Boynton area dive boat recommendations

[tekkydiver]

I've exclusively dove charters in Jupiter and WPB. During mini season, I dove out of Boynton for the first time on Scubatyme. I will say, it was a little bit of a culture shock. Everyone on the boat was divided up into groups and handed a dive flag, and you had to provide your own reel. I asked for weights, and they looked at me funny, so I ran back to my truck to grab weights. You paid once you were on the boat. Groups were dropped off separately, maybe this had to do with lobster hunting, but I'm not sure. Our surface intervals were allowed to spread out too. The crew was good, Ben was the captain, and he took us all the way to Del Rey when we weren't finding lobster near Boynton. One concern, there weren't any roll calls after dives. The boat was large and packed with divers. Towing the flag was annoying, especially when there's 2ft swells and you're trying to catch lobsters. They threw a ball and rope to us to pull us into the boat.

It was definitely a different experience than the Jupiter/WPB charters where customer service and a catered experience is at the forefront. This felt more DIY, they were there to get you to the dive spot, and the rest was up to you. When I questioned why we had to tow a flag, they kinda chuckled about not having to follow a DM like you do up north. I countered that by saying, no, we can do whatever we like and just shoot a DSMB when we are done. Capt Ben said he wished he could do that. I'm not sure what he meant by that, are there different rules or something south of WPB? Is it a company rule? Insurance related? Are the currents different?

Dive Flags are the Law... In fact It should be increased to a 24 inch flag for increased visibility

 

[Johnoly]

Boynton boats have each group carry a flag because they don’t put a guide in the water with the divers. That’s the main reason.

Like you said it comes down to the Statue and enforcement(LEO).

*) Anything over a UI six pack is required to only have a capt & a deckhand. A DM in water is not in the statues and it is an increase in both insurance/benefits costs and another share of the tips to split.

*)You dive all 3 BOY/WPB/JUP so you'll understand this because you've seen it on the boats. The statue only says that diver's are required to stay within 300ft of the dive flag (be that flag on the vessel or with the inwater DM holding it or the individual dive group leader. Jupiter is arguably(?) more experienced boat divers(not always). When the Capt yells 'dive',,Generally all the divers are off the boat in 60 seconds. By quickly getting off the boat and if a LEO is nearby watching>>>>The Capt has met the requirement of dropping ALL the divers withing 300ft of the DM flag. If a capt has a slow passenger, he will yell to the deckhand, STOP letting diver's off. He'll confirm the water is safe to engage the props and then reposition the boat to meet the 300ft rule usually infront of the now moving DM flag so the slower divers can drop down & the join the DM + group.

Under this diver deployment, the responsibility is on the individual diver to stay within 300ft of the flag. It's not the captain's responsibility after he has correctly deployed the divers if those diver's 'stray". It's also not the DM's responsibility if the other's 'stray' because the DM is never lost since they are holding the flag line. If a diver has not been diving in a long while they will be required to hire a private guide that pulls a flag and makes sure they stay within 300ft. The only Captain requirement is to deploy the diver within 300ft of the flag, then the responsibility shifts to the diver.

So why does 'south of WPB' make all diver groups carry their own flag. Simply because the captain can not get all the divers's off the boat quick enough to meet the 300ft rule on an everyday basis. It's much easier to meet the requirements to deploy a group of 4 divers with a single flag than it is to put 20 diver's with a single flag. Boats south of WPB can certainly do the same as Jup/WPB, but in their experience the deployment time to get all the diver's in the water exceeds the 300ft statue rule.

Lastly to muddy up the toilet bowl futher,,,,,Then why do south FLA captains due 'split drops" which exceed the 300ft statue? I don't know and I wouldn't do it. Also there are a thousand different " What If " scenarios from other posters that I can't or won't answer "WHY?" BUT the statue is 300ft just like the school zone speed limit is 20mph and people still get passed by others with kids standing next to the X-guard.

 

[scubadada]

The groups dropped in Boynton tend to be small. The separate drops make it less likely you will encounter other divers. I usually dive solo and often do not encounter another diver during my dives, just like I want it. There are exceptions and I dive with buddies sometimes. My last dive with @Johnoly was fantastic, he attracted a Great Hammerhead on the 1st dive and a huge Eagle Ray on the 2nd

 

[MrChen]

The groups dropped in Boynton tend to be small. The separate drops make it less likely you will encounter other divers. I usually dive solo and often do not encounter another diver during my dives, just like I want it. There are exceptions and I dive with buddies sometimes. My last dive with @Johnoly was fantastic, he attracted a Great Hammerhead on the 1st dive and a huge Eagle Ray on the 2nd

He must have yellow fins

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Probably want to steer clear of Loggerhead bookings for the next month. Just posted today.

 

[CosbySweater]

Probably want to steer clear of Loggerhead bookings for the next month. Just posted today.

View attachment 794992

Good. I was on loggerhead Saturday and it smokes like a chimney.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Good. I was on loggerhead Saturday and it smokes like a chimney.

You probably got to experience the last dying breath of the current engine.

 

[CosbySweater]

You probably got to experience the last dying breath of the current engine.

Good riddance! Diesel fumes are a sure fire way to make me sea sick. It can be dead flat but if I’m huffing fumes all day I’m also blowing chunks. Can’t stand the smell.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Good riddance! Diesel fumes are a sure fire way to make me sea sick. It can be dead flat but if I’m huffing fumes all day I’m also blowing chunks. Can’t stand the smell.

Same here! The one time I lost my breakfast over the side was on a pretty calm charter with a chain-smoking captain along with a diesel-smoke-puffing engine. Those are my two sure-fire vomit triggers.

I'm with you 100%!!

 

[bassplayer]

Question for the locals - I booked with Starfish Scuba for saturday, first time diving Boynton. Should I bring a pony and plan to dive solo? (is the navigation pretty easy even not knowing the sites)
Am I likely to run into anyone else looking for a buddy?
Should I bring my flag and a reel? or can i just get by with a dsmb to surface with?