Hey Linda
The articles I have in PDF format so they will have to me e-mail to you.
The DO's will mostly take you where you want to go but as all DO, they have to take into consideration all the divers. That being said the boats are rarely crowded. My last trip in May we had 1 days with a full boat (10) and 5 days with just 2 divers so we were able to do and go when and where we wanted. If you go in the off season March-May, Aug-Nov chances are will have this luxury.
The Hotels, restaurants, grocery, dive boats, are all right in the Agua Dulce (Sweet Water) section of Old Providence and all within walking distance, one end to the other is maybe a.
Best time to go I think is the winter months but the vis can be low with the northerly winds that time of year, 80 degree weather with a cool breeze, winters can also be crowded, well crowed for OPI standards. Remember there are strict regulations on OPI for environmental protection, so they regulate everything including tourism.
Spring is good, vis gets better unless there is a storm, it’s before the hurricane season, even though OPI is mostly out of the hurricane belt there are a few storms that brush the area, this is low season so you have the island to yourself per-say.
Summer is hot not much of a breeze, vis is good, tourism is also at it peak in the summer months
Fall is a lot like spring
The rainy season are between Spring and Summer and and between Fall and Winter.
So the best time to come depends on what you want no crowds, Spring or Fall, best vis summer.
I do 2 annually trips, Memorial Day week and Labor Day week if you are considering spring 2009.
Ciao
Tad
PS: the link is to my web page