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Lower Keys Dive site page: Looe Key Reef |
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| MileMarker: | 0 |
| Location: | Lat 24 32.70 Lon 81 24.50 Marker 24: FL R 4s 20 feet 6M "24"; 10 nmiles SW of Bahia Honda Channel on a 225° course; most diving operations leave from Big Pine Key |
| Markers: | 54 bouys: 1-32 are on central reef [1' to 30' deep]; 33-39 are shoreward [3' to 15']; 40-49 are 1 mile N of Marker 24 [16' depth]; 50-54 are SW of Marker 24 [30' to 70'] |
| Depth Range: | 5 to 70 feet deep |
| Skill Level req.: | beginner |
| Risks/Warnings: | Deeper areas encounter occasional difficult currents SPA area [Sanctuary Preservation Area], no fishing or lobstering allowed |
| History | |
| The HMS Looe ran aground on this reef in 1744. It is possible that she had a captured French ship, the Snow, under tow at the time. She hit hard in only 25 feet of water, and consequently burned to the waterline, taking her prize with her. Little is now visible of the wreck to the untrained eye. A ballast rock pile and heavily encrusted anchor chain are one the eastern end of the reef, about 200 yeards from Marker 24. Looe Key Reef has been protected as a national marine sanctuary since 1981. Since lobstering has also been prohibited, spiny lobsters are much more numerous than at other reefs in the Sanctuary. UPDATE Jan-04: JG Braddock sez: Your web page states: "The HMS Looe ran aground on this reef in 1744. It is possible that she had a captured French ship, the Snow, under tow at the time. She hit hard in only 25 feet of water, and consequently burned to the waterline, taking her prize with her." First of all, the name of the ship with the Loo was not Snow. A snow was a type of vessel. Her name was Betty. Secondly, the Betty was a British ship privateers had captured, and the Loo had recaptured her. She was not being towed; men from the Loo were manning her. Thirdly, the Loo did not "consequently" burn to the water line. Her commander, Captain Ashby Utting, ordered her burned knowing the fire would ignite the large store of gunpowder aboard her and would destroy her completely so that the Spanish could not come later and salvage anything from her. All 274 members of the crew survived, 184 making there way to Port Royal, SC in 5 days; the rest in a yawl, a longboat, and a captain's barge, made there way to the Bahamas. My 6th great-grandfather, Captain William Lyford was a pilot aboard the Loo at the time. J. G. (Jerry) Braddock, Sr. |
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| Dive Description | |
| Looe Key Reef is one of the nicest, most diverse reefs in the Keys. It should be a priority dive if you're diving the Middle Keys or Lower Keys. It is roughly 200 years wide and 800 yards long, and is "U" shaped. It has a reputation for unpredictable visibility. Looe Reef has representative members of both patch and outside reefs, which is unique. It is it's own little world; a representation of the entire Keys reef ecosystem, in one protected place. Many locals and dive personnel think Looe Key Reef is the most beautiful reef in the Middle or Lower Keys. Barracuda and jacks meet the diver upon plunging from the boat. Yellow-headed jawfish, parrotfish, and surgeonfish cruise over the reef, and many divers see loggerhead turtle. There is a profusion of life on this reef, with tropical fish schooling and larger fish quietly watching you as they pass. Consider making your first dive here at one of the deeper buoys. Depths start at about 35 feet, and drop to over 100 feet as you move offshore. Some of the bigger animals, like reef shark, jewfish, or spotted eagle rays are in the deeper water. Rarer species of sponge and coral, such as massive barrel sponges, inhabit the downward reef slope. Looe Key Reef is one of our most HIGHLY RECOMMENDED reefs to visit in the Florida Keys. Divers should be warned that Looe Key Reef has been designated a SPA area [Sanctuary Preservation Area] and fishing as well as lobstering are strictly prohibited. |
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| Divesite info by: Jonathan Brinkman | |
Divelog for Looe Key Reef
Add your dive to the divelog below!! CLICK HERE.
