there is several activities in cancun,and it really scuba diving in cancun is not that famous cause is a big party center,we would like to show you the great areas of cancun
if you want more information please e-mail us to info@squalodivers.com.
we want to share the great blue with you !!
| Facts about wreck tulum It is in Mexico- wreck tulum is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-40 Metres 0-130 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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Scotts Head Pinnacles straddles the top of a submerged volcanic crater,creating the southern rim of the Soufriere Scotts Head Marine Reserve, the isthmus seperates the Atlantic from the Caribbean and is a nutirent mixing zone. This brings in small fish which are fed upon by larger.
The mooring pin is on top of a large rock riddled with cracks and crevices and one swim through, on a shalf of 10m depth, filled with lobster and soldierfish. From the pin one swims to the main pinnacle where two large rocks abut forming an arch, this is filled with soft corals, lobster and fish. Going through the arch takes you from the Atlantic into the Caribbean, the wall begins in 3m and drops vertically to 35 before sloping to approximately 1500m, on a good day you tend to ignore the huge gorgonains, barrel sponges and other life dripping from the wall and spend the dive looking out to sea at the schooling fish, on a bad day the wall is more than enough for the jaded reef diver to come up saying "wow!", remember this is a mixing zone loads of nutirents so lots of life and opportunity for growth on the reef and in the water column. If the current is running it is a drift along the wall back to the edge of the reef and onto the shelf,but the ride is worth it. From the edge of the reef heading back to the shelf is a garden of macro life and well worth loking for seahorses frogfish etc. in addition to small barracuda looking at you like you owe them money, going through the swimthrough under the moring pin will bring you to the top of the first pinnnacle and under the boat for your safety stop.
This is one of the dives I do to remind myself that theres more to life than stress.
| Facts about Scotts Head Pinnacles It is in Dominica- Scotts Head Pinnacles is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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The Blue Hole is a feature attraction of diving in Belize. It is part of the Lighthouse Reef System and lies approximately 60 miles off the mainland out of Belize City. It is one of the most astounding dive sites to be found anywhere on earth,
It is an almost perfectly circular hole approximately one quarter of a mile (.4 km) across. Inside this hole the water is 480 feet (145 m) deep and it is the depth of water which gives the deep blue color.
The array of bizarre stalactites and limestone formations seem to become more intricate and intense the deeper you dive.
The temperature in the Blue Hole at 130ft is about 76F with hardly any change throughout the year at that depth.
For all the practical purposes the over 400-foot depth makes the Blue Hole a bottomless pit. The walls are sheer from the surface until a depth of approximately 110 feet where you will begin to encounter stalactite formations which actually angle back, allowing you to dive underneath monstrous overhangs. Hovering amongst the stalactites, you can't help but feel humbled by the knowledge that the massive formation before you once stood high and dry above the surface of the sea eons ago. The feeling is enhanced by the dizzying effect of nitrogen breathed at depths. The water is motionless and the visibility often approaches 200 feet as you break a very noticeable thermocline.
| Facts about Blue Hole, Belize It is in Belize- Blue Hole, Belize is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 50+ Metres 160+ Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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I don't know how helpful I can be because I was there in 1989. I'm sure many things have changed there especially in light of the storms that have hit. I stayed at a friends timeshare right on the beach and there was a dive shop within walking distance. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name. But the dive shop was owned by a guy named "Big John" and I would dive with him again in a second. He is somewhat of a legend there and actually founded some of the more popular dive spots. I was there in November and water temp was 75+ and air was 85 avg. The viz was fair...not great for Caribbean diving though....avg was 40 ft. I saw huge ray ( 8 ft wing span ), turtles, lobsters, an octopus, lots of nurse sharks. If you can, try to do a dive that is called... I think.... "The Shoots" or "The Slides". It's a big rock crevice and the current actually pulls you through it just like being on a ride. It might be near English Harbor but I'm not sure. It's a very cool dive though and VERY different from any other dive I've done. English Harbor itself is about a 100 ft dive. It's ok and also some crevices and neat rock formations that you can go through. But the one I mean actually PULLS you through and it's in about 50 ft of water.
| Facts about Various It is in Antigua & Barbuda- Various is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
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Pinnacle (or Guasa) the 'not for
sissies' dive. Lots of surge and current and struggling down a rope to the
top of the pinnacle. It was very poor—but we still managed to see everything
you can think of up close: huge, varied species of parrot fish, more octopus,
drums, eels, scorpion fish, interesting corals, and more reef fish that you
could imagine. With the current, we could only imagine what lay out of our line
of vision!
