Drift Dive - Lousy drop - what do you do?

[caruso]

You would probably also enjoy Boynton Beach and Jupiter

Actually the dives I did in West Palm were only because I got canceled in Boynton, which was my original destination.

 

[Ana]

I consider Boynton to be superior to anything I've seen along the east coast, keys and panhandle of Florida. Healthy reefs with greater variety of creatures, big and small.

Just not superior enough to make it worth the trip. Couple of decades ago I'd go out with the Splashdown one Saturday every month, used to buy 10 trips at a time, I forgot the name of the lady that run it. Dives were always perfect but also always hated the drive south, it took away from the great time underwater.

With my current set up in Pompano, I can be transiting out the Hillsboro inlet within 45~50 minutes off leaving my house. From the inlet, there are so many options I end up picking a place within less than 6~8 miles going either north or south.
I guess that's why I enjoy drift dives as much as I do, it's just easy. Splash, go with the flow without too much care of horizontal direction and when the dive is done go up and wait a short moment to get on the boat.

What surprises me is that charters in this area drop divers off the reef as a common occurrence. Many times you can even see the reef from the surface. How could an operator that makes a living off divers, not have locations marked on their instruments and also be familiar with reference points on the shore. It isn't that difficult.

 

[hammet]

@Ana
to clarify, we were dropped perfectly on the eastern edge of the reef. Before the dive, the driver said that there was a very light current north. He said we could head either north or south but the better scenery was north. When we got down, the current was moderately strong and definitely west.
Whether the westerly current was not observed on the surface or just misread by the driver is debateable.

 

[Johnoly]

...Whether the westerly current was not observed on the surface or just misread by the driver is debateable.

I drive our dive boat......As Ana said it's not difficult if you look at at bearing and distance as well as speed on your GPS and then lean your head backwards to look up at the boat's flag direction. But when you are dropping divers, it's ALWAYS the captain's fault if you miss the reef. Our job is to drive/stop the boat in a particular direction at the site so it's impossible for you to miss the reef. If you know the reef runs north and south and just before he yells dive,, and he's got the boat pointed perpendicular to the reef, it's the captain's fault. I don't care if there's 36 divers on the boat and it takes 15 minutes to put them all in,,it's still MY FAULT. (p.s. reefs are not wrecks, that's a different discussion)[/user]

 

[hammet]

again.... we didn't miss the reef. the skipper could've halo jumped us from the stratosphere and we would've hit the reef. He's very familiar with every coral polyp of it. The issue was misjudging the current.

 

[scubadada]

I consider Boynton to be superior to anything I've seen along the east coast, keys and panhandle of Florida. Healthy reefs with greater variety of creatures, big and small.

Just not superior enough to make it worth the trip. Couple of decades ago I'd go out with the Splashdown one Saturday every month, used to buy 10 trips at a time, I forgot the name of the lady that run it. Dives were always perfect but also always hated the drive south, it took away from the great time underwater.

With my current set up in Pompano, I can be transiting out the Hillsboro inlet within 45~50 minutes off leaving my house. From the inlet, there are so many options I end up picking a place within less than 6~8 miles going either north or south.
I guess that's why I enjoy drift dives as much as I do, it's just easy. Splash, go with the flow without too much care of horizontal direction and when the dive is done go up and wait a short moment to get on the boat.

What surprises me is that charters in this area drop divers off the reef as a common occurrence. Many times you can even see the reef from the surface. How could an operator that makes a living off divers, not have locations marked on their instruments and also be familiar with reference points on the shore. It isn't that difficult.

Hi @Ana

You dived with Lynn Simmons. She sold Splashdown, continued to drive for a while, I think she is gone now. There are four operators in
Boynton. I use Underwater Explorers, Loggerhead, and Starfish. Splashdown is also there.

The diving in Boynton Beach is very good, I think the best in SE FL and the Keys. Best diversity, number, and size of reef fish. I also dive in Jupiter and West Palm, complimentary to the diving in Boynton.

 

[johndiver999]

again.... we didn't miss the reef. the skipper could've halo jumped us from the stratosphere and we would've hit the reef. He's very familiar with every coral polyp of it. The issue was misjudging the current.

If the current was WEST, then the captain may well not have been able to predict that. It is quite possible it is upwelling water pushing in from the deep and a surface representation of that current would not be evident since the current would not extend to the surface.

Even if it was not actual upwelling water (COLD) it could be a mass of water in front of it being pushed inward by a wedge of cold water moving along the bottom from the deep,

 

[hammet]

well, there were extreme thermoclines that week with temps varying from the 80s to a low of 68.

 

[wgw04024]

I did Ft. Lauderdale/west palm a couple winters ago. Very unimpressed with the drift dives....all of them.

 

[scubadada]

I did Ft. Lauderdale/west palm a couple winters ago. Very unimpressed with the drift dives....all of them.

Try Boynton Beach and Jupiter