of the cooler fish and sites on a reef may be.
As for getting sea sick, if you get car sick, you will likely be prone to getting sea sick. The *ride out* is a varied as the weather, and as changing as the currents because that is exactly what makes for sea conditions. If you have a patch, or medication that works for you in the car, you may want to use that for your trip out. It's about a 5 mile boat ride, and I've done it on glorious days with flat seas, and on days where we had 6' seas with wind where a number of divers were heaving. I'd not let that stop you, and once most people that get sea sick are in the water, they get better. There are a number of threads on sea sickness, so you may want to do a search, and a bit of reading on what works for others. I have never been sea sick, so I'm not a good resource on that subject.
Enjoy the trip.
There are so many cool dives in Largo, and I am sure your dive op will make sure you see a good variety assuming you spend a few days diving. There are a lot of good OPs in the Key Largo area. Some of the ones I would recommend are those that others have mentioned, but include Conch Republic, Blue Water Divers, Silent World, and Quiescence Diving.
As a new ocean diver, make sure to let the DiveOps know of your experience so they can schedule your dives accordingly, and partner you with more experienced divers. You may also want to consider hiring a Dive Guide to make your dives a bit more worry free. Most guides are instructors (not all), but they take the worry out of navigating, and generally know where some of the cooler fish and sites on a reef may be.
As for getting sea sick, if you get car sick, you will likely be prone to getting sea sick. The *ride out* is a varied as the weather, and as changing as the currents because that is exactly what makes for sea conditions. If you have a patch, or medication that works for you in the car, you may want to use that for your trip out. It's about a 5 mile boat ride, and I've done it on glorious days with flat seas, and on days where we had 6' seas with wind where a number of divers were heaving. I'd not let that stop you, and once most people that get sea sick are in the water, they get better. There are a number of threads on sea sickness, so you may want to do a search, and a bit of reading on what works for others. I have never been sea sick, so I'm not a good resource on that subject.
Enjoy the trip.
If seeing a statue of Christ underwater is what rocks your boat, you'll love the dive. If seeing fishies and pretty corals and sponges are more your thing, this dive is among the worst you'll have in Key Largo.
Want to see fishies? Ask to dive the Benwood.
But, as your first ocean dives, you'll love it there, what ever dive site(s) you go to.
Want to see fishies? Ask to dive the Benwood.
But, as your first ocean dives, you'll love it there, what ever dive site(s) you go to.
lmorin
Contributor
mike_s
Contributor
I'm glad you said that.... no one talked about how it could get really crowded with snorkle boats there. So if you go on a saturday in tourist season, expect a ton of snorklers there. If you can dive this site on a low period of the week to keep down the boat traffic and snorklers.
still a great dive regardless, but I'm of the opinion that most dives are what you make of them....
Personally I thought the coral was pretty good there. I didn't see much in the way of fish though.
Yep.... this is a great site and would be another beginner site for her to visit. A great wreck with lots of coral on it and TONS of fish. Good photo wreck. I did I think 3 dives on her this past summer. One of them was spent the whole time playing with a huge moray eel.
RonFrank
Contributor
Here are some of my favorite shallower dives in the Keys..
City of Washington - Old broken up wreck, but right next to Elbow reef if you like reefs, and has some BIG fish on it as the Slates (I believe) keep them fed. My Avitar was shot there, and expect to see Jewfish, large Groupers (Blacks/Reds, etc.) Barracuda, and nurse sharks.
Snapper Reef - Holy Bait Ball batman! If you want to see fish, go here. Tons of Snapper, Grunts, Trumpet fish, Lobsters, Crab and the regular cast of characters.
Conch Wall - Deepish, but can be done in 60'~70', but I've been at around 100' on this site. Generally done as a drift dive. Just lots of cool stuff all over the place, and a very large site. Lots of eel, but nothing is out of the question on this site.
Benwood - Old broken up wreck, but more intact than the city of Washington. Lot's of fish on this reef, and eels hiding in what is left of the ship. Vis is generally not great, but this is a really fun dive to do after hitting the Grove.
N. Dry Rocks, NN Dry Rocks, and Cave of the Minnows - Cave of the minnows is cool when they are home. I like all of these shallow reefs for their cool coral heads, large formations of brain coral, cleaning stations, and an abundance of fish. They are great sites for photography because they are shallow, so often a flash is not needed.
One must not forget Molassas, and French reef. Both reefs are very large, and both can be a delight. Too many sites to mention but I like just about every one I've been on.
I'm very positive that folks with MUCH more experience diving this area can chime in on some cool shallower sites, but these are some of my favorites.
City of Washington - Old broken up wreck, but right next to Elbow reef if you like reefs, and has some BIG fish on it as the Slates (I believe) keep them fed. My Avitar was shot there, and expect to see Jewfish, large Groupers (Blacks/Reds, etc.) Barracuda, and nurse sharks.
Snapper Reef - Holy Bait Ball batman! If you want to see fish, go here. Tons of Snapper, Grunts, Trumpet fish, Lobsters, Crab and the regular cast of characters.
Conch Wall - Deepish, but can be done in 60'~70', but I've been at around 100' on this site. Generally done as a drift dive. Just lots of cool stuff all over the place, and a very large site. Lots of eel, but nothing is out of the question on this site.
Benwood - Old broken up wreck, but more intact than the city of Washington. Lot's of fish on this reef, and eels hiding in what is left of the ship. Vis is generally not great, but this is a really fun dive to do after hitting the Grove.
N. Dry Rocks, NN Dry Rocks, and Cave of the Minnows - Cave of the minnows is cool when they are home. I like all of these shallow reefs for their cool coral heads, large formations of brain coral, cleaning stations, and an abundance of fish. They are great sites for photography because they are shallow, so often a flash is not needed.
One must not forget Molassas, and French reef. Both reefs are very large, and both can be a delight. Too many sites to mention but I like just about every one I've been on.
I'm very positive that folks with MUCH more experience diving this area can chime in on some cool shallower sites, but these are some of my favorites.
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