Los Gatos brought us huge nurse sharks, morays, fighting (with each
other!) scorpion fish and the biggest scrawled filefish any of us had ever seen.
Green Paradise (and it was). 1st and Los Cuchos ('Eagle
Rays' and there were!) (2nd) Good vis and all the Eagle Rays you could
count—not to mention a few bull sharks swimming back and forth below. Huge
green morays (some of the biggest we’ve seen since Cozumel 10 years ago!) were
on every dive many times more than one sighting and also out free swimming!
Mini Wall, New Wall, Ledges Turtles, African Pompano, queen angels
everywhere, soap fish, huge southern rays. Wicked, flying current at Ledges but
big nurse sharks hidden everywhere in the ledges, big porcupine fish, and
biggest cowfish we have ever seen. Beautiful forests of corals and so many
schools we called it the 'Fish Freeway'.
El Avion and La Cocina . Visibility dubbed La Cocina the
'Where Were You?' dive. Almost all of us rolled off and never saw our
own buddy until the end of the dive. We buddied up with whomever we could find
and all made the dive. Again, "clouds" of every size wrasse and other
fish. The last dive was called the "Sergeant Major dive"-they were
everywhere.
| Facts about Reefs It is in Venezuela- Reefs is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 0-3 Metres 0-10 Feet.
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The Black Wall – 97 ft
This dive is on a wall covered with black corals and is pretty typical of the
profile that we dove for the wall dives. The top of the reef is at 60 feet and
we dove to a depth of ~95 feet along the wall. Dropping in we first sighted a
Spotted Eagle Ray and were accompanied by Four Eyed Butterfly fish while on top
of the reef and also spotted a four plus foot Green Moray.
The Super Bowl – 80 ft
The super bowl reminded me of Cedral in Cozumel with coral heads separated by
narrow sandy channels and is also around the same depth with a bottom at 80 or
so feet and the top of the reef at 50 some. At this site we saw the only shark
of the weekend and the only shark that others had seen in several days of
diving.
The Hole in the Wall – 135 ft
The hole in the wall starts at 125 feet and exits about 90 feet. This is a
nice dive and an easy swim thru that needn’t worry anyone. This is where one
of the group spotted a rock fish and we saw a couple of nice sized eels here to.
The Chimney – 75 ft
This was a really nice drive and was typical of the second dives in depth and
bottom. But, we were treated to a school of Barracuda and a Hawks Bill turtle
that Angel swears never saw me as I had to get out of its way or I would have
been run into. No kidding, it came within a very few inches.
In summary, Puerto Rico offers some excellent opportunities for wall and
reef diving and Angel has stated his intention to explore more dive sites west
of Parguera since he now has a craft that can reach them quickly. I also
can’t wait to check out the west coast around Mayaguez and Aguadilla
as I was told that the reefs and water there are beautiful as well. So, bring
the dive gear and come and explore a fascinating island with much to do and see
both above and beneath the sea.
| Facts about Black Wall It is in Puerto Rico- Black Wall is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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Playa Porto Marie
This is a small private cove and beach with a small entrance fee. The beach
is long and beautiful and you can spend a day diving here.
It’s a short swim to a double reef system that is very similar to a large
oval fish bowl. You can dive around the inside of the coral bowl or on the
outside of the coral reef on the wide-open ocean side of the coral reef.
It’s easy to navigate and on the far side there is a natural opening or
break in the reef about 10 meters that acts like a gateway to the open ocean.
