This trip is designed for a group of divers to go to the Florida Keys and have a blast diving and seeing the sights without the worries of being in an unfamiliar place. The only thing you have to do is get there and the rest is up to us! We will be staying at the beautiful Amoray Resort (www.amoray.com).

Divers and Non-Divers are invited to enjoy 6 nights in paradise and 6 boat trips(2 locations each-night dive is 1 location) to the beautiful reefs and wrecks off the coast of Key Largo. This trip includes 2 iCare About Coral experiences!

Check into Amoray Dive Resort after 4 pm. Get groceries if needed and settle in. Enjoy the pool and sunset from the dock! Ryan and Sheli will be at the pool to welcome you!

Amoray has many amenities to help you enjoy your stay:

Resort Amenities

• Freshwater Pool

• 1 Open-Air Tiki

• 3 Charcoal Grills

• Beach / Pool Towels

• Beach Chairs

• Kayaks

• Paddleboards

• Bicycles

• Snorkel Gear

• Corn Hole

• Washer / Dryer

• Daily Housekeeping (per Request)

• In-room Water Bottles

• In-room Coffee

• Wi-Fi

• Self-Parking

•  Ice

The first boat trip of the week will leave the dock at 8:30 am and we will venture out for a 2-tank dive. It is a lovely 45 minute boat ride to most of the dive sites around Key Largo. We've requested to dive at Molasses Reef (15-30 feet deep). Occasionally the captain will choose another site based on seas and weather conditions.

For nearly 3 decades, Amoray Dive Resort has been the premier Florida Keys destination for scuba diving in Key Largo. The spacious 45-foot catamaran designed for scuba and snorkeling in the Florida Keys combined with the local charm of the world-class accommodations continues to make Amoray Dive Resort the preferred destination for divers around the world when traveling to Key Largo.

The boat will leave the dock approximately 45 minutes before sunset. After watching the sunset from the Atlantic, we will plunge into the dusk at the Benwood (25-50 feet deep). Nightfall will happen as we are in the water until darkness is left toward the end of the dive. This is a magical dive with loads of turtles, large parrotfish, and possibly sharks, octopus, and squid.

Here is more information about the Benwood:

https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/shipwrecktrail/benwood.html

The boat is scheduled to leave the dock at 1 pm. We plan to dive at the Duane, a deep wreck (70-100 feet). This is Sheli's favorite deep dive in the Key Largo area. Divers are required to have a surface marker buoy (SMB) and a dive computer. They are available for rent if you do not have one. The second dive will likely be at a shallow reef.

It is required that you have an Advanced certification to complete this dive. If you do not have it, there are options:

1. You can add the Advanced Certification on to this trip and do the required 5 dives with Sheli and/or Ryan.

2. You may choose to dive in the morning (8:30 am - to the Christ of the Abyss Statue and another shallow reef).

The Duane:

After being decommissioned on August 1, 1985 as the oldest active U.S. military vessel, Duane was donated to the Keys Association of Dive Operators for use as an artificial reef. On November 27, 1987, it was towed offshore of Molasses Reef and anchored. Those scuttling the cutter then opened its hatches and seacocks causing its hull to flood. The vessel settled to the seafloor on an even keel. USCGC Duane is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The boat is scheduled to leave the dock at 1 pm. We will dive at the Spiegel Grove and then a shallow reef (perhaps French Reef). The Spiegel Grove is another deep wreck (60-100) and a beautiful site to see.

The USS Spiegel Grove is a 510-foot former U.S. Navy ship intentionally sunk in 2002 as an artificial reef six miles off Key Largo, Florida. Now a premier advanced wreck dive, it rests 70–130 feet deep in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, hosting diverse marine life and offering penetration opportunities for certified divers. 

See the Spiegel Grove!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ddicLbP-mc

This is an afternoon filled with education, training and, of course, diving! We will meet at the dock at 11:30 to learn about how to help maintain the coral nursery and some of the previously planted corals. At 1 pm, the boat will leave the dock and we will make 2 dives to assist the I.CARE team by learning how to maintain the reef.

Day two of iCare Dives! We will meet at 8 am to learn all about iCare and how to plant new corals on the reef. The boat is scheduled to leave the dock at 1 pm. We will make 2 dives to assist the I.CARE team by transplanting coral, removing snails and algae from our sites, and monitoring previously transplanted corals!

Head home after a week of diving! You must be checked out by 10 am.