| Diver Name: | Chase Slabaugh | Diver's email: | chasedadog@aol.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Caledonia, IL | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 25 ft. | Date of Dive: | Jul-25-2000 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 35 ft. | Date of log entry: | Aug-05-2000 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 90°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 30 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 87°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Looe Key is a wonderful place to dive just to enjoy the underwater world. There are so many diffrent kinds of fish and otheraquatic life there. There are also many other divers here. I wouls suggest if your in the keys you should visit this area. | ||
| Diveshop used: | ..none (my own boat) | ||
| Diver Name: | Ryan | Diver's email: | ryan@hotmail.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Redmond, WA | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 85 ft. | Date of Dive: | Jul-21-2001 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 120 ft. | Date of log entry: | Jul-31-2001 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 85°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 100 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 80°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | |||
| Diveshop used: | Coral Divers | ||
| Diver Name: | Rich Penksa & Renee Cookson | Diver's email: | bilznut@aol.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Las Vegas, Nevada | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 12 ft. | Date of Dive: | Jun-16-2002 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 22 ft. | Date of log entry: | Jun-25-2002 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 88°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 65 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 82°F | Seas Condition: | Heavy (5-6') |
| Diver comments on dive: | I have not seen a picture yet that captured the live beauty and vivid colors I encountered during this dive. Fish everywhere. Lobsters everywhere. Shells (you can't touch) everywhere! Very quick boat trip if you leave from Big Pine. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Underseas Inc | In my week at the keys, The people at Underseas inc. were the absolute finest dive professionals we dove with. Miss Rokket is a jewel in a tough business. her and her entire staff were the nicest, friendliest, helpful folks we met. Their boat is the Pegasus which is just down the road from the shop. Their prices were the best we encountered, anywhere in the keys! The shop has every spare piece and part you could possibly need, as well as workers there to fix, adjust or replace a part for you. They fixed my fin and saved my dive for a whopping $2.95! Highly recommended! | |
| Diver Name: | Dutch Johnson | Diver's email: | nbfe@htn.net |
| Diver Hometown: | Lake Placid, FL | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 23 ft. | Date of Dive: | Jul-14-2002 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 35 ft. | Date of log entry: | Jul-16-2002 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 87°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 70 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 82°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Rode the Kokomo Kat from Looe Key Resort on a 3 tank, 5hr dive trip. Huge lobster and tarpon. Some small sharks. Lot's of small cuda'. Lot's of snapper hanging under ledges. Didn't see any large grouper. Coral was out of this world. Some formations extending 18ft from the bottom. Truely massive and colorful. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Aquatic Expeditions | Can we say Moo? Cattle boat. 38 snorks and 4 divers. No dive master in the water. She was cooking hotdogs to sell. Boat was fast. Captain great (he spotted my dumb self entering the water w/out my low pressure inflator connected!) but he needed help. The other 3 divers rented their gear and it appeared to be nicer then my own. | |
| Diver Name: | Jason Socha | Diver's email: | Socha_62@hotmail.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Michigan | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 10 ft. | Date of Dive: | Aug-02-2002 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 20 ft. | Date of log entry: | Aug-07-2002 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 95°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 40 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 87°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Best reef I've ever dived! | ||
| Diveshop used: | ..none (my own boat) | Flordia High Adventure Sea Base | |
| Diver Name: | Terry Wiggins | Diver's email: | twiggins1656@peoplepc.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Pensacola,Fl. | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 25 ft. | Date of Dive: | Aug-08-2002 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 37 ft. | Date of log entry: | Aug-11-2002 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 95°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 50 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 82°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Dove Looe Key,east and west.Two great dives.Both dives,had plenty of fish,and beautiful coral formations.Both dives,were about 1 hour long very relaxing.A must dive. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Underseas Inc | Went in a day before my dive to get a mask reparied,they were real busy,but they let me use there tools and workbench.The next morning alot going on ,but the whole crew handeled everyone with an upbeat atittude.When I arrived AL,the boat captin,and his crew,were great.Don't worry about finding there boat,just follow the underwater music. | |