Just follow the reef from the inside of the bowl to the outside then turn around
follow the reef back to where you started. Easy to dive and navigate. Max. depth
for us was 70ft. You could have stayed at 50ft. The water is always calm here
with great marine life. We saw several eels, a few turtles and many fish. Playa
Porto Maria also has fresh water rinse showers, Umbrellas, restaurant, bathroom
and a dive shop right there. A great day of diving, food and sun. A great place
to take divers and non-divers.
Playa Kalkai
This dive site is on the far west of the island and has a dive shop right
there. In fact you are better off renting tanks at West End dive shop and use
their shower and facilities after your dive. The rental tanks at West End are
only $6.00. It’s easy to do two dives here. The reef runs parallel to the
shore and is a short swim from the small beach. Easy parking and stairs down to
the beach and ocean. This site is the last shore dive on the island but well
worth the drive. The visibility was about 90ft. no current and beautiful reef
and lots of fish. eels, and lobsters.
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The reef diving in the Francis Drake Channel area is very extensive. The dive
at the Indians is not to be missed as well as Rainbow Reef and Painted
Walls . Each sight has its own character, and as is my custom, I prefer the
dive crew to pick the sights based on weather conditions and experience.
Visibility at all sights were never less than 60 feet with some sights having
80+ feet viz. Water temps were in the high 70's but my hooded vest was worn
under my 5 mm wetsuit for all dives since we were averaging about an hour per
dive.
Overall I would have to say the reefs that we visited were very healthy, with
no sign of abuse, overfishing, or bleaching. The National Park fees assessed to
dive certain areas were modest and were apparently well spent on multiple secure
moorings at each sight. Although there was an apparent lack of the 'big
stuff' like sharks and rays, we were blessed with several sightings of
smaller, but equally interesting critters.
We happened to locate two sailfin blennies in separate unattached pieces of
coral and when placed in close proximity, the show they put on for us lasted
almost 15 minutes. With sails out fully, they took turns posturing and chasing
each other in and out of the holes they called home. We finally had to separate
them as we laughed through our regs and their behavior. We also sighted several
male Jawfish (complete with a mouthful of eggs). A black spotted nudibranch was
also spotted and duly photographed and captured on video.
RMS Rhone This wreck is probably one of the most famous wrecks in the
Caribbean and has SO MUCH life on it. She sank in 1867 when she was pounded onto
a sharp rock during a hurricane. Almost everyone on board died.
The wreck of the Beata which is a tug boat sunk intentionally, where
you'll probably see sting rays as they feed on the garden eels living in the
sand.
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While Puerto Aventuras does not have the dramatic walls of Cozumel, it is a
dive destination worth visiting in its own right. Relaxed pace, lush reefs and
cenote diving make for an enjoyable vacation of a different style.
Our first dives were on Las Islas and Santos, two fairly shallow reefs just
out from the harbor entrance. We thought we would be bored, but far from it.
La Islas featured a mixed structural environment, nothing like the reefs
and walls on Cozumel, and the marine life, while sparse, was nonetheless,
interesting. Our biggest pleasure was in experiencing Loggerhead Turtles for the
first time. We encountered four on Las Islas, two of which I would estimate to
have a shell length of close to four feet, if not slightly longer.
Santos served to give us an example of what we would experience on the
balance of our open water dives, lots of vegetative life, fans, sponges, etc.,
and very few reef fish. Yes, we did see some rather large parrots, and the
occasional school of grunts, a squirrel fish or two, and an occasional juvenile
grouper but, again, nothing like what you see on the typical dive on Cozumel,
and other than the parrots, nothing of any size.
Cenotes Every diver should dive a Cenote at least once. Diving in
tropical waters, I wear a two piece, 1.5 mil long sleeve/long leg wetsuit. The
cenote dive guide, Mario, suggested that I might be a little cold, and handed me
a 3 mil shorty to put on, over my wetsuit. This being fresh water, he also
suggested that I could reduce my weight (the lead I was carrying, not my
physique) by as much as 25%.
