Any private divers in West Palm or Jensen Beach spearfishing 6/19-6/26?

[nolatom]

I would think a drift dive might be fun for you and your girls. The West Palm dive boats tend more to go to the shallower (60' or thereabouts) reefs than the Jupiter boats, where the reefs are more on the 70-80 range. Jupiter in general is a bit more advanced and more spearo diving than WPB, at least in my (somewhat limited) experience there over the past 20 years.

I almost think drift diving is safer and less stressful for newer divers than anchored-boat dives, because the boat drifts with you, so you don't have to worry about having to swim (and get tired) upcurrent to return to your anchored boat. And you don't have to fin much to travel, just enough to "steer", so you'll save air and have a longer dive. Yes, you will have to ascend and do safety stop without a line to grab onto, but in a group of three you should be fine.

And I have not found the sharks to be aggressive, unless it's changed a lot recently. Lemons are fun, and usually keep their distance.


Oops, I just checked your original post and realize you just finished your vacay yesterday. Well, for further reference then. Hope you enjoyed wherever you went.

 

[chickenwarrior]

I would think a drift dive might be fun for you and your girls. The West Palm dive boats tend more to go to the shallower (60' or thereabouts) reefs than the Jupiter boats, where the reefs are more on the 70-80 range. Jupiter in general is a bit more advanced and more spearo diving than WPB, at least in my (somewhat limited) experience there over the past 20 years.

I almost think drift diving is safer and less stressful for newer divers than anchored-boat dives, because the boat drifts with you, so you don't have to worry about having to swim (and get tired) upcurrent to return to your anchored boat. And you don't have to fin much to travel, just enough to "steer", so you'll save air and have a longer dive. Yes, you will have to ascend and do safety stop without a line to grab onto, but in a group of three you should be fine.

And I have not found the sharks to be aggressive, unless it's changed a lot recently. Lemons are fun, and usually keep their distance.


Oops, I just checked your original post and realize you just finished your vacay yesterday. Well, for further reference then. Hope you enjoyed wherever you went.

Hey Yes, we just finished our trip and are back home. We did exactly what you described doing a WPB drift dive. Being their first drift dive we decided against bringing any spero equipment, but there were some large lionfish on the wrecks that would have been perfect prey. My wife and older daughter had a Silky Shark follow then up to the safety stop and surface before the boat picked them up which made them a bit nervous, but now have a great story! We didn't make it to the Lionfish Tournament described in above posts, and elected to do the drift dive on Saturday instead. Good time and good training for future dives. Thank you all for the input!