augie
Guest
Did the Sunday AM two-tank dive with Jupiter Dive Charters on July 3. I rode up from Melbourne with EdJewell, and also met up with Tractor Tom in Jupiter.
Check in is at Scuba Works dive shop in a shopping center. As I filled out the waiver (you only have to fill it out once for the entire calendar year) I was asked if I had a safety sausage ( I do).
All of the tanks and gear are loaded onto a bus then Captain Paul drove us all to the Blowing Rocks Marina. After everything was offloaded he parked the bus while we loaded the boat.
They normally do a 3-tank dive on Sundays aboard the temptation, and there was one no-show diver, so there was plenty of room to set up for the 11 divers, two DMs, one deckhand, and the captain.
Seas were as close to flat as they can be, and we did the first dive on Spadefish Point. The top of the reef was in the 65' range, the sand between 80' and 90' in most places. Vis was around 40' and according to my computer the water temp at depth was 78F, which was a little cooler than the 81F-82F I'd had in WPB the last couple of weekends. I got a little cool in my .5mm, but no big deal.
We saw a small nurse shark on top of the reef shortly after descending, then a small hawksbill turtle, a large green moray, some bold "out of season" bugs, several large jewfish hanging out together, then a loggerhead, a reef shark, and then a fairly large nurse shark.
The DM had hooked into a rock to wait for some of the stragglers, so almost half of the group had drifter far enough ahead that he was no longer in sight. No problem, when we were ready to surface, Captain Paul had the Temptation nearby and picked us up with dispatch.
After a 30 minute surface interval we were back in the water, this time at Lighthouse Point. The vis, just like at Spadefish Point, was fairly murky down to about 20' (and warmer there as well) but once we were below that it opened up to better than 60'.
We saw another couple of turtles here, and a nurse shark sleeping under a ledge. Depths were close to the same as the first site as was the temp.
All in all, two very nice dives. For some reason I'd never dove out of Jupiter before, but I certainly will again.
The boat isn't the fastest thing on the water, but is plenty comfortable, particularly since they limit it to 12 divers or less. Pretzels, cookies, sodas, and fresh water were available, and a fresh water shower hose with shampoo and conditioner.
Once we got back to the marina, we repeated the morning's process in reverse, and were bussed back to the dive shop where we had parked.
I'd certainly reccomend this operation to others, and as I said, plan to return and dive with them again - soon!
Check in is at Scuba Works dive shop in a shopping center. As I filled out the waiver (you only have to fill it out once for the entire calendar year) I was asked if I had a safety sausage ( I do).
All of the tanks and gear are loaded onto a bus then Captain Paul drove us all to the Blowing Rocks Marina. After everything was offloaded he parked the bus while we loaded the boat.
They normally do a 3-tank dive on Sundays aboard the temptation, and there was one no-show diver, so there was plenty of room to set up for the 11 divers, two DMs, one deckhand, and the captain.
Seas were as close to flat as they can be, and we did the first dive on Spadefish Point. The top of the reef was in the 65' range, the sand between 80' and 90' in most places. Vis was around 40' and according to my computer the water temp at depth was 78F, which was a little cooler than the 81F-82F I'd had in WPB the last couple of weekends. I got a little cool in my .5mm, but no big deal.
We saw a small nurse shark on top of the reef shortly after descending, then a small hawksbill turtle, a large green moray, some bold "out of season" bugs, several large jewfish hanging out together, then a loggerhead, a reef shark, and then a fairly large nurse shark.
The DM had hooked into a rock to wait for some of the stragglers, so almost half of the group had drifter far enough ahead that he was no longer in sight. No problem, when we were ready to surface, Captain Paul had the Temptation nearby and picked us up with dispatch.
After a 30 minute surface interval we were back in the water, this time at Lighthouse Point. The vis, just like at Spadefish Point, was fairly murky down to about 20' (and warmer there as well) but once we were below that it opened up to better than 60'.
We saw another couple of turtles here, and a nurse shark sleeping under a ledge. Depths were close to the same as the first site as was the temp.
All in all, two very nice dives. For some reason I'd never dove out of Jupiter before, but I certainly will again.
The boat isn't the fastest thing on the water, but is plenty comfortable, particularly since they limit it to 12 divers or less. Pretzels, cookies, sodas, and fresh water were available, and a fresh water shower hose with shampoo and conditioner.
Once we got back to the marina, we repeated the morning's process in reverse, and were bussed back to the dive shop where we had parked.
I'd certainly reccomend this operation to others, and as I said, plan to return and dive with them again - soon!
Put me back in the water as soon as my bottom time at the expected dive profile is 45 minutes.