We geared up in the parking lot, and carried our tanks on our backs down the
steep steps, visions of my "diving demise" being not underwater, but
due to the severe head trauma of a misstep.
The dives at Chac Mool and Kukulkan would be a typical two-tanker, but
with some new rules. One-third in, one-third out, one-third in reserve. With a
full 3,000 psi charge, we submerged into a small passage way that lead to a much
larger chamber. We experienced the halocline effect of the mixing of colder
fresh water over warmer salt water, which, again, intuitively is incorrect,
until you allow your mind to adjust for relative density differences. The visual
experience of the halocline is similar to diving in oil and vinegar salad
dressing, blurring one’s image during the penetration, but allowing for clear
viewing both above and below this sector.
| Facts about Puerto Aventuras, Cancun- It is in Mexico
- Puerto Aventuras, Cancun is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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- Seaview reef
[61 minutes, max. depth 56’]: We
headed South from Seaview towards Sunset House and rode the slight current
back, ending right at the ladder at Seaview. Highlights: Spotted Scorpionfish,
Pygmy Filefish , Peacock Flounder.
- Hepp’s Pipeline
[52 minutes, max. depth 65’]: Looking back at the
18 dives we did that week, this one was one of our favorites. Right away we
saw a 5 foot green Moray tucking himself into an overhang. We crossed over a
sandy plain, down over a mini-wall to a huge coral "mound". The
coral here seemed very healthy compared to other areas we saw. The site is not
dived very often because conditions are rarely favorable for the dive. In
other words, we were very lucky! During the dive we saw the first and second
Turtles of the trip. I snuck up on the second one while he was sharing a snack
with a grey angelfish…very cool!
[44 minutes, max. depth 13’]: Often called the
greatest 10 foot dive in the world. That I think goes to Moses Reef, Eilat,
Israel. Still good though! Dived with Don Foster’s since TI didn’t have
enough divers to go out. The one tank trip was not included in our dives for
the week, so it cost us $55 US each. We rode a van out to the North side,
and then boarded Foster's very large catamaran style boat that wasn't
specifically outfitted for diving (no tank holders). A short boat ride to
the shallow, sandy site and soon we were surrounded by many friendly
stingray. Everyone should do it at least once, I guess. Don Foster's staff
was very friendly, but the time we spent with them was really too short to
form any kind of opinion. It's certainly a much larger operation than
Treasure Island.
Water Temperature on all dives was 83 degrees F. On all dives the coral
was fairly healthy with a wide variety of fish life inhabiting it.
| Facts about Stingray City It is in Cayman islands- Stingray City is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-10 Metres 0-30 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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With advanced booking checking in was breeze, and was on the boat in 10 minutes upon arrival. The boat was great, 46ft lots of room and shade, topside sundeck, bathroom, freshwater showers, camera table, huge water cooler, everything you need.
The first dive was at Razorback reef, about a 15 minutes from the dock. During the dive briefing we were given the choice of following the divemaster or heading out on own. I followed the divemaster and it was very good dive, lots of life, saw a hammerhead, cool.
The 2nd am dive was 2 wrecks laying bow to stern, the first starting at about 35ft,the 2nd ending at around 60ft. Both of these ships are 180ft island tankers, this was a cool dive. This site is only about a minute from Stuart Cove's dock.
After lunch out to Sharkwall and Sharkarena, about 45 minutes or so, defnitively worth the ride. The dive is on a wall and coral gardens that surround Sharkarena the site of the 2nd dive. The sharks know a snack isn't too far away, with 6-10 following us around (and a couple grouper too). After a surface interval back down to the Sharkarena a natural sand spot surrounded by coral, the feeding begins. I was totally blown away by these 2 dives it was great lots of sharks in your face action, 6 days later I'm still processing it. If you want to see sharks and want to go with a great dive op chose Stuart Cove's. I can't think of anything negative about Stuart Cove's the entire staff was fantastic. I hired a private photographer from Stuart Cove's Fin Photo for the Shark encounter dives, Tori did a awesome job during the dives and gave me a disc with 61 great pictures, worth the extra money. I can't wait to go back
| Facts about Shark Dive with Stuart Cove's It is in Bahamas- Shark Dive with Stuart Cove's is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
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- Snapper Ledge:
aptly named reef with more
snappers, grunts, and Goatfish than I've ever seen in one place. Visibility
was much better than other dive sites, with lots less sand and particulates in
the water. There are lots of other species here too. I spent some of the dive
watching a bunch of neon Gobies on a large brain coral cleaning a Parrotfish.
