March of '96 saw
me driving down to the Florida Keys. I spent a few days in Key
Largo, and went diving with Captain Slate (Atlantis
Dive Centre)-he who feeds the barracudas with his mouth. The
Keys are a great place to vacation. They truly deserve the
reputation they have earned as the Caribbean you can drive to.
They were not nearly as commercialized as I though they would be
-but then again I didn't get all the way down to Key Largo. For
divers it can all be a little overwhelming. I don't think their
is another place in the world that can rival the Keys for sheer
volume in terms of diver operators. It is hard to drive a mile or
two without running into another dive shop.
I spent three days diving and had a blast. Most of the diving
here is very shallow, rarely exceeding 30 to 60 feet. The
turnaround time between dives is quick-which is good since you
normally have about a one hour trip to the dive sites. Their is
no shore diving. The reefs themselves are pretty and full of 
fish life. Barracuda's seem
to be everywhere as well as countless rays and the occasional
shark. Sections of the reef are the most heavily dived in the
world and the wear-and-tear is noticeable but since the reefs are
a protected marine park the management of the reefs is in pretty
good hands. Their are numerous efforts to sink ships in order to
create new artificial reefs to attract divers and in turn give
the natural reef a bit of a break. I went diving on the Duane-a
full intact coast guard cutter lying in about 100 ft of water and
although it was challenging-the current was strong-it was a
fascinating dive. Visibility was fair for March and ranged
between 40 and 60 feet. All in all it was a good three days
diving and I wouldn't hesitate to pay another visit. For more
information on diving in the Upper Florida Keys click HERE.
Any Comments? E-Mail Me At: divers_log@hotmail.com
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