Palm Beach Dive Thread

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Friday, I had the pleasure of being invited by Stuart Scuba to participate in the "Reel it in for the Reefs" Clean-Up Dives which were sponsored by the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation.

It was amazing to see so many charters out of Riviera Beach participating in this event.

I was on Little Deeper. We had 16 divers. Out of the inlet we ran south to the Breakers area and dove a site named Horseshoe Reef. Within a few minutes I see divers picking up an anchor, chain, and rope. They were carrying it! I have a lift bag in my butt pack, so I approached to assist. We floated the anchor and its line. About 30 ft away, I found an anchor on my own. I used my 8ft XScuba DSMB to float it up. After that, I retrieved a can and lots of fishing line, hooks, weights, etc. A boat engine cowl was floated by another diver (I think Sheeper).

Dive 2 we went to Paul's Reef. Ironically, we had 3 divers on the boat named Paul, so it was appropriate to visit the site :). This reef was just beautiful. The reef was full of healthy sea fans, sponges, corals, and lots of fish. I couldn't find any trash at first. Eventually I found a lot of trash about 20 minutes in. I found a 25 ft rope, a speargun shaft, a LOT of fishing line, a small metal grate, and some misc trash. Other trash found was this pole foundation, think of a cross where in the middle you can put a vertical pole. The legs were like 10ft long.

It was a lot of fun! I can't wait to do it again next year.

Water temp on both dives was 76 degrees. Seas were small but bumpy.

One event to note, after the 2nd dive, when I surfaced, there was a large yacht feet away from hitting the dive boat. This yacht must have been on autopilot and it was heading straight over the dive site with us divers still in the water towards the end of our dives. The dive boat put itself in danger, blaring the horn, and yelling on the radio. Fortunately the yacht stopped before actually hitting the dive boat. They were told to find another way around.
 
Governor's River walk wrecks April 15, 2024
A rare spotting indeed......me with a camera....yelling cuss words underwater cause my picts are all dark from not adjusting my ISO back up to 200. That solved the problem real quick.

Ask @Johnoly about July 11, 2022, in Boynton. When he just has his camera, he's a magnet
Those were some great Boynton dives and ALOT of fun !!
 
Some of you might have read my review of diving the Avelo system in Bonaire last December

Avelo is touring Florida this summer and has recently added a stop at Splashdown Divers in Boynton Beach on June 24-29.
 
Some of you might have read my review of diving the Avelo system in Bonaire last December

Avelo is touring Florida this summer and has recently added a stop at Splashdown Divers in Boynton Beach on June 24-29.

Force-E is offering the Avelo as well. I saw via a Facebook post.

ADD: I can't seem to find it again. Perhaps it was an email or a different dive shop?

ADD #2: This is what I had seen on Facebook re: Force-E. Not sure if this was just a short-term event or if they have training and Avelo equipment available for rent?

1715020169724.png
 
I dove Saturday, 5/18, on a private boat. We started south of the inlet early in the morning. Seas were 1-2ft. Visibility was pretty good but hazy. I and the 2 others I dropped in with were on all on scooters which made judging the current difficult. The current was light and possibly going south, it was hard to tell. I shot a 20 inch hog. Upon loading, one of my bands broke at the bead, so I was down to one band the remainder of the dive.

Dive 2 we went north of the inlet. Seas and winds were picking up. The seas were now 2+. We said we'd go north, but it was definitely a south current. I shot a fish as soon as I got to depth. I floated the fish. The boat went north, and my fish drifted south and was never picked up. Let me know if you find my yellow Toothless SMB with stringer (has my name and number).

Dive 3, seas were picking up and were 2-3 solid with an occasional 3+. 6 months ago, I would have been bent over the side of the boat. Over time, the feeling of being seasick has subsided and I'm not complaining. We learned from dive 2 and 3, it's definitely a south current and getting stronger. We went further north, near Jupiter. We approached one of our regular spots from the north, which was really interesting, it was unrecognizable and felt like a new dive site. I was following a Mutton of questionable size, trying to get a better feeling if it was legal or not when a large Mutton crossed my path. I followed this Mutton, but he wouldn't let me get close. I tried going high, but it just kept swimming away. I decided to get fish to come to me, so I found a sandy area and used my DPV to kick up sand. I had large Porgy coming to investigate. I have no idea how I missed. It feels like I miss more on Porgy's than any other fish.

Water temp was similar on all 3 dives. I haven't downloaded my computer, but if I had to guess I would say 75-76 with a thermocline at depth dropping the temp a couple of degrees.

In a previous thread I mentioned flooding my Blacktip DPV, which happened a few weeks ago. Last week I dove with fins, and it sucked! I lucked out and found a used Tusa for sale, 10 minutes from where I live. This was my first time using the Tusa and all I can say is, wow, what a difference. It had more power, it was a hands-free experience, and the battery lasted longer.
 
