Dive Review of Ocean Divers/Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort in
The Continental USA/Key Largo, Florida

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Ocean Divers/Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort, Dec, 2006, by Craig Wood, PA, USA ( Top Contributor 54 reports with 48 Helpful votes). Report 3114.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	My first opportunity to dive in Key Largo came in September 2004, preceding a business trip to Miami. Based on Undercurrent reviews, I had planned to dive with Captain Jeff Jarvis on the HMS Minnow. As he was going to be vacationing the week of my visit, he suggested I dive with Ocean Divers. I have been diving with them ever since and have now dived with them seven times/43 dives, including a visit in September as well as this current trip. Ocean Divers has a very informative website and communicates well by email and phone. Ocean Divers has two 50 foot boats, the Ocean Diver and Santana. They go to one deep wreck site and one reef site every morning and 2 reef sites every afternoon Monday through Friday. On Saturday, they give a choice of wreck/reef or 2 reef dives in the morning and on Sunday they do wreck/reef or reef/reef both morning and afternoon. I try to make Sunday on all my visits due to the enhanced wreck diving opportunities. They do a night dive on Wednesday and Saturday. The boats are quite comfortable and include fresh water showers, a dry table and camera tub, and a marine head. Deep wrecks require AOW training or equivalent or 2 dives of 80 feet or greater in the last 12 months. The deep wreck dives also require the purchase of an Upper Keys Artificial Reef Medallion ($10 annually). Ocean Divers uses 80 cu ft steel tanks, the buoyancy characteristics allow for elimination of about 4 pounds of weight relative to aluminum tanks. 32% nitrox is readily available for $6/tank. There is substantial savings in buying a multi-charter card versus purchasing individual dive trips. I have found Ocean Divers willing to attempt sites in less than optimum weather conditions and to go out with a minimum number of divers. To their credit, they take safety very seriously and abandon a dive when the surface conditions and current dictate. The dive masters do not generally dive but are very helpful for all on deck activities. The gems of Key Largo diving are the two deep wrecks, the Duane and the Spiegel Grove. The Duane is a 327 foot long, 41 foot wide US Coast Guard Cutter built at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia and launched in 1936. The Duane gained notoriety in 1943 when, in conjunction with its sister ship, the Spencer, it sank the German submarine U-177 and rescued 22 of its crew members. The Duane went on to serve in the Mediterranean, France, and Vietnam in addition to the US. The Duane was decommissioned in 1985 as the oldest active US military vessel and was sunk in 1987. It rests upright in about 120 feet of water. The Spiegel Grove is a 510 foot long, 84 foot wide Landing Ship Dock. It was built in Mississippi and launched in 1955. The Spiegel Grove was decommissioned in 1989 and was sunk in 2002. It rested on its starboard side in approximately 130 feet of water until it was set upright during Hurricane Dennis in July 2005. Both the Duane and the Spiegel Grove have numerous excellent swim-throughs. The majority of shallow dives are on Molasses and French Reefs and on the wreck of the Benwood, a 360 foot Norwegian freighter sunk in a collision in 1942, during WWII. The sea life in Key Largo is quite prolific. I have occasionally seen Reef and Hammerhead Sharks. Nurse Sharks, Barracuda, Green and Spotted Morays, lobster, turtles, and an abundance of Caribbean reef fish are all quite common. The water temperature varies considerably. I have had dives in September in 85-86 degree water and dives in December in 75-76 degree water. There is a link to NOAA and the buoy at Molasses Reef with air and water temperatures and wind speed on the Ocean Divers website. The Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort & Marina is a comfortable hotel. The rooms have refrigerators, coffee makers, and free wireless internet access. I have become fond of the marina-view rooms. The hotel has a small exercise facility and the breakfast buffet starts early enough to make the morning boats. I often eat lunch and/or dinner at the Galley Restaurant, upstairs and next to Ocean Divers. It has very good, inexpensive food and good service by nice people. Key Largo/Ocean Divers/Holiday Inn is a great diving destination in the US. I'm currently scheming on my return for an eighth visit.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Cozumel, Costa Rica, Key Largo, Maui/Lanai/Molokini, Oahu
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	76-77°F / 24-25°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco, back with 500 psi, safety stop on deep dives, dive to MOD with nitrox (pO2 1.4), 1 hr on shallow dives. Not enforced as no dive master in water.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Dry table, large camera tub

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Dive Review of Ocean Divers/Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort in The Continental USA/Key Largo, Florida

Ocean Divers/Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort, Dec, 2006,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Ocean Divers/Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort in
The Continental USA/Key Largo, Florida