Deerfield Beach/Embassy Suites

[scallop]

Will be in Deerfield Beach Dec. 23-26 and staying at the Embassy Suites on the beach. I have read that there is a reef just off the beach in front of the hotel. Anyone provide any info on it? How far out, depth, condition ect. Would these be easy dives for 2 novice divers without a guide? Would be myself and my 12yr old son both with under 10 dives total. Is this an area that would have a tidal window, if so what is best time to dive (high tide, low tide ect. I know times change daily) or does it really not matter? Would this be an area that it is easy to get lost in or pretty simple navigation? Best local dive shop to rent tanks/weights/flag?

 

[danvolker]

There is an old wreck, with boilers showing ( and maybe alot more now after Hurricaine Sandy!) at the South end of the beach. It is a very easy beach dive, but keep in mind, beach dives are easy for most people when there are no waves...as the surf gets bigger, this becomes more of an "advanced diving" event.

You also might want to look into renting a paddleboard with a leash you can put a longer line on, and then tow the paddleboard behind you.....If you have SUP skills, then there are several other very cool dive sites that will be "unlocked" for you For the moment, the SUP is really functinal only for snorkel/freediivng, but Brownies Third Lung is about to release an accessory kit opening up the boards to be used as a Surface Supplied Air platform! ( tank stays on the board, you dive with a long hose to 20 feet or so....When tank gets low, audible alarm sounds.

 

[sportxlh]

never dove it, but recall that there was some info out on the internet

Scuba Shore Diving Site Page for: Deerfield Ledges of Florida, USA East

Scuba Shore Diving Site Page for: North Deerfield Ledges of Florida, USA East

BEACH DIVE (scroll down for this one)

South Florida Local Beach Diving Sites

 

[purepursuit]

I have dove it. There are pilings and a reef not very far out. It'll definitely be condition dependent and I would suggest booking a boat dive and or a trip to Blue Heron Bridge during high tide to supplement the trip.

 

[Reck Diver]

There is an old wreck, with boilers showing ( and maybe alot more now after Hurricaine Sandy!) at the South end of the beach.

Let me step in to help here. The wreck in the above quote is at the south end of Delray Beach. There are no wrecks close the shore at Deerfield.

There is however one of the best beach dives in Pompano, just south of Deerfield. Look up the 6th Street Reef. It's a 10 minute swim from the shore. On any given day you can see just about anything that swims.

The Deerfield ledges can be very good for lobster if you are licensed to kill.

 

[danvolker]

Let me step in to help here. The wreck in the above quote is at the south end of Delray Beach. There are no wrecks close the shore at Deerfield.

There is however one of the best beach dives in Pompano, just south of Deerfield. Look up the 6th Street Reef. It's a 10 minute swim from the shore. On any given day you can see just about anything that swims.

The Deerfield ledges can be very good for lobster if you are licensed to kill.

Sorry, for some unknown reason, I could of sworn the OP was talking about DelRay.
Thanks for fixing this.

 

[fdarden]

I realize you asked specifically about Deerfield/Embassy suites area to dive. Its an OK shore dive there, but youll probably want to expand your horizons a bit If you really want to dive from the beach you might consider joining the Gold Coast Scuba meetup group. They dive all week every week, and primarily from shore. Great way to not only get some great dives in, but also to meet some very friendly local divers, and get a chance to dive with people that know the areas well. You can find them here. Please note that I am not affiliated with Gold Coast Scuba other than being a member of the group myself! They dive the Datura/LBTS/Commercial pier reef, as its very close to shore, an excellent shore dive, and close to the shop that runs the meetup. Depending on how good a swimmer you are, you can swim out to the mooring balls, and then a little further easy to the dropoff there, and see some amazing sea-life. My first up-close encounter with a hammer-head shark was there on a night dive.

Gold Coast Scuba Divers (954) 616-5909 (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - Meetup

 

[scallop]

Thanks for the replys, due to time constraints and other commitments probably the only chance of squeezing in a dive would be doing one right from the hotel beach. Being as our open ocean experience is very limited (actually limited on all exp.) I am a bit shaky on just me and the boy being on our own. Based on what everyone has said looks like my best bet will be to assess the conditions when we get there and make a decision at that time. Looks like our only opportunity would be maybe late afternoon on the 23rd or sometime on the 24th. Seems that if conditions are right this would be a fairly easy/shallow dive that we should be able to handle.

 

[SinkFloridaSink]

There is/was some ledges infront of the Embassy Hotel. I dived them over the summer. it was an easy dive with a TON of turtles, cowfish and yellowrays. My max depth was around 16ft.

AFTER hurricane Isaac, I revisited this area around Sept 1 with three buddies and the ledges were covered in sand. we saw ZERO fish, about 20 lobster walking and no reef.
Our max depth was 35ft (after noticing the reef was covered in sand, we continued to swim east).

Sandy might have uncovered it, but I havent been back.