2000 Chapbook

Florida

Cavern Diving - Florida, Undercurrent- May 1999

Florida

Jacksonville

Atlantic Pro Dive/Days Inn, June 1999, Doug Daza (ddaza@evansville.net), Evansville, IN. Vis: 135-40 ft. Water: 79-80 degrees. Cloudy. Water: calm. Restrictions: None. No rinse tanks or camera tables. Dove with a different operator the day before and told them where we had dove. They changed to different wrecks nice; totally encrusted. Frogfish, mantis shrimp, nudibranchs, large angels and Barracuda. Good macro. 12 divers max. Drinks and head on board. Had to pick up our tanks at the shop. Shops usually dive only weekends. Some weekday trips possible but shops don't own their own boats and the boat captains usually have to work during the week. No safety briefing and almost no info on the sites. They made a very negative comment to us about a new dive shop that had opened when they found out we were diving with them. The operator we dove with the day before had us pick up our tanks but they returned them. This operator informed us after the dives that we had to return the tanks. When one of our party questioned this, they became angry and told us to forget it. We won't dive with them again. Try the new operator Lagniappe Aquatics of Jacksonville Beach. Nice people eager to establish themselves. Jacksonville has good diving possibilities with plenty of sites, decent vis and reportedly large fish if you can get the operators to take you farther out (15+ miles). Most of the local divers are spearfishermen if that bothers you be warned. (Telephone: 904-246-2401)

Meridian Divers/Days Inn, June 1999, Doug Daza (ddaza@evansville.net) Evansville, IN. Vis: 30-35 ft. Water 78-80 degrees. Cloudy. water: calm, no currents. Restrictions: None. No rinse tanks or tables. Decent vis, supposedly better farther out (10 miles +). Tugboat wreck totally encrusted. Small but pretty. Good macro. Arrow crabs, nudibranchs, frogfish, Atlantic angels and spadefish, big barracuda. Small boat (26 ft?) fast. 6 divers max. Head and drinks on board. Divemaster and captain friendly. Buddy up and you are on your own. Tank fills to 3000 psi, come up w/500. Nitrox. Pick up your tanks at the shop 30-40 minutes from the dock. You park several hundred yards away and cart your tanks to the boat. The owner commented how he prefers to cater to local divers. Loran was down and the unpredictable weather caused us to stay within ten miles. Don't dive the "reefs": limestone ridges rise several feet from the bottom and have some pretty corals but wrecks are more interesting. No safety briefing, short briefing on the sites. (Phone: 904-262-1606)

Florida Freshwater

Blue Grotto, April 1999, Dennis L. Hopkins (hopkinsdj@efortress.com), Middletown. Vis: 100-150 ft. Water: 72-74 degrees. Sunny. Visibility would make for very fine UWP. Blue Grotto Spring in Williston, FL. Got a feel for cavern diving and an overhead environment, yet easy access to the surface. Great site to allow newer divers a chance to experience depths up to 100 feet with no currents. Dive/rental shop, single shower/toilet facility (one each for men and women), picnic tables and covered areas for gear set up. Best during week; weekends are crowded and divers kick up silt. Two training platforms at 15 and 30 ft. Compressed air bell located in upper cavern as a safety measure. Huge cavern from 30 to 70 feet, 1 million candlepower illumination. Guide wires take you from 60 feet to 100 feet in a circular pattern around a rock ledge for those interested in practicing deeper diving techniques. (Telephone: 352-528-5770)

Florida Keys

Islamorada

Ocean Quest, July 1999, Alison Stenger, Portland, OR. Vis: 30-100 ft. Water: 84 degrees. We wanted to dive 3 wrecks that would not interest most divers, wanted to dive selected shallow reefs to get specific photos. Ocean Quest made everything happen. They gave us options on equipment, boat sizes, and dive schedules. They recognized that we were experienced and we had things we wanted to accomplish. They provided the support to do our dives, then left us alone. Because our dives were mostly shallow, our bottom time was extensive. We selfishly stayed too long underwater one day, making the boat late returning to the dive center, yet the crew couldn't have been nicer. Pat, Doug, and Donna should get awards for their courtesy and effort. (Ph: 800-356-8798 or 305-852-8770)

Key Largo

Amy Slate's Amoray Dive Resort, May 1999, Mike Saffas & Lori Falls, North Las Vegas, NV. Water: 78-80 degrees, Vis: 30-90 ft. Weather awesome. Diving conditions very good. Tons of fish, some eagle rays, nurse sharks, and turtles. Best wreck dives anywhere! Amy Slate's Amoray Dive Operation is top notch. They have a nice boat and the best crew you could ask for. (Telephone: 800-426-6729 (800-4AMORAY) or 305-451-3595; Fax: 305-453-9516)

Amy Slate's Amoray Dive Resort, October 1999, Krista Sutherland, Littleton, CO. Vis: 15-35 ft. Water: 80-83 degrees. We stayed in a condo (2 bedroom) at the resort. It was clean, but lacked enough pots and serving/eating utensils/dishes for the four of us. Staff was less than helpful. Dive operation has deteriorated since my last visit in 1995. Crew did not assist divers to enter/exit the water; dangerous, inconsiderate and unacceptable. Crew was unfriendly and would only answer questions...no spontaneous conversation. They were great at passing the tip jar around however! Also, they did not review the dive sites or provide us with any helpful info, landmarks, etc.

