Palm Beach Dive Thread

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Captain Luke has started ShellBack Diving charters and several of us have been on his boat (tagging @MrChen ).

Oh, HECK YEAH!!

Captain Luke is great. I dived with him at least a half dozen times when he was skippering for Kyalami. His safety briefs were tight and he always inspired confidence with crew coordination and his pick ups. In fact, I was so fired up with Luke’s skills that I invited him up to meet the factory Harley race team (timing didn’t work out).

I can’t wait for race season to end and I can get back to diving on a regular basis. Shellback is now on the A list alongside PVD and Kyalami.
 
Two dives today. Partly cloudy turning sunny late morning, mid-80s air temp, 87 water temp, trickle north current, 20-50’ variable viz, 2-3’ seas.

Sites: Flower Garden & Elevator Shaft

Operator: Pura Vida
Capt Jason, crew Delaney, Ethan

Saw a large loggerhead getting its shell cleaned, a good size lemon shark, lots and lots of the usual reef fish, and hung out with four reef squid for the last five minutes of the first dive.
 
Two more dives today. Went out with Pura Vida once again this morning on Aurelia.

Crew - Capt Dean, Delaney, Ethan, Elena

Sites: Governors and Lapatas (Breakers Backside)

Beautiful topside. Sunny, low to mid-80s, low humidity following the cold front. Just lovely!

87F water temperature, virtually no current with just a bit of swell, 20 to 30 feet of visibility,1’ seas.
 
Two more dives today. Went out with Pura Vida once again this morning on Aurelia.

Crew - Capt Dean, Delaney, Ethan, Elena

Sites: Governors and Lapatas (Breakers Backside)

Beautiful topside. Sunny, low to mid-80s, low humidity following the cold front. Just lovely!

87F water temperature, virtually no current with just a bit of swell, 20 to 30 feet of visibility,1’ seas.
I've not been out on Breakers backside, tell me about it. I've spent a lot of time on the outside, east side, of Boynton. It is much different than the the west side. Rather than a reef line, it is most tongue and groove.
 
I've not been out on Breakers backside, tell me about it. I've spent a lot of time on the outside, east side, of Boynton. It is much different than the the west side. Rather than a reef line, it is most tongue and groove.
Same for the outside of breakers. I’ve only done a few dives on the outside there, but it’s very similar to the outside up in Boynton. It was a fantastic dive and I told Dean that they should schedule dives and do the outside of breakers more frequently.

Is a great option especially when the current is really light.
 
Same for the outside of breakers. I’ve only done a few dives on the outside there, but it’s very similar to the outside up in Boynton. It was a fantastic dive and I told Dean that they should schedule dives and do the outside of breakers more frequently.

Is a great option especially when the current is really light.
I will have to ask if Walker's will take me out there. What are the depths?
 
I will have to ask if Walker's will take me out there. What are the depths?
The nice thing about it is, it drops really fast from 70 to 105 just going a couple of hundred feet east. So while the shallow stuff is picked clean for bugs, the deeper stuff has reef islands and can be loaded up since many divers won't do that. There's a ton of fish life on the backside! (PS > I don't spear on Breakers/Flower Grdns, we leave it alone for the photogs - YMMV.)


87F water temperature, virtually no current with just a bit of swell, 20 to 30 feet of visibility,1’ seas.
That wind direction has been changing about noon time from NW to NE and 15mph. The 10ft waves rolling off Georgia are not helping us down here. Thank you for the conditions report. !!

JUP-Swell_14Sep2025.jpg
 
The nice thing about it is, it drops really fast from 70 to 105 just going a couple of hundred feet east. So while the shallow stuff is picked clean for bugs, the deeper stuff has reef islands and can be loaded up since many divers won't do that. There's a ton of fish life on the backside!
That's also a lot like Boynton. The 105 is not that far off from the outside reef.
 
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