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Dive Review of Rainbow Reef Divers in
The Continental USA/Key Largo, Florida

Rainbow Reef Divers, Apr, 2007,

by Scott Anders, VA, USA . Report 3359.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 2 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments We went on one two-tank trip with Rainbow Reef Divers. $75 for a non-guided 2-tank trip. Other dives this week included three two-tank dive trips with Key Dives in Islamorada one two-tank trip with Blue Water Divers in Key Largo. We split trips between operators to gain easier access to the Eagle (Islamorada) and the Speigel Grove and the Duane (both from Key Largo). However, this morning Blue Water Divers had two divers opt out of the dive, leaving only my wife and I on the manifest. In addition, the seas were in the 4’+ range. The captain of Blue Water Divers, Glenn, helped us rebook with Rainbow Reef Divers who had one of their boats scheduled to go to the Speigel Grove that morning. Unfortunately Rainbow Reef Divers had two no-shows, leaving only my wife and me booked on their smaller boat. They offered us two spots on their bigger boat so we accepted in an effort to get some underwater time in today. The boat was crowded with 16 divers (but I wouldn’t be surprised if they occasionally book it for 20). This was a good example of a ‘cattle boat’ operation. Captain Bill was cordial and gave an adequate briefing. Onboard, one of the crew changed my wife’s tank between dives and helped me change mine. Normally I don’t mind doing this myself but it was good to have assistance in the rough seas we experienced (4’+ seas). Bottled water was provided. Mask and camera buckets were available. No head that I saw or was told about. No granny line to the front of the boat provided. First dive on the Benwood had horrible visibility (~10’). Second dive at Molasses Reef had about 25’ of visibility. Experienced a lot of surge on both dives. Several people got sick between dives due to rough seas and some divers didn’t do the second dive. There was no divemaster guide for either dive so one needed to be able to do their own navigation. Instructions were to be back on board in 60 minutes or with at least 500psi. My wife and I were the last on board for both dives after about 50 minutes (with >1000psi). Overall, crew did a good job, especially given the rough conditions and the number of divers. An after-dive lunch stop at Mrs Macks is worth it. For dinner, we loved the fish preperations at the Fish House.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving St.Lucia, Grand Bahama, Nassau, Hawaii, Dominica, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, North Carolina, Virginia Beach, Cozumel, San Salvador (Bahamas), Roatan
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp 75-76°F / 24-24°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 10-25 Ft/ 3-8 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Be back on board in 1 hour or 500psi, whichever comes first.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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