Atlantis Dive Center/Howard Johnson, November 1998, Michael Homiak, Minneapolis, MN. Vis: 30-50 ft. Water: 75-80 degrees. Captain Slate and staff were excellent, friendly, professional, safety conscious. I received my advanced o/w certification, and they coordinated a night dive for one of my required dives (they took a boat out 3 divers - 4 is their minimum). The off-site Howard Johnson's serves its purpose, but could stand an overhaul. Overall great value, and Captain Slate's "critter feeding" Friday mornings is great. (Ph: 800-331-3483 or 305-451-1325, Fax: 305-451-9240, e-mail: capslate@reefnet.com, Website: www.pennekamp.com/atlantis)

Banana Wind Divers/Amoray Dive Resort, November 1998, Jason Watt, Red Bank NJ. Vis: 60-80 ft. Water 78-80 degrees. Run by New Jersey Instructor Robert Borselli. Used Amoray's boat, bottles & weights. Impressed with Bob's advanced instruction and operation. Prices reasonable and included all equipment. His instruction was strict but fun. Cannot say the same for Amoray Dive Resort. Spent 3 days on boat. Boat captain had an attitude and was unfriendly. Beginning of day 3 I said, "Morning, how ya doing?" His reply: "I'm doing..." Divemaster friendlier and thorough, but his pre-dive briefing was on auto pilot. Deep dive on the Coast Guard CutterDuanewas great (109ft.), vis excellent, could start to see the stern at 20 ft. While four boats were waiting to drop divers down the only stern line, Ocean Divers (who got there first) dropped their load and waited 18 minutes for their divers to descend and surface, rather than pull back and letting other boats come in and drop off divers. Pretty strong drift/current at surface, so some boats were stupidly dropping new divers 20-25 ft. from the line and attempting to have them drift into it. Many missed the mark and missed the dive. Second line (bow) should be put back to allow one line for ascending and another for descending. Everyone is crowding and trying to hold onto one line to descend as others are all bunched up at 15 ft. for their safety stop. A real mess. Duaneis great; no current at the bottom. Didn't rush us in or dump us in to drift in. They calmly waited while Ocean Divers sat there. Other reef dives had great coral, lots of barracuda and one reef shark. Bob made sure I understood all aspects of my training (deep, navigation, search & recovery, etc.) Never rushed me. Wonderful personal attention. Banana Wind: (1-800-959-DIVE)

HMS Minnow/Best Western, May 1999, Clark W. Gellings, Morgan Hill, CA. Vis: 40-60 ft. Water: 78-80 degrees. Small boat six divers. Much nicer than the Key Largo cattle boats. Duane,a coast guard cutter at 108' is one of the best wreck dives anywhere. Bettonwood, a WWII freighter at 45' offers schools of fish, large green morays. John Pennekamp Reef State Park well maintained and policed, offers lots of shallow second dive sites. (Telephone: 800-366-9301 or 305-451-7834; Fax: 305-453-0819; e-mail: hmsminnow@msn.com)

HMS Minnow,June 1999, Jennifer Titzer (Majorthor@aol.com) Evansville, IN. Vis: 60-80 ft. Water: 80-84 degrees. Sunny. No restrictions, free to do your own thing. Jeff Jarvis was the captain. He is great! Small six-pack, but good tank set up area. He was very patient (we're fairly inexperienced). Good briefings. Concerned that we had a good experience. Never made us feel rushed though he did run an afternoon trip also. His boat is outside the Holiday Inn, Marina Del Mar and Ramada Limited marina. Tanks were on the boat for us. Fresh water buckets for rinse and a cooler of ice for lunch and drinking water aboard.

Ocean Divers, December 1998, Amy Simon, Alexandria, VA. Vis: 60-100 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Fiancé took advanced open water course; I went with him and it's a good thing! Ocean Divers way overbooked. Operation a mess. Nice instructor but they gave her 7 students and no divemaster to assist (so I did). Vis on deep dive 20-40 ft and she got lost, kept group in water past depth and time limits on chart. I took Paul and went to 15 ft, swimming back to boat at off-gassing depth while she kept them at 40 ft. On night dive, heavy surge and current, captain added novice to her group, despite students attempting to do navigation with a compass at night. Only had 1 compass for all divers! She lost track of divers who got disoriented and shot to surface. I had to go get them. Boat staff was rude to passengers and when instructor asked them to double check if enough tanks were on boat, staff yelled at instructor. Horrible experience. Large cattle boat conditions. No flexibility, strict time and depth limits.

