Diving West Palm Beach, FL

[EndlessDiver4326]

We recently went on a weekend dive trip to one of our favorite hot spots, West Palm Beach!! We decided to try a new charter boat for our diving, Emerald Charters through Scuba Express...WHAT A MISTAKE!! The boat captain, Tony, was great but everything else was horrible. First, we were told by phone when we booked the charter that they would be doing reefs and shallower dives. That was not the case!! All dives were atleast 90 feet and the boat was full (except the 4 of us) with spearfishers. They were not even that experienced...they almost shot themselves a couple times and one guy cut his own hand pretty badly and there was no first aid kit on board the boat. We were used to spearfishers being on the boat with us but being dropped in a slightly different location so that there was no blood in the water with us or worry that we would be speared instead of a fish. We saw absolutely no reefs and were expected to pull the fish on the boat for them!! What a disaster!! Then, they lost a dive in the water for 45 minutes. Needless to say the third dive of the day was cancelled because of our long delay and the fact that the ladder broke on the second dive didn't help. The divemaster was more concerned about spearfishing than helping anyone that needed it. Once back at the dock the owner of Scuba Express refused to give us our refund on the third dive eventhough it was not our fault OR the money back from the rental tank for the third dive that we didn't even get to use. We felt that was totally unfair!! He kept $140 of money that should have been refunded to us!! It was by far the worst dive experience any of us have had in a long time!! So take my warning...DO NOT DIVE WITH SCUBA EXPRESS...PERIOD!! My recomendation is to use Narcosis. The captain/owner, Van, is awesome...he has everything that you could possibly need. Elaine, his divemaster, is GREAT...very attentive and knowledgeable about anything you need to know about diving in the area. She stays with the group underwater and does amazing videography of the dives!! BUY HER DVDs!! The best spot for tank fills is Pure Evida...Dean, the owner, is a great guy!! Luckily, Van squeezed us onto his boat for the rest of the weekend. THANK YOU NARCOSIS!!

 

[Johnoly]

I don't work for either company you mentioned, but I do enjoy diving with Emerald Charters. You have some misconceptions posted in your report.

.... All dives were atleast 90 feet and the boat was full (except the 4 of us) with spearfishers.

The reefs curve outwards from the land in the Jupiter area so this makes almost all the dives in Jupiter in the 80-95 foot range. Yes you can find some shallower, but the visibility typically suffers greatly. Most divers will tell you the Jupiter is not like West Palm diving (ie, Breakers & Flower Gardens)

...they almost shot themselves a couple times............

Most spearguns used in Jupiter are 5 feet or longer with the trigger near the butt end. It would be rather difficult to shoot yourself other than in the foot since your arms are not long enough to pull the trigger. I understand you are new around spearfishing and not familar with the mechanicals of the gun, but until those rubberbands at the top are stretched and cocked, it is impossible for the gun to go off. Any spearo will tell you that bands are never stretched until you are underwater and also released underwater.

On a side note, did you happen to enjoy seeing some of the many sharks and Goliath Groupers that we have in Jupiter?

 

[deepstops]

We recently went on a weekend dive trip to one of our favorite hot spots, West Palm Beach!! We decided to try a new charter boat for our diving, Emerald Charters through Scuba Express...

Emerald Charters runs in Jupiter and I thought they worked through a shop called Scuba Works, not Scuba Express......

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

I've been with Emerald Charters and had a totally different experience. I found it to be a well run boat. Granted, my trip with them was a CCR-only charter with very experienced divers. We did a three tank trip with each dive requiring deco. Each diver shot a bag on the way to their first deco stop and we were doing drift deco for upwards of 30 minutes on one dive. Randy and his crew were outstanding, very safety minded, and right there for all of the pick-ups. And the luch provided was great! As mentioned above, Jupiter diving is deeper than West Palm and some charters cater to different types of divers than others. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but please realize this is not necessarily the norm.

However, I agree with you completely that Narcosis is also a great operator. I'm glad you enjoyed your diving with them.

 

[jupitermermaid]

EndlessDiver, you need to be more accurate in your post. There is an Emerald Charters that runs out of Jupiter (or more accurately, Hobe Sound). They use Scuba Works as a dive shop, which is located also in Hobe Sound near the boat. Randy runs the boat, and is well known for his advanced dives and love of spearfishing and deeper dives (which, in Jupiter, are deeper than West Palm anyway due to the location of sites) . When you go out with him, you dive your own dive and are expected to know what you are doing and be responsible for yourself. Many advanced divers appreciate this as they don't feel like they are being babysat, and are even entertained when they observe Randy in action. Narcosis runs out of West Palm Beach along with many other charters, and is, as you mentioned, a wonderful charter that caters to all types of divers. I am not aware of an Emerald Charters that runs out of West Palm Beach, or Scuba Express. Are you referring to the charter in Hobe Sound and Scuba Works? Or is there another boat with the same name out of West Palm with a different dive shop associated with it?

I understand your frustration, as I also had some issues with a certain boat and dive shop. My personal favorite in Jupiter is Jupiter Dive Center if you want to dive in that area for a change of scenery. They usually drop the spearfisherpersons in a different area than the sightseeing divers (which outweigh the spearfishers). The Narcosis, Pura Vida, Little Deeper, and others are good boats for conservative dives in the West Palm Beach area that doesn't cater to spearfisherpersons, are safety minded and aware of the specific types of dives different divers enjoy.

I'm glad things worked out for you in the end, and you enjoyed your dive with Narcosis. They are good people and a good operation.

 

[rjnjupiter]

You know I wouldn't normally entertain this sort of whining, but you are so far off on your statements. I own the Emerald. We only take good divers out. I don't know how you slipped under the radar. You told the shop you were instructors. You booked 5 people and casually showed up with 4 which caused a lost revenue spot. Not a good diver. On the first dive the guy in your group couldn't get off the surface even with your instruction. He was not a good diver. Your girlfriend put every piece of equipment on wrong, you helped her and even put her fins on for her. She was unable to get down... at least for this dive. Not a good diver. On the second dive I took the lady in your group under my wing. I held her hand and deflated her BC. I kept her steady as she cleared her ears for 10 minutes and I stayed with her for the dive until you finally abandoned your girlfriend that again was unable to go down. You guys then told me all your divers are trained in a quarry somewhere and weren't too used to the ocean. The shop refunded the rentals you didn't use. Scubaworks also didn't charge you for cancelling the next day's trips, after you guaranteed it with your credit card. The only part you got right is that you won't be diving on this boat again. Training agencies establish criteria for Advanced divers. I establish criteria for a good diver. First is courtesy. Others include respect, honesty and self reliance.

 

[deepstops]

Welcome to SB Randy and thank you for outing the git.

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Thanks, Randy, for your input.

 

[netmage]

Welcome to SB Randy and thank you for outing the git.

If only THAT could be added to the TOS....!


Git
1. A completely ignorant, childish person with no manners.
2. A person who feels justified in their callow behaviour.
3. A pubescent kid who thinks it's totally cool to act like a moron on the internet, only because no one can actually reach through the screen and punch their lights out.

 

[ONESPEED]

If only THAT could be added to the TOS....!


Git
1. A completely ignorant, childish person with no manners.
2. A person who feels justified in their callow behaviour.
3. A pubescent kid who thinks it's totally cool to act like a moron on the internet, only because no one can actually reach through the screen and punch their lights out.

Worse still, feels justified jeopardizing someone elses livelihood as a kneejerk reaction to a bad day that was probably self inflicted. I wonder how he would feel if someone jeopardized his livelihood in a public forum?

More importantly, what did his girlfriend look like? It sounds like she needs a new dive buddy.