- French Reef
is a shallow, relatively high-relief reef with some swim-throughs
under the coral. There were several medium size barracuda on this reef that
were not shy at all. I found a black grouper being cleaned, and a southern
stingray was disturbed by the divers and sailed over the reef. I attempted a
picture of a pale blue parrotfish but the color captured by the camera just
doesn't do justice to the beautiful, soft blue that I saw on the reef.
- Racetrack:
An unmoored dive spot consisting of a very pretty, shallow
reef surrounded by a sandy "racetrack." There are lots of soft and
hard coral with lot of varied species of fish. We found three little
nudibranchs Tritonia hamnerorum on a sea fan! I looked at about a
zillion other sea fans and didn't find any more.
- Freighter Reef:
a shallow, low reef...how many reefs are named after
the wrecks of ships? There were fewer fish on this site, but lots of stuff to
look at. I spotted a Parrotfish lying on the bottom and went over to
investigate. The fish swam off as I approached and I saw why it was there;
underneath were at least three cleaning shrimp in a corkscrew anemone. The
Parrotfish was getting as close to the bottom as it could to get cleaned of
parasites and detritus. Under the corkscrew anemone I spotted the red and
white striped antennae of a pistol shrimp, but he wouldn't come out to get his
picture taken.
- Molasses Reef, "winch hole":
This probably the most
heavily dived reef off of Key Largo. There were a dozen boats scattered over
the many moorings on this large site. I dropped in and stayed under the boat
for most of the dive until, alas, my hour was up and it was time to return
to the boat, climb the ladder and put away my gear, not a bad dive to finish
up the trip.
| Facts about Reefs, Key Largo It is in United States- Reefs, Key Largo is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 0-3 Metres 0-10 Feet.
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- Pickles:
The wreck was carrying pickle barrels
full of cement when she went down. The barrels have all rotted away, but the
concrete "barrels" are still there. This place is "sea fan
city;" they're everywhere. I spotted a school of eight Midnight
Parrotfish, but couldn't get close enough for a picture. Lots of juvenile
barracuda hovered over the reef watching for some fish to limp. If you wave
your hand in the water, the Barries are curious enough to swim over to you for
a closer look. Other divers reported finding a couple of nurse sharks under
the ledges near the wreck and one big green moray.
- Duane:
a Coast Guard cutter that was put down as an artificial reef in
the 80's. She's upright on the sand at 125 feet with the main deck at 100
feet. We had great conditions, no current and good visibility. I was the first
diver in the water, as I wanted to be first on the wreck with my camera. One
of the dive masters went in with his, gasp, film camera! There were many, many
big barracuda stationed above the wreck; a school of jacks breezed through,
scattering the smaller fish. I looked down on the sand off the port side of
the wreck and spied a six-foot bull shark cruising towards the stern. It was
too far away for me to get close, but I could see the dive master had gone
down to try and get a picture, but the shark wasn't having anything to do with
him. I took some wide-angle shots of the wreck itself and some of the other
divers in our group. With no current, I was able to do a blue water safety
stop just below the boat. I thoroughly enjoyed this most excellent wreck dive.
- Wreck of the Benwood:
a WWII British freighter that collided with
another boat running without lights and was run aground in shallow water where
she sank. She was used as target practice by the Navy and is pretty busted up,
but is still a very nice wreck with lots of fish, Nassau groupers, black
groupers, schools of grunts, schools of Goatfish, a few angels, Parrotfish,
juvenile fish of all kinds, et al. This must be a really nice dive in good
visibility.