Ocean Divers/Marina del Mar-Bayside, July 1999, Deb & Martin Hobson, Annandale, VA. Vis: 30-50 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Lot of local eateries with good food and good prices. Easy trip from Virginia (inexpensive). Good place to shop for dive gear. Dive operation surly. Dives limited by low experience of divers or snorkelers. Diving not a good value. One boat poorly set up for diving and slow. Don't expect help from people on boat. Some dive sites were mud pits.

Ocean Divers, July 1999, Guy Johnson (siberia@netexpress.net) Coal Valley, IL. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 85-90 degrees. Sunny. Diving pretty much up to each individual. I and two others paid in advance for three days, unlimited diving package for $295. A guys "dive till you puke and then dive some more trip." But, our prepaid wreck diving trip had been bumped by a load of photographers entered in some contest. We were to go out on older boat with 16 boy scouts. They were new divers, so wrecks due to the depth were out. We complained but felt powerless. Sites "OK" but not what we had dreamed about. Scouts had gear all over the boat so one could not find a clear spot. They grabbed any fresh tank, no matter where their gear was. We planned to stay at the nearby dive resort but someone filled our reservations other than us. Ocean Divers put us up in a wonderful apartment above one of their shops. Just like home only better. They arranged for us to get in wreck dives with the Florida Keys Dive Center in Tavernier. The guys there showed us a good time on the Bibband Duane.One dive on Nitrox. Went to Ocean Divers for our planned night dive; owner a great guy who apologized for the mix-up. Lots of nurse sharks, barracuda and five turtles, one six foot long and friendly. Boats held 15-20 divers with ease. Good briefings. Head count always. Fresh oranges or pineapple. Operation first rate, professional, friendly and fun. One night we cooked steaks over the grill on our apartment's screened patio. (Ph: 305-451-1113)

Pennekamp State Park, June 1999, Belinda Joyce (sarloos@wordlnet.att.net), Boardman, OH. Vis: 30-60 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Sunny. Water: calm. Restrictions: on board with 500 psi. Dive operation of the Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Never had such poor service or seen such incompetent staff. Rental gear leaked, was rusty and in frightful condition. Had to argue with attendant to get safe gear for my son. Waited hour for boat to arrive. Crew never lifted a finger to help people with entries or exits. Made people walk from the back of boat in full gear w/fins, over other people and large obstacles. "If you can't do it then you shouldn't be certified." Rushed off boat with gear after trip. Rude! Couldn't answer questions on some fish names. Scheduled to see French reef but they decided to do 2 dives at Molasses because they were running late. Shop was closed when we returned and the crew was long gone while divers were still rinsing gear. (Telephone: 305-451-6322)

Quiescence Diving Services, December 1998, Richard A. Cygan, Key Largo, FL. Vis: 30-40 ft. Water: 76-78 degrees. Dive your own profile, return with 500 psi. Booked three weeks in advance to dive the Duanewith my daughter, a divemaster. I have my master scuba diver rating; called two days before remind them that we wanted to dive the Duane.On the day of the trip two other divers who were only open water certified showed up and then they told us we couldn't go to the Duanebecause of them. Operator uses six-packs and wouldn't send two boats out, told us to go elsewhere if we wanted to dive the Duanebut other operator's boats already left. They required my daughter to dive with them the previous day since she did not dive in the previous year as a prerequisite to go to the Duane. (Ph: 305-451-2440)

Quiescence Diving Services/Sharkey's/Best Western Suites, January 1999, David LaBrot, Kingwood, TX. Vis: 30-45 ft. Water: 72-75 degrees. Windy, rainy. Water: choppy, surge, currents. Best Western Suites nice, clean, $89/night for 3 people. 1 bedroom, sleeper sofa, kitchen, screened patio, 1-1/2 baths. Told Quiescence when we booked that my wife, daughter, and I wanted to dive together. They put us on a boat with another couple, one a non-diver; Todd the captain told us that if the lady diver did not have a buddy, none of us would be diving. My wife is an ex instructor and I'm a master diver, so we decided my daughter would go with my wife and I would be behind them with the other diver. Seas extremely rough. I kicked hard to descend, paused at the bottom at 23' and saw my buddy head to the surface. I found her holding the diving platform with both hands, frozen in fear. She said for me to go on without her, but I don't dive solo. I decided to abort the dive. My daughter had lost a weight and was unable to descend. My wife decided to abort their dive. With 5 foot waves breaking over us, Todd threw a buoy to us, but did nothing to help pull anyone in. He yelled at the other diver to pull up, but she was exhausted and Todd did not help her on board. I got behind her and pushed her onto the platform so the others could get on board. Todd suggested that we get a professional dive guide, or take a refresher course, insulting everyone without asking what the problem was or why we had aborted the dive. Every safe diver I know has had to abort a dive in their life. I canceled the remainder of my dives, and we dove the rest of the week with Sharkey's. Excellent, well-maintained boat, very helpful crew, good sites. Went out of their way to assist divers when needed. Put us on sites with the best visibility and passed some up because visibility wasn't good. Fish House and Italian Fisherman in Key Largo and Two Friends in Key West are great places to eat.

