Emrald Coast Diving Questions

[Ramon6249]

Kind of a 2 part question..

Breif history : Diving for about 8 years, various islands in the Caribbean. An average of about 6 dives a year on vacations. So not a whole lot of xp, but I feel comfortable in the water.

Question : When I dive in The Caribbean it is ushally a dive shop with a daily trip of 2 tanks, and most times with 2 dive master / guides. I have never been diving in the states, but most people I talk to say it is a little more of " you are certified, you know what to do, good luck ". The one place I looked up said they go to a few random spots and you CAN hire a dive master / guide for an extra fee. This is a bit strange to me, is this the standard in the states?

Question : I am also looking at going to Morrison Springs. I dont see many shops go there for dive tours, but they say you can dive there. The pictures look nice for a relaxing freashwater dive. Does anyone have any xp with diving at this location?


Thanks for any info.

 

[drrich2]

...is this the standard in the states?

I don't know about northwestern coastal Florida. You did ask about 'the states,' so just in case you're speaking more generally of the U.S. charter dive boat scene, I'll post a bit.

In the Florida Keys, specifically Key Largo, it varies. Rainbow Reef Dive Center puts guides in the water at no added charge, but not all the op.s down there do; in fact that is a 'selling point' for Rainbow Reef.

I've been in contact with Jupiter Dive Center, which operates out of Jupiter, Florida, an east coast location, and from what I understand they put a guide in the water, but you can hire a private dive master for $75 if you wish.

From what I've seen posted by others, a number of coastal California charter boats basically act like a taxi service; they take you out to the dive site, give you a dive briefing, and the dive master stays on the boat while the customers do their dives.

My point with all this is, speaking of 'the states' generally, there doesn't seem to be a standard. It varies somewhat by location and individual charter boat operator. If you want a private dive guide, plan to pay per trip, and they may charge by the person or a given price for up to so many & an added charge for more.

Richard.

 

[bamafan]

Morrison Springs is a county park. There are some shops who use it for dive training at times. It is basically show up and dive. There might be a shop that has a group dive scheduled but I am not aware of any that do it regularly. I would guess you might contact some of the local shops and hire a divemaster for the day if you want.

As far as the dive boats around PCB they generally have a DM on the dives. If you want to hang with them you can or go do your on thing.

 

[sportxlh]

Northern Palm Beach County boats supply guides, the dives are drift dives and one of the guide's main responsibilities is to hold the reel and float line so the dive boat knows where divers are. The diving is semi-deep and if you're breathing air, you'll be surfacing solo or with your buddy since most locals breath nitrox and the guides come up with the last diver. The guides do point out interesting things like sharks, eels, turtles, etc. but that is somewhat secondary to their main dutues. Unlike some resort areas, the guides don't babysit the divers.

Most of the rest of southeast Florida and Keys dive boats do not provide guides. There are few exceptions like Rainbow Reef in Key Largo but not many others.

If you really want private service, you can hire a private guide at almost any shop/boat in Florida.