, wow, what a difference. It had more power, it was a hands-free experience, and the battery lasted longer.
Saddle Up,,, Time to Ride !!
(thanks for the conditions report also)
 
I shot a 20 inch hog.
Nice. Good dinner for sure.
Upon loading, one of my bands broke at the bead, so I was down to one band the remainder of the dive.
I do keep two bands on my gun, but really only ever use one. The other is primarily for a backup in case the other snaps. Rarely I may load the second to get a little more reach on a fish that is keeping its distance, but the vast majority of the time, I just use one.
 
Friday, I had the pleasure of being invited by Stuart Scuba to participate in the "Reel it in for the Reefs" Clean-Up Dives which were sponsored by the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation.

It was amazing to see so many charters out of Riviera Beach participating in this event.

I was on Little Deeper. We had 16 divers. Out of the inlet we ran south to the Breakers area and dove a site named Horseshoe Reef. Within a few minutes I see divers picking up an anchor, chain, and rope. They were carrying it! I have a lift bag in my butt pack, so I approached to assist. We floated the anchor and its line. About 30 ft away, I found an anchor on my own. I used my 8ft XScuba DSMB to float it up. After that, I retrieved a can and lots of fishing line, hooks, weights, etc. A boat engine cowl was floated by another diver (I think Sheeper).

Dive 2 we went to Paul's Reef. Ironically, we had 3 divers on the boat named Paul, so it was appropriate to visit the site :). This reef was just beautiful. The reef was full of healthy sea fans, sponges, corals, and lots of fish. I couldn't find any trash at first. Eventually I found a lot of trash about 20 minutes in. I found a 25 ft rope, a speargun shaft, a LOT of fishing line, a small metal grate, and some misc trash. Other trash found was this pole foundation, think of a cross where in the middle you can put a vertical pole. The legs were like 10ft long.

It was a lot of fun! I can't wait to do it again next year.

Water temp on both dives was 76 degrees. Seas were small but bumpy.

One event to note, after the 2nd dive, when I surfaced, there was a large yacht feet away from hitting the dive boat. This yacht must have been on autopilot and it was heading straight over the dive site with us divers still in the water towards the end of our dives. The dive boat put itself in danger, blaring the horn, and yelling on the radio. Fortunately the yacht stopped before actually hitting the dive boat. They were told to find another way around.
Wow, a lot of trash!, We did the “I care” trash (dive) pick up off Key Largo on May 4th. We were taken to deep sites (80-90ft) and found very little trash (surprisingly). On dive 2 we did pull up three old lobster cages and rope. It was fun and satisfying—and we were given a cool shirt.
 
I dove Saturday, 5/18, on a private boat. We started south of the inlet early in the morning. Seas were 1-2ft. Visibility was pretty good but hazy. I and the 2 others I dropped in with were on all on scooters which made judging the current difficult. The current was light and possibly going south, it was hard to tell. I shot a 20 inch hog. Upon loading, one of my bands broke at the bead, so I was down to one band the remainder of the dive.

Dive 2 we went north of the inlet. Seas and winds were picking up. The seas were now 2+. We said we'd go north, but it was definitely a south current. I shot a fish as soon as I got to depth. I floated the fish. The boat went north, and my fish drifted south and was never picked up. Let me know if you find my yellow Toothless SMB with stringer (has my name and number).

Dive 3, seas were picking up and were 2-3 solid with an occasional 3+. 6 months ago, I would have been bent over the side of the boat. Over time, the feeling of being seasick has subsided and I'm not complaining. We learned from dive 2 and 3, it's definitely a south current and getting stronger. We went further north, near Jupiter. We approached one of our regular spots from the north, which was really interesting, it was unrecognizable and felt like a new dive site. I was following a Mutton of questionable size, trying to get a better feeling if it was legal or not when a large Mutton crossed my path. I followed this Mutton, but he wouldn't let me get close. I tried going high, but it just kept swimming away. I decided to get fish to come to me, so I found a sandy area and used my DPV to kick up sand. I had large Porgy coming to investigate. I have no idea how I missed. It feels like I miss more on Porgy's than any other fish.

Water temp was similar on all 3 dives. I haven't downloaded my computer, but if I had to guess I would say 75-76 with a thermocline at depth dropping the temp a couple of degrees.

In a previous thread I mentioned flooding my Blacktip DPV, which happened a few weeks ago. Last week I dove with fins, and it sucked! I lucked out and found a used Tusa for sale, 10 minutes from where I live. This was my first time using the Tusa and all I can say is, wow, what a difference. It had more power, it was a hands-free experience, and the battery lasted longer.
Forget everything in that post except 20" Hog..... Quality fish and all to rare in these parts!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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