Quiescence Diving Services/Marina Del Mar Bayside, June 1999, Bud Meyaard, Burlington, MA. Vis: 45-60 ft. Water: 83-84 degrees. Dive restrictions: one hour or 500 psi. Professionally run operation catering to competent, self-responsible divers. They treat you like adults and don't hold your hand (unless you ask them to) or continually look over your shoulder. Never more than six divers on a boat, unlike many other Key Largo dive operators.

Seafarer Fish and Dive Resort, June 1999, Jennifer Titzer (Majorthor@aol.com), Evansville IN. Vis: 60-80 ft. Water: 80-84 degrees. weather: sunny. water: calm. Never got to go out in the boat, because of the pre-dive attitude and conflict. First morning it was raining, so we checked in with the captain and he said we had time to get breakfast; came back in 35 minutes (it had just stopped raining) but they had left 5 minutes before we got there. Found another operator to take us out in the afternoon, so when we got back to the resort we told them that we would not be diving with them the next day. We had no formal reservations, we had given them no credit card information or written or verbal commitment. The captain got rude and threatened to take our credit card (that we have paid for the rooms with) and charge them for two days of diving. He called the other dive operator that we dove with and told him not to take us out anymore. Appalled, we decided to move to a new resort. When we checked out the resort owner and her mother verbally abused us and one of my friends was pushed out the door. If you would do something they didn't like out on the sea, would they leave you out there? Too many other nice resorts in the area to have to deal with this sort of treatment. (Phone: 800-599-7712 or (305) 852-5349; FAX: (305) 852-2265; E-mail: seafarer@terranova.net; www.keysdirectory.com/seafarer)

Seafarer Fish and Dive Resort, July 1999, Pat Bridges, Nashville, TN. I have eleven PADI specialty/course cards and have dived the Keys 12 times since 1986. Davis Reef (buoy #D4) is like diving through the fish field guide! One of every fish in the Caribbean is there at 25'. Eels, crab, lobsters too. The family-run inn, Seafarer: autocratic boat captain, demanding innkeeper (I had to pay for my entire 8-day reservation at check-in, before I even saw the room.) and Gabriele, the divemaster/instructor. Never stay at the Seafarer.

Sea Dwellers/Silent World, Richard Kendall (rkendall@uswest.net), Glendale, AZ. Silent World boat jammed so full there was no place to sit. Camera tank so small that one Nikonos would not fit; had to hold cameras. First day a wasteland of dead coral and poor vis. Next day diving was better, (we complained about the previous day), but the captains were arguing before departure. Big boat was broken, and they rented another, but divers were jammed again. Someone sat on my console, ripping my computer off its mount. Third day diving better but overcrowded just as bad. Heard an employee on the phone to a prospective client say "We do not run cattle boats. We take fewer divers so there is room." What a joke! Went to Sea Dwellers, and did two days of great diving on Molasses and French Reef. Crew was friendly and professional. Boat well organized, with a large camera rinse tank and a fresh water shower on board. (Ph: 305-451-3640)

Silent World, June 1999, James Smith, Sharonville, OH. Water: 84 degrees, Vis: 25-60 ft. Restrictions: Max. 60 min or groups or buddy, 500 psi. Gear rigged on shore, carried on board by crew. Everyone friendly and helpful. Only twice in 10 dives did crew accompany us. Crew made certain everyone had a buddy, none soloed. Dove several wrecks, mostly 50' or less. Several eels, grouper, barracuda and one manta. On one 4-dive day sea sickness overcame 6 divers, some sat out dives. Not any rougher than other days. Maximum 12 dives, handled OK by crew. Enjoyable time. ( Ph: 800-966-DIVE, Website: www.pennekamp.com/sw)

