Jupiter Dive Thread

[Johnoly]

I lost a nice BigBlue dive light on Scarface/Jupiter High Ledge today..

That's a high traffic dive site so some diver will definitely find it. Glad to hear good conditions have returned and thanks for the dive report!!

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I went out with Jupiter Dive Center on Sunday 7/11 on their 3-tank charter. We did Area 51, Spadefish Point, and Captain Kirle's. It was a great day on the water! 1-2' seas, blue water and sunny to partly sunny skies