Fort Lauderdale Recs

[homelessdoc]

Hey Gang,
heading down to Ft. Lauderdale the week of President's Day. Will probably only have one day to dive. What boat should I use for the best experience? And if you know them well, I also have a mother and brother who MIGHT want to come along as bubble watchers if the boat is large enough and has a head (I prefer smaller boats, but mom is 79 (TODAY!!) and will need something a little more spacious). So, modified question. Which boat if it's just me (experienced, cold water diver) and which boat if I have family along? Thanks for your help.

-Jonathan

 

[sportxlh]

I'm not sure any boat will be all that great for a 79 year old, unless that person is in good shape. Winter conditions can be pretty bumpy and even a big stable boat can jump around a bit when the waves kick up. I'm not sure I'd want to sit on a boat watching bubbles in rough conditions. I do dive occasionally with a couple of 72+ year olds but they are in great physical condition: one squats some impressive weight at the gym.

With that said, if I were taking a non-diver out to watch bubbles, I'd choose one of South Florida Dive Headquarters big pontoon type boats on a shallow dive. The boats are stable and they'll actually be able to see the reef on a shallow dive site.

If I were going out myself without non-divers and doing a deeper dive, I'd choose SFDHQ's smaller boat (or one of the bigger boats if it is going to a deeper site), Pompano Dive Center or Scubatyme. There are other boats too, but these three are the only ones I used with any amount of regularity.

None of the boats have great heads: they have them, but they are not nice.

 

[aquaholly]

South Florida Diving Headquarters is a little more north than Ft. Lauderdale.
Sea Experience has a very spacious Corinthian pontoon boat but like sportxlh mentioned the waves can be a bit choppy this time of year.
I prefer American Dream Dive Charters, they have a Newton, the boat is spacious but cater more to divers than bubble watchers.
Both boats have awesome crew and provide snacks and sodas, I have done 50-100 dives with each this past year.

 

[drrich2]

On a cruise ship excursion from St. Martin to Anguila, I believe it was, I went in the head on the boat transporting us. It was not a dive excursion nor were we on a dive boat, and this was way back in '06, but what happened was enough to lead me to bring this up.

We were warned about going into that enclosed head & shutting the door, coupled with the motion of the boat, causing sea sickness. I don't normally get bothered with sea sickness. Let me tell you, that time zapped me with it pretty fast.

Since then, I stay out of boat heads. As a diver, I can usually take care of the problem in the ocean. Bubble watchers not so much.

Any of the rest of you care to comment on how likely people using the head are to get sea sickness? Maybe it's not an issue on the dive boats.

Richard.