Key West

Dive Key West/Key West Fairfield Inn, June 1999, Belinda Joyce (sarloos@worldnet.att.net), Boardman, OH. Vis: 25-35 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Restrictions: on board with 500 psi. Vis not so good compared to upper Keys. Storms off and on, seas rough. Got seasick on first trip and crew gave assistance (had cola syrup on hand in cooler). Not good site orientation but otherwise the staff was friendly. helpful, knowledgeable. Water and snacks on board. Gave refund when we could not make the night dive. Loaded gear, changed tanks, assisted with exits and entries. Marina is 15 minutes from dive shop. Near the end of every trip, the crew made a tacky speech about how they would appreciate tips. Yes they deserved to be tipped but being reminded was in bad taste. Key West has a lot of top side attractions but for nicer corals, marine life and visibility, the middle and upper keys offer more quality and quantity. (Telephone: 800-426-0707 or 305-296-3823; Fax: 305-296-0607)

Looe Key

Undersea Adventures, September 1999, Tom Chase, Prospect KY. Dive boat and crew very good. Adolphus Buschwreck excellent. They charged the two non-Nitrox divers in our group Nitrox prices and were showed a rate chart that supposedly explained this; then they charged two Nitrox divers the same price (which they quoted on the phone) and then showed these charts that showed the air divers should have paid a lower price. They would not adjust the rates. Boat had drinks and snacks but they charged for everything. (The only operator we encountered who did this). Dive store filthy and cluttered. Owners let their pets run loose and the place smelled like a litter box. One member of our group who is Open Water Certified asked to produce his log to prove he had logged dives as deep as the Busch. Since his log was back at the hotel he was charged extra for a divemaster (besides the overcharge for the air dive). (Telephone: 800-446-5663 or 305-872-2700; Fax: 305-872-0080)

Pine Key Divers, June 1999, Eileen E. Roach, Germantown, MD. Vis: 50-65 ft. Water: 80-85 degrees. Depth was 30-45 ft, basically 1 hr/dive. Loads of schooling fish, varieties. Different from any dive I have experienced in 20+ years. Call ahead to operators and inquire about number of divers they carry. Many are cattle boat operations. We chartered decent size boat, max 6 divers - great with photo gear and more personable. Ocean choppiness/wind/visibility is a little precarious. Little current, crew helpful, shallow dives - great photography!

Marathon

Abyss Dive Center, August 1999, Roger M Doyle, St. Louis, MO. Two tank boat dive. They handed me 16 lbs. of weight after I explained I use more with my wetsuit. The owner refused me. When we got to the reef we were urged to "Hurry and get in the water" because of an approaching storm! Max depth 20'. Because of the current and surge, and being underweighted as my tank became buoyant, I found myself in an uncontrolled ascent. A pair of divers surfaced 100 yds. astern struggling against the current and waves. They inflated a safety sausage and were met with indifference by the crew member! Fortunately they made it to the boat safely. When told the anchor line was wrapped around the coral, the captain said "No problem, I'll just drag the line back through it." (Telephone: 800-457-0134 or 305-743-2126; Fax: 305-743-7081)

Aquatic Adventures, September 1999, Tom Chase, Prospect KY. Captain Lisa did an excellent job accommodating our group. Nice boat. Fast and clean. Thunderboltan excellent wreck. Saw the resident Jewfish that someone had speared appeared to be recovering. Couldn't make second reef dive because vis was so poor Captain offered credit for a future trip. Shop doesn't have Nitrox, but they can arrange it. (1-800-978-DIVE or (305) 743-2421; e-mail: aquatic@keysconnection.com; website: www.aaquaticadventure.com)

Dive Site, September 1999, Tom Chase, Prospect, KY. Dive boat was excellent. Staff did everything they could to accommodate us. Store was as nice as any I have seen. New Nitrox tank filled to 3,400 psi. Captain Chuck was friendly, helpful. Dives Thunderboltand reefs outstanding. Vis 40-50'. Reefs healthy and full of life. Probably the best overall day of diving I have experienced in 9 years of diving.

Hall's Dive Center, September 1999, Tom Chase, Prospect, KY. Water: 84 degrees. Had planned multi day diving with this operation, but left after one day. Staff excellent, friendly and helpful. Store pretty good. Boat very slow and appeared to have an engine problem. First two dives were with two groups of instructor classes. We had 18 divers on a boat that would comfortably hold 15. Gear all over the place and disorganized. Night dive was better as there were only six on board. Hall's appears to cater to instruction. I felt they take recreational divers to sweeten the pot, but do not appear to be focused on non-instructor candidates or course students. (Ph: 800-331-4255 or 305-743-5929, Website: www.hallsdiving.com)

Plantation Key

Lookout Lodge, January 1999, Dean Anthony, Bethany, OK. Vis: 30-80 ft, water: 72 degrees. Mike and Angie Sheen own the lodge and dive operation. Rooms spacious with cooking facilities and refrigerator. Outdoor grill and picnic tables. 30' boat holds 12 divers and is docked a few feet from rooms. Mike took us out 4 times when we were the only ones on the boat. He let us pick departure time and destination with no restrictions other than safe diving practices. 20 minutes to sites, soft drinks on board, excellent briefings, typical Keys diving with nurse sharks and turtles almost every dive. 5mm wetsuit top right for the 72-degree water. Tropical winds (10-25mph) in winter may limit or halt diving and reduce vis. Mike and Angie did everything they could to make our stay enjoyable (Telephone: 800-870-1772 or 305-852-9915; Fax: 305-852-3035).

