Diving West Palm

[Scubakevdm]

Going to West Palm FL. first week in April. Looking for dive op recommendations. Also how is the diving there. I have a 7 mil wet suit should I bring it or rent something lighter.

Definately bring the 7mm. Grab a hood too, if you have one. The water temps are usually on the rise by april, but are still only around 73 or 74 dgrees. Here's a handy dandy average water and air temp chart for this area. Have a great trip!

 

[DMdoogie]

I used a 7 mil with hooded vest this week in WPB and was plenty warm. Water temp this week was 71-72. The advantage of colder water in winter is the increased visability and large, deep water fish on the reefs.
DMdoogie

 

[Oceandvr]

To those who don't live in West Palm - where do you stay when you visit?

Thanks!

 

[del_mo]

To those who don't live in West Palm - where do you stay when you visit?

Thanks!

In the fall, you can get a nice one bedroom condo for a week for "cheap"....like $300. This spring, we are going to stay (God have mercy on us) in a Motel 6. Still going to be $80 per night with tax.

 

[FireDiver443]

I guess it's all what you're used to. Also being from NY, I chuckled a little bit when I watched DMDoogie getting into his 7mm as I got in to my 3/2 full. I wore a hooded vest underneath and was toasty, but my wife was fine in her 3/2 shorty. The way we figure it, even in January when the locals are on deck wearing their parkas, if we don't see snow on the shore, the water's JUST FINE!

For the record, Doug, we got 21 for the week. Hope you enjoyed the opera... It was great to see you.

Like my esteemed colleague Firediver32, we've dived with Jim Abernethy quite a bit and still go out with him if Sandy's boat is full or isn't going out. And if you like sharks, contact Jim about a MV Shearwater live aboard trip. We had a ball on our last one.

 

[Ironcat]

Where are you guys from that you need a 7mm for South Florida? I am no expert but I used a 2+2 shortie in February for my certification and I was just fine with 68 - 69 degree water... Granted, I have a little insulation but I am not a manatee.
Going out this weekend in the same shortie for water temps low to mid 70s.

 

[DMdoogie]

We are the guys who have lived and dived in Florida for so long that our blood gets thin, so the song goes. We get spoiled by 82 degree Summer temps, so 72 feels like the Arctic to us. Don't forget that heat equal calories, and a huge expense of calories occurs in water colder than 98.6. Some of us Florida DMs lose weight so fast, we have to eat all we can to keep up to a normal weight.
I've found that the older I get, the colder I get, so age plays a part.

The important thing is that being comfortable in the water makes a safer dive. Wear whatever you need to be comfortable. Hypothermia may add to the risk of DCS. I know several divers who wear dry suits in Florida in the winter, they know the risks and are taking the precautions they think are necessary.
DMdoogie

 

[DMdoogie]

For Firediver 443
Next time you dive WPB, we'll go to the Firefighter Memorial. It's a 2.5 ton sculpture on the bottom, WNW of the stern of the Gilbert Sea in the Governor's Riverwalk group of wrecks.
DMdoogie

 

[DMdoogie]

The bottom temp was 74 yesterday. I stripped down to my 5 mil suit. It's almost the end of the lobster season, so most of them have migrated North to Jupiter or have gone deep. I picked up a few in the 85-95 foot deep patches.

 

[thedaddy]

...The first dive was called Corridor, three wrecks aligned one after the other around 82 fsw, then we did three reef dives, Mid Reef (80 fsw) then Flower Garden and then Breakers Reef both about 60 fsw. ...

I second the recommendation for the Flower Gardens and add to that the North Doubles (ledges) at 90fsw. Cool drift diving and lots of wildlife.