Back into diving

[frank@alkin]

Hello All,
I am new to scubaboard so hello! I went diving a few years back in Cozumel and have been trying to get back into it when I visit Florida does anyone have advice on where I should visit there? I also am in the industry of compressors if anyone has any questions about that please let me know! Thanks

 

[Marie13]

Easy dives? Everything I read here says Key Largo for easy, shallow reef dives.

 

[frank@alkin]

Key largo is beautiful I hear, I will do some looking into that. Usually I am in the Naples area but am willing to stay elsewhere for a dive trip if necessary.

 

[formernuke]

Blue heron Bridge area has some good diving as well.

The bridge is easy, boat in the area is drift diving.

 

[frank@alkin]

Thank you! I really appreciate all the help I am currently looking them up.

 

[SpaceCat]

If you are interested in shark's teeth at all, doing some megalodon tooth dives off of Venice are pretty fun. Easy, 25-35ft of water, however there is rarely anything pretty or interesting to see. Its just a hunt for teeth. We normally use Black Gold Fossil Charters. Its a small 4 person trip (so you don't have to compete with others for search space) and a 3 tank dive.

I also really enjoy Ginnie Springs.

If you go to the Key Largo area, there are pretty reef dives, but depending on the time of year, you can also hunt for lobsters which is always fun.

 

[frank@alkin]

Oh that sounds awesome. I have watched plenty of videos on those megalodon tooth dives and it is really cool. I have never heard of Ginnie Springs so I will be looking into that, I am aiming to go in August so this information is really helpful. Thanks SpaceCat!

 

[drrich2]

The upper Florida Keys such as Key Largo offer relatively shallow reef diving over a 'hard bottom' (as opposed to beside a vertical wall), plus the option for some offshore deep wreck diving like the Spiegel Grove. When I went in 2013, 4 dives/day with Rainbow Reef Dive Center were on offer, and I was blessed to pack 20 dives into 5 days at a really good package price.

Farther north is Jupiter, FL, known for goliath grouper (which aggregate later in the year), reef sharks, the winter lemon shark aggregation, and aside from all that, there's the additional option for shark feeding dives with some operators, who bait in lemon bull, hammerhead, tiger sharks, etc... It's not as insane as it may sound, but it's controversial.

Jupiter is close enough for a side trip to Blue Heron Bridge, a shallow shore dive which is done based on the tides, so you'll likely be stuck with 1 dive there in a day...but you should make that dive. I did once; it was really cool.

I have not been diving West Palm Beach (maybe a half-hour from Jupiter?) or Boynton Beach. Or the west coast of Florida, where some people spear fish and dive wrecks...though I would like to someday dive the Oriskany.

There is freshwater spring diving; the only one I've done was Alexander Spring, which is like somebody flipped a giant Mexican sombrero upside down and put a spring flow in the bottom about 20 something feet deep. More of a glorified snorkel, but the vegetated perimeter was rich in life.

Key Largo with Rainbow Reef Dive Center 2013 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...iving-key-largo-rainbow-reef-dive-center.html

Jupiter 2014 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/491927-jupiter-trip-report-9-7-14-9-11-14-a.html

Emerald Charters Trip Report 2017 - Trip Report - Emerald Dive Charters Trip Report

Note: Jupiter diving is deep. The shark feed diving there, or the deep wrecks out of Key Largo, may require you to have more certification than OW - such as AOW, and nitrox is really handy.

Oh, and if you like sharks, North Carolina can deliver. Morehead City, NC August 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/no...us-dive-center-aug-9-13-2015-trip-report.html

 

[frank@alkin]

Wow first thank you for all the information! I am amazed with the support everyone here has! I actually need to save all this information prior to visiting Florida soon. I did not know about the shark feeding dives. That does sound adventurous. I am checking out all the links you sent.