Disappointed with Florida Key Dive Operations

[Splitlip]

Well guess you can called yourself shocked Dan.

I'll be happy to do your challenge.

Personally I think we both have some nice dive sites, but for you to say diving is better where you are, I think is fairly presumptuous of you?

And here's a video of one of our reefs down here for you to look at.

[video=youtube;BuHaht-lRgE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuHaht-lRgE&hd=1[/video]

Good Diving,

Hey guys, I am not knocking the Keys. I said that. I love Molasses. But if I recall it is a bit of a ride. I love Palm Beach and Jupiter in particular because of the large animals....turtles, Jewfish, rays,etc. I also think the Boynton reefs (South of the Palm Beach inlet) are pretty healthy.

We don't have the Grove or the Vandenberg, but we have the Governors Riverwalk, the barge, the Castor, Capt Tony, Zion Train, Mizpah, Miss Budweiser, etc. They'll all be looking like the Mizpah in a number of years.

Like Dan said, 20 minutes to prime sites. Unless you head to Juno ledge. (my all time most awesome dive anywhere). It's straight off my house. So like exactly halfway between the Jupiter and Palm Beach inlets. Maybe 45 minutes from either. But there is color, sharks, Jewfish, bait balls, bottom fish, paleagics, gin clear water (warmer than the Keys in the Winter...remember "tea and toast from HS chem).

 

[Scott L]

As Dan indicated, its not an either/or situation. Plan on visiting both areas in the same visit if you have more than 4 days available...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

My mistake. I thought I recently read that West Palm got an extension on their permit to discharge. I stand corrected.

West Palm does not have a sewage outfall, but the municipalties to the south discharge treated sewage into the ocean and it makes it's way north. Yes the State legislature just eliminated the previously required phasing out of the discharge of sewage. I watched the proceedings for a short while and the good old boys were joking etc. The guy held up some papers and said he had two letters from DEMA members that SUPPORTED the continued discharge of nutrient ladden, treated sewage into our waters.. it is going to continue now for a LONG time.

 

[Splitlip]

Well, guys. Missing the love. Keys and Palm Beach are to a degree apples and oranges. Keys are more in competition with "caribbean" destinations. I've only been to the BVI, Cancunn and several places in the Bahamas. All on par with the Keys and Tortugas.

If I want that kind of fish bowl pretty dive, I'd stay in these here United States. Keys.

 

[Thalassamania]

I try to avoid fish bowels myself.

 

[Wookie]

I try to avoid fish bowels myself.

I call BS. I'm going to bet you've swimmed (swum?) through parrotfish poop innumerable times.

 

[reefman]

maybe i have to much free time on my hands, but in post #31 it's stated that water temps are warmer in the winter in palm beach than the keys. in reference to diving the keys; inshore patch reefs and bayside water temps, that statement is often correct. reguarding the outside reef tract and the deep wrecks, not so much. having said that, yesterday 2/14, conch republic divers had 76F on the duane and 75F @ snapper ledge, and the scuba club(PBI) noted a water temp of 75F @ north double ledges. today @ molasses i heard 76F. just the facts,,,,,,,,,,,


reefman
key largo

 

[Thalassamania]

I call BS. I'm going to bet you've swimmed (swum?) through parrotfish poop innumerable times.

Heck on some beaches I sleep on in and roll around in it, and I've even swim through whale poop, but that is still not the bowels, per se.

 

[Splitlip]

I call BS. I'm going to bet you've swimmed (swum?) through parrotfish poop innumerable times.

We call that "makin' sand". My college roommate would crack me up when he said he he had to "make sand" as
apposed to "pinching a Larry".i know.."........
Crap. Thought I saw a Pattot fish post. They do make sand. IJS.

 

[danvolker]

a familiar tune from DanVolker; promote his website and bash the florida keys in the process. your quote "you will see far more beautiful reefs, far more healthy and colorful.. exponentially more fish" in west palm beach; is simply ludicrous, doesn't have merit and not factual(pelagics, goliath grouper, lemon shark aggregations, the exception, althought we observe our fair share in the keys). i suggest you endure "the long painful drive" to dive the keys more often and dont forget your video camera. we should all(residents and visitors alike) be grateful to have easy access to such diverse, world class diving along the southeast coast of florida. no need to promote one area at the expense of another, it's all terrific,,,,,,,

reefman
key largo

You are misinterpreting.
In the last 20 years I have been diving all over South Florida and the Keys. One thing that really struck me about the Keys is the large number of boats a vacationing diver could accidentally get on, and end up being forced to dive with babysitters that know little about diving themselves, and who cater almost exclusively to the worst students and worst divers. This is certainly not all Keys boats..some are quite awesome. But there are so many bad ones.....Add to this, the fact that Monroe county spends about 9 million per year advertising the Keys ( last I heard) and the potential for Dive tourists from all over the US to get suckered into a sh*t boat, that operates for the worst divers...exactly what the OP was talking about. This pisses me off. It is blatantly unfair to all the divers that get sucked in by the bad boats...It is also a shame that so many mistakenly believe that the Keys ARE Florida diving. They do get 90% of the dive tourists that go to Florida, and if you ask me, they are being lied to.
I post the way I do because another voice needs to be heard, against the back-drop of millions of dollars of advertising that creates an untrue picture of where these divers SHOULD go in Florida, to get the dive they would enjoy the most.