Dive Review of Atocha Adventure in
The Continental USA/Key West

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Atocha Adventure, Jul, 2009, by Michael Marmesh, FL, USA ( Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 5 Helpful votes). Report 4982.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I read about the opportunity to dive with the Mel Fisher Atocha/Margarita treasure salvage operation in your Flotsam & Jetsam section. Signed up to give it a try and headed for Key West. The cost is $2500/wk/person. We participated in the second week of this new program, so they were still shaking out minor bugs. They take groups of 6 divers for one week. Included are nice accommodations in the Truman Annex area(a condo for my wife and I and a 4 bdrm. house with a pool for the 4 single divers),a welcome dinner, a 2-tank check out dive to evaluate skills and demonstrate UW search techniques, an in-depth tour of the restoration facility and labs, a tour of the Mel Fisher Museum, two days diving on the wreck site (weather permitting) with approximately 3 dives each day, and a farewell sunset wine cruise. On the checkout dive, our divemaster demonstrated the use of underwater metal detector, fanning techniques to remove sand cover, and the collection process. Found lots of sinkers, fish hooks, 2 quarters, and scrap metal. The Atocha trail dives involve working on the wreck site 35 miles off of Key West, approximately 90 min. boat ride by small craft. You then transfer to the salvage vessel. We were on the Dare. The other main vessel is the Magruder. You are on a real working salvage vessel and though you are made to feel welcome, you need to be able to follow their protocols and get out of the way when necessary. The procedure is to blow a hole in the sandy ocean bottom by directing the the thrust of the ship's props downward thru devices referred to as mailboxes(a 45 to 60 min. process). This makes a pit 15 to 20 ft deep with a bedrock bottom. (For the ecology-minded this might not be the trip for you.) Two of the crew jump in and search with a metal detector, as well as visually. Guests and the assigned divemaster are allowed to follow and help search. Diving is negatively buoyant(usually 8 lbs. or more than you normally carry)to help keep you on the bottom. During our trip one guest found a shard of pottery. Another guest found a clump of 3 silver coins. If you're lucky enough to find something you are given treasure up to the value of what you spent on the trip. Unfortunately we didn't find anything but we had fun trying. If you're traveling with a non-diving companion, Key West has many attractions and distractions to offer. In the interest of full disclosure the Mel Fisher group is interested in signing up adventure divers as investors. It is not a high pressure sell, however my wife and I did sign up for one year. This entitles us to go back and dive again throughout the year. For more information check the website at www.melfisher.com
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Bahamas, ABC Islands, assorted Caribbean, Costa Rica, Galapagos, Honduras
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	83-87°F / 28-31°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-40 Ft/ 9-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Unique situation--salvage diving in a specific limited site.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish	N/A
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Atocha Adventure in The Continental USA/Key West

Atocha Adventure, Jul, 2009,

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 Atocha Adventure in
The Continental USA/Key West