Sunshine Key

Paradise Divers/Captain Hooks/Aquatic Adventures, Sunshine Key, September 1999, James L. Henningsen, Merritt Island, FL. Water: 88-92 degrees, Vis: 15-40 ft. Restrictions: Time for deep 100+. Dove three operators: Paradise Divers best. Good people, boat, captain. Lots of time/no rush. Dove Adolphus Bush. Captain Hooks: so-so operation. Took us to low vis sites. Aquatic Adventures: Ok operation, good location for deep dive "Thunderbolt"- 118'. Disappointed about damage to reefs and pollution. Key West Beaches closed. Sombrero Reef Beach closed (Fecal count). No one will tell you. (Paradise Divers: Telephone: 305-872-1114. Captain Hook's: Telephone: 800-278-4665 (800-cpt-hook) or 305-743-2444; Fax: 305-289-1374; Aquatic Adventures: 1-800-978-DIVE or (305) 743-2421; e-mail: aquatic@keysconnection.com; website: www.aaquaticadventure.com)

Tavernier

It's A Dive/Ocean Pointe Condos, December 1998, June 1999, John Stuart (jastuart@ponyexpress.net), St. Joseph, MO. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 76-78 degrees, Dive restrictions: no-deco diving, return to boat with 500 psi. Great dive operation for dive family with my wife, my two teenage daughters, and myself. Inside the Key Largo Marriott Complex at MM 103. All divers of different skill levels and needs. The crew met our needs. Boat was comfortable, large, and uncrowded. June Trip: Vis: 40-75 ft. Water: 82-83 degrees. Friendly and professional; boats are clean, comfortable, well maintained, and offer good dive platforms. Captains, divemasters, and instructors are excellent. Green morays, nurse sharks, spotted eagle rays abundant. Dived the USCG Duane.Ocean Pointe Condos in Tavernier offer one the better mid-upper range lodging options in the Upper Keys. (Telephone: 800-934-8377 or 800-809-9881 or 305-453-9881 or 305-451-2377; Fax: 305-453-0093)

Seatac Charters, April 1999, James MacDougall, C.S., WY. Vis: 50-75 ft, Water: 76-78 degrees. Buddy Person, formally Sea Scuba Aruba is now in Tavernier. He's found sites far from the cattle boats. 6 pack. Great service, (inexpensive). Saw sharks, turtles, rays and manatees.

Tavernier Dive Center/Frank's Key Haven, March 1999, David R. Reid, Ann Arbor, MI. Vis: 20-40 ft. Water: 70-73 degrees. Sunny. Water: calm, currents. Restrictions: 700 psi back on board. 1100psi on the ascent line on a deep dive (115'). A camera only rinse was provided and plenty of room to change film. Fantastic operation. Safety conscious, but not overbearing. allowed to dive their computers. Good briefings, excellent service. Dive shop, gear storage, rinse facilities, dock, and super nice boat all within a few steps. Excellent for beginners to intermediate, very good for advanced. hauling of tanks and weights by staff. Assistance with gear, getting in and out of the water. Owners Mike and Wendy are hands on, always one of them around, usually one on the boat. Boat 24 diver capacity. Drinking water, fresh fruit, freshwater showers, and cooler. Nitrox for upgrade charge. ( Ph: 305-852-4007)

Tavernier Dive Center, September 1999, Tom Chase, Prospect, KY. Outstanding operation. Nice, small store. Staff met our needs. Facilities boat side very good. Nitrox set up good. Captain "Lobster" Bob friendly helpful and showed great interest in making sure we had an excellent, safe dive. Since we had the boat to ourselves on the afternoon dive, they took us wherever we wanted. Found a good lobster spot outside the reserve and ended up with fresh lobster for dinner. Eagleand Duanewrecks were very impressive; 10-12' bull shark off the Duane. Vis 50-70'.