| Diver Name: | Jon Prettyman | Diver's email: | Prettymanj@juno.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Sarasota, Fl | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 20 ft. | Date of Dive: | Aug-07-2002 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 25 ft. | Date of log entry: | Aug-12-2002 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 88°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 30 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 88°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Wonderful Dive, We snorkelled the location the day before which was geat, the diving was 100 times better. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Underseas Inc | Good group, informative, well run. 2 dives, affordable | |
| Diver Name: | Ray Dry | Diver's email: | Redry@tds.net |
| Diver Hometown: | Stonewall, OK | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 25 ft. | Date of Dive: | Oct-14-2002 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 35 ft. | Date of log entry: | Oct-20-2002 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 85°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 100 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 83°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Very nice. Butifull coral, lobster , lots of Baracuda, one nurse shark. Great experience. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Underseas Inc | Great folks. Down to earth and easy going, helpfull and funny, made for a very enjoyable trip. If you use them ask for the story on the huge tigershark hanging in the shop. | |
| Diver Name: | Mitchell Ligenza | Diver's email: | mitchell.ligenza@the-spa.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Springfield, MA | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 25 ft. | Date of Dive: | Mar-08-2003 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 30 ft. | Date of log entry: | Mar-17-2003 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 82°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 30 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 70°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | This was one of 5 dives on the reef, the sealife and coral was quite bueatiful. i can't wait to return to see the rest of the reef. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Looe Key Reef Resort & Dive Ctr | ||
| Diver Name: | Rich Penksa & Renee Cookson | Diver's email: | bilznut@aol.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Las Vegas, Nevada | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 18 ft. | Date of Dive: | Jul-02-2003 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 25 ft. | Date of log entry: | Aug-20-2003 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 86°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 30 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 84°F | Seas Condition: | Medium (3-4') |
| Diver comments on dive: | The Reef is a great, relaxing dive. Bottom times in the one hour range. Huge variety of sealife. Plenty of surprises for those paying attention (rays, reef sharks, nurse sharks.) | ||
| Diveshop used: | Underseas Inc | This shop is simply the best dive shop I have ever dove with! They are friendly, affordable and have reached icon status as a Keys dive shop. You go to any other dive shop outside of Big Pine in the Keys and ask them who they recommend you dive the Reef with, and the will all tell you Underseas inc. Miss Rokket, your the best! | |
| Diver Name: | Chris McBride | Diver's email: | cmmb55@aol.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Alexandria, VA | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 40 ft. | Date of Dive: | Jul-08-2003 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 50 ft. | Date of log entry: | Oct-09-2003 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 90°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 40 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 88°F | Seas Condition: | Medium (3-4') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Nice dive. Sea conditions got rough. Lots of fish life on the reef. TONS of baricuda. Be sure to listen to the brief of which boat to look for when you surface. It gets crowded there. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Innerspace Diving & Snorkeling Ctr | Good dive shop. Very effecient. Had a good dive with them. Would recomend to someone looking to dive Looe Key. | |
| Diver Name: | Wesley Babula | Diver's email: | wbabula@midmaine.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Chesterville, Maine | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 30 ft. | Date of Dive: | Dec-28-2005 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 32 ft. | Date of log entry: | Jan-04-2006 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 72°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 20 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 69°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Beautiful dive site, lots to see, vis was not perfect, however was able to see lots of life!!!! Would visit again. | ||
| Diveshop used: | Discount Divers / Bed and Breakfast | Excellant group of folks, very helpful and friendly. Very accomodating. Only 13 divers on the boat. Things went very smooth, put into excellant position to view sea life below. Thanks again to Ed, Maryanne, and Capt. Bill!!!! | |
| Diver Name: | Ronnie King | Diver's email: | betron@gmail.com |
| Diver Hometown: | Lecanto, FL. | ||
| Ave. Depth (ft.): | 20 ft. | Date of Dive: | May-12-2006 |
| Max. Depth (ft.): | 30 ft. | Date of log entry: | May-16-2006 |
| Est. Air Temp (°F): | 85°F | Ave. Visibility-ft.: | 50 ft. |
| Est. Water Temp (°F): | 78°F | Seas Condition: | Wonderful (1-2') |
| Diver comments on dive: | Great day for a dive/snorkel. Lots of wild life. Saw nurse sharks, lobster, and a goliath grouper! | ||
| Diveshop used: | Underseas Inc | Underseas Inc. was great. We had a group of 15 divers/snorkelers. They were easy to work with, and took care of all our needs. I would highly recommend them, and will use tham next year on our return trip! | |
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