- Spiegel Grove:
The Spiegel Grove was sunk as a huge artificial reef
and is very popular dive spot. The wreck is over 500 feet long and lies on its
port side in one hundred thirty five feet of water to the sand. To complicate
what is a deep dive, the current is usually strong here. The tanks supplied
for this dive were overfilled to 3500 PSI. The dive boat used a "granny
line" to the mooring line on the wreck and asked divers to go no deeper
than 100 feet and to return to the mooring line after no more than twenty
minutes on the wreck. We were moored amid ships and were able to see the
anti-aircraft guns and look into the open hatches on the deck. A few large
Jacks cruised the wreck and a school of Baitfish exploded past us, getting out
of the way of some unseen predator.
| Facts about Wrecks, Key Largo- It is in United States
- Wrecks, Key Largo is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
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- Canyons
. This site ranges in depth from 35 to 80 feet with crevices
hosting moray eels, spiny lobster and a variety of invertebrates. Atlantic
Spadefish commonly cruise the water column above these coral canyons
Catalina Island is a longish boat ride from the Bayahibe
area, maybe 30 minutes but many people consider it one of the highlights of
their week. There is a true wall on the north side of the island, dropping
from 15 to 130 feet. The shallow reef flat is rich with pillar and boulder
corals, while the drop-off is filter feeder heaven, with black coral, vase
sponge and large elephant ears. On the south side is a shallow reef known as
the Aquarium. Here, pillar corals rule, and schooling grunts hide in coral
recesses.
Sea Pro Reef. A fascinating coral ridge at about 55 feet, absolutely
chock-full of sea fans, tube sponges and Gorgonians. The ridge drops off seaward
to nearly 130 feet, although the slope is gradual.
The Tower (Cabo Cabron). Depth: 130+ feet. The boat drops you into the
churning channel between rock and mainland. Keep your eyes peeled for dolphins,
which frequent this spot. A giant pinnacle formation emerges from 165 feet,
encrusted with sponge and cascading coral where lobster and crab are often
found. The best way to see it all: drop down to 90 feet and slowly swim up and
around the peak.
On Land…
Hike Pico Duarte , the tallest peak in the Caribbean. Cross Lake
Enriquillo , the Caribbean's largest salt water lake; try rafting on the
clear waters of the Yaque del Norte river; or get close up to a school of
Humpback whales cavorting in Samaná Bay .
Beaches. Discover the breaking fun waves of Playa Grande , or
frolic in the pristine waters of Sosúa Beach , the mild surf of Playa
Dorada or the calm waters of Boca Chica . Indulge in the caress of Punta
Cana's coconut-dotted beaches on the East Coast.
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The Dominican Republic is good value for your
money. More than 45,000 hotel rooms are located throughout the length
and breadth of the island. The competition keeps hoteliers on their toes,
and the traveler benefits from great vacation prices. There are small beach inns
to small hotels atop hills colonial city hostels to adventure traveler hotels,
all-inclusive beach resorts to deluxe metropolitan hotels.
- St. George.
The St. George is a large freighter, about 200 feet in
length, sunk in early 1999 as a dive attraction. Now she sits upright along a
reef slope with her bow at 140 feet and her propellers in the sand at 100
feet. The wheelhouse and stack remain very much intact.
- Hickory.
The Hickory was purposely sunk as a dive attraction in 1986
and now sits perfectly upright on the sand seafloor at 65 feet. The 135-foot
freighter got hammered by Hurricane George, but still hosts a massive amount
of fish, particularly sergeant majors (obviously used to being hand-fed) and
Blackbar Soldierfish. The sponge encrustation and marine life make this a
must-do for underwater photographers.
- El Limon.
El Limon is a 120-foot tugboat sunk near the Hickory. Given
their proximity and reasonably shallow depth, both ships can be easily visited
on the same two-tank dive trip.
- La Sirena Cave
. This particular site can only be dived with Treasure
Divers as they have an arrangement with the landowner, but it's an example of
the numerous freshwater caves and caverns that are found throughout the DR.