Tavernier Dive Center/Bay Breeze, June 1999, Belinda Joyce (sarloos@worldnet.att.net), Boardman, OH. Vis: 80-130 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Sunny. water: calm. Restrictions: no solo diving, back on board w/700 psi. Reserved w/Tavernier from good reports in Chapbook. 100% satisfied. Did advanced course. Instructor John Blake, outstanding! Very professional, made it challenging and fun. Smooth and efficient operation. Very knowledgeable and worked hard. Crew stopped boat to rescue injured bird caught in fishing line. Radioed to have bird sanctuary person waiting at the dock. Overnight gear storage. Good site orientation. Vis. so good you could see Eaglewreck 110 ft from the surface. Slow current. Nurse sharks, eels, huge tarpon, stingrays, barracuda, turtles. Incredible marine life. Bay Breeze beautiful, clean and peaceful. Private beach with free paddle boat/row boat. Nurse sharks and lemon shark around the dock daily plus lots of other fish and crustaceans. No restaurant. Grills close to rooms or cottages. Large plaza nearby.

Maine

Sea Ventures Charter (Otts Point), July 1999, Cathy Boedtker, Brownsville, VT. Vis: 15-45 ft. Water: 56-50 degrees. Though not a tropical dive, one of the best trips. Cold water but lots to see. Just our family of 3. Caters to individual wants. Two bedroom camp w/hot shower. Stove/frig. Great coves to kayak/canoe (bring your own). Diving mostly at backside of Monheghan Island. "The Wall" tons of anemones, lobsters, crabs, starfish, nudibranchs. Fantastic boat (great head!) Giant stride or back entry. Boat follows divers (no need to find return!) Crew assist in removal, ladder for exit. We love this place and the people. (207-442-9042)

North Carolina

Discovery Diving/Outrageous V/Discovery's Lodge, June 1999, Maggie Owens (mmowens@panix.com), NYC. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 70-80 degrees. Water: calm. Restrictions: No excessive decompression. Many sharks on nearly every wreck. Outrageous Vis a Louisiana crew boat, 45 feet. Clean, comfortable and set up well for diving. Captain Terry Leonard was friendly and accommodating. Gave us a good briefing about each wreck we dived. Crew was friendly and helpful. Boat is crowded when full "full" should be with no more than 14 divers. Average depth 80-120 feet. We dived: Aeolis,Atlas,Hutton(inshore wreck with approx. 30 feet of visibility), Naeco,Papoose,Senateur(an inshore wreck with less than 10 feet vis) and Shurz.Spear fishers, photographers, sightseers and artifact hunters alike will enjoy the diving. Discovery Diving staff was polite, but equipment prices were high. We stayed in Discovery's "lodge." Hell hole would be a more accurate description. The house stank badly of mold and mildew. There were roaches and apparently no steps (such as combat disks) had been taken to correct this. No toaster or toaster oven in the kitchen, so much food waste inside the oven that we were afraid to use it. Tiles were missing from the ceiling in the living room. the only tv that worked was very small. The sofas looked like rejects from a flop house. Locally, the restaurants were excellent. (No food provided on the boat bring your own lunch.) (Telephone: 919-728-2265)

Diamond Shoals Dive Center (Gunsmoke)/Hatteras Marlin Hotel, July 1999, Ricky J. Tuss, Wilmington, DE. Vis: 60 to 80 ft. Water: 76 to 78 degrees. Choppy, with some strong currents. Did deco diving no restrictions. Crew of the Gunsmokefriendly and efficient as ever. Condition of the boat superior. Cruised at 19 knots with 20 divers. Crew would load the tanks on truck, take them to the dive shop, fill them, and have them back at the boat the next morning. Shop ran out of O2 and Nitrox wasn't available. Hatteras Marlin Hotel quite nice. Efficiency with a kitchen: refrigerator/freezer, oven/stove, microwave, pots, pans, and dishes. I recommend units away from the road, behind the pool. Although hot and sunny, the wind blew out 3 of 5 days of diving. The 2 days we did have were lumpy, but the dives were fantastic. Dived the Dixie Arrow twice on 2 different days on request. 4 large female sand tiger sharks, but the showstopper was a 400 lb. Jew fish! Big and curious. Other dives on the Keshinaand Abrams... beautiful wrecks. Normal outer banks marine life was ever-present...large jacks, schools of barracuda, huge Southern stingrays, toad fish, arrow crabs, juvenile angel fish, spade fish, great schools of bait fish. Outer banks of North Carolina has some of the most spectacular diving in the Western world. (Diamond Shoals Dive Center, M.V. Gunsmoke Charters; Phone: 252-995-4021; Fax: 252-995-4021)

Divocean Dive Center, May 1999, Alaine K. Johnson, Mableton, GA. Vis: 50-90 ft. Water: 73-75 degrees. Restrictions: Very lenient. I have been diving the world for decade. Diving with captain David Haskovec and wife Bonnie one of my finest experiences. Spacious boat with plenty of room to stretch out and nap, important since the wrecks are 2 hours off the coast. Helpful and courteous staff includes Bary, Laurie and Paul. Top notch! Nitrox 100's maximized our bottom time. Electrifying wrecks alive with sand tiger sharks, eels, cuda, tremendous schools of jacks, spadefish and silversides. Hermit and sponge crabs crawl among large white anemones with fluorescent orange-tipped tentacles. We rented gorgeous ocean view home through Blue Water Realty on Emerald Isle. (252-726-3575) (Divocean: 252-726-3575 in Atlantic Beach, N.J.)