Here, an iron spiral staircase leads to a cavernous opening in the jungle
canopy. Stunning water clarity washes a cave system decorated with perfectly
intact stalactites and stalagmites. This dive is not done as a deep
penetration and avoids long overhead obstructions, so it is safe for those
without cave certification. But make no mistake; there is world-class cave
diving in the Dominican Republic that is yet to be explored.
- Tanya V.
Purposely sunk as a dive attraction by the owner of the
nearby Coral Costa Caribe Resort; the Tanya V is a 120-foot cargo ship sent to
the bottom Oct. 22, 1999. Already the stern is home to large schools of grunts
and Goatfish. She sits in 110 feet of water.
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Unless the speed limits have been lifted it will take about 2 hours to drive
between Key West and Key Largo on US 1.
Obey the speed limits - the traffic cops have no sense of humor! If you do
get stopped - stay in the car, hands on the wheel, and wait for the patrolman to
come to you!
At Key Largo I used the Florida State operation that runs the John Pennekamp
Coral Reef State Park. They have first pick of sites inside the reserve (they
run it).
From Key Largo and south down US 1 (the highway) there seems to be a dive
operator at every lamppost, we dived with Amoray and they were good.
Most of the addresses in the Keys have a reference to 'Mile Marker' or 'mm'
on them, so you can work out how far apart they are on US
Dives to do…
The Duane
Purposely sunk Coastguard Cutter. Can have VERY strong surface currents, but
OK on the wreck. Meet Psycho, the 'pet' Barracuda.
Key West
several operators, can't remember offhand who we went with, but we were there at
New Year and it had been a little stormy, but there were a couple of half decent
reefs to dive. I understand that there are some other wrecks accessible from
here, but can't comment on them.
My opinion - do your diving round Key Largo and go down to Key West for the
fun & games on land.
| Facts about Key West- It is in United States
- Key West is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
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We were in Rodney Bay in May 2002 and the best diving is around the
southern tip of the island in the vicinity of Souffriere where diving is
located around the fantastic piton mountains. The main beach near Rodney Bay is Reduit
beach, which I am sure you can reach within a short walk of your hotel or digs,
or you may actually be located on the beach. The diving outfit we used was Anse
Chastanet's hotel dive operation, which has a booth on the beach at one of the
Reduit beach hotels (either the Papillon or the Rex, I can't quite remember).
You can book there or direct by ringing Anse Chastanet
click here
Anse Chastanet will pick you up from your hotel, take you to a short
drive away at a slip where you board a fast boat to take you down to the center
several miles down the coast. There, you will be taken on a very short check out
dive of the usual variety (mask clearing, alternative air source breathing,
buoyancy check), then you have a two-tank dive, one in the morning, and one
after lunch, which is included in the deal. You are then taken back home via the
same means after the dive. The deal was approx. $75 including a great buffet
lunch, which was excellent value.
I was surprisingly impressed with the diving around Souffriere, good viz,
vertiginous walls and healthy corals and fauna. The diving outfit was
professional and the service and deal well presented/pitched.
Have fun in Rodney Bay, don't forget to patronize Spinnakers on the beach,
and the Lime bar and restaurant just off the beach. The Great House restaurant
further up at Pigeon point is first class, if you fancy a bit of 'posh nosh'.
I am sure I don't need to warn you about the 'Aloe Vera' brigade, which you
will find hanging around the shopping mall, trying to sooth your sunburn or
mosquito bites... for the obligatory fistful of dollars. Also, car hire is 'cr.p'.
We turned down 3 cars that were lethal death traps from a very reputable
company. Public transport is cheap and the share ride minibus stops just outside
the mini-mart on the main road. Use that instead! I also wholly recommend a day
sail to Martinique! Whoa, dolphins, manta rays, we saw the lot, and had a nice
French lunch at Josephine's in Marin harbor .
| Facts about Rodney Bay It is in Saint Lucia- Rodney Bay is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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