Divocean Dive Center, June 1999, Rob Smith, (robs@secureit.com), Marietta, GA. Vis: 50-75 ft. Water: 74-78 degrees. Sunny. Water: calm. Restrictions: None. Excellent dive operation. Dove the Papoose,Aeolus,Schurz,The Bedfordshire.Lots of sand tiger sharks from 5-8 feet in length. Large schools of bait fish. Owners run the boat. Give personal service. Even put your tanks on your back for you which is highly unusual for North Carolina hard-core wreck diving. Dave and Bonnie added a level of service that they have not seen in N.C. before.

Olympus Dive Center, May1999, Eric Anderson (www.eric.anderson8@worldnet.att.net), Rochester, PA. Vis: 15-75 ft. Water: 64-73 degrees. Windy. Water: choppy, surge. Dive your own profile; let them know if you are going to deco dive. George and his son are the owners; they are very friendly and safety minded. Showed us around the dive shop and boat when we got blown out on first day; went out on second day for some great diving on the Papoose.Lots of sand tiger sharks and collected shark teeth. Visited U-352,awesome dive! Bring 7 mm wet suit for long comfy dive's and bring your Nitrox card because won't want to come up. Great diving, great place. (Telephone: 800-992-1258 or 252-726-9432; Fax: 252-726-0883)

Olympus Dive Center, July 1999, Chuck (Bos5@erols.com), Millersville, MD. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 73-80 degrees. Sunny. water: calm. Visibility and calmness exceptional. Would have been nice to know that the wrecks had been destroyed (bombed) before we left home. Diving better than expected for the Atlantic. Captain and divemaster knowledgeable. The owner of Olympus, George, was helpful and polite. Staff was unhelpful and rude. We dive a lot in Cozumel where they go out of their way to make diving pleasurable. Not here! We're not accustomed to carrying our tanks to the boat. I felt sorry for the women, because Olympus had carts that they could have transported everyone's tanks and then everyone could have helped load their tanks onto the boats. With three big groups going out, they only had one person working the counter, so everyone had to stand in a long line to sign waivers and take care of other things that resulted in a late departure. Good accommodations and excellent food in Morehead City.

Olympus Dive Center/Econolodge, August 1999, David & Liz Hahn. One of the most difficult aspects of this trip was the 5:15 am wake up call, necessary to be at the shop at 6:15 am. Boats sail at 7:00 am sharp. Three boats: Adventureis a 46 ft. Hatteras, takes six divers. Midnight Expressis a 45 ft. converted oil rig crew boat, takes 16 divers. Olympusis 65 ft. long and carries 25 divers. Boats have first aid kits and oxygen, modern communication and navigation systems. Up to three hour trip to first site. Seasickness medication recommended! Mate attaches anchor to the wreck. He wears a full-face mask with COM unit and reports to the captain where the anchor is, visibility, currents. Captain sets the port and starboard down lines at the stern and amidships and sets a stem line. While Capt. gives a detailed briefing, the mate rigs the current lines from the down lines to the anchor lines. They assign each diver a number. They log the time entering the water. Follow the lines down and back and make your stop. Stern ladders are designed to be used with fins on. Before they unhook from the wreck, they take a roll call. Two-hour surface interval. Marine life awesome. Caribsea:forward hold at 90 ft, sand tiger sharks, graceful and magnificent, comfortable around divers, four to eight feet long, 75 to 300 lbs. They came less than two feet away, an experience we'll never forget. Spotted morays, schools of large amberjacks, oyster toadfish, friendly barracuda. Papoose:vis 60 feet and we were less than 25 feet from the anchor line, but a thousand baitfish obscured it. Most creatures of the Caribbean are here, except bigger. Southern Stingrays almost 6 feet across, arrow crabs approaching a foot in diameter. Dived seven wrecks. Some wrecks are intact, others are wire dragged and blasted. U-352,a German U-boat 30 miles out, in 115 fsw. Pressure hull is largely intact, hatches are open for inside viewing. Penetration is not advised due to heavy silting. Olympus has many artifacts on display, including an anti-aircraft deck gun. Great reference source is Rod Farb's book "SHIPWRECKS, Diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic" Most diving 100-120 ft. Nitrox available and recommended. Unpredictable weather, possibility of strong currents, and lack of supervisory personnel in the water make this advanced diving only. Worth the effort and expense. Staff at 0lympus display a level of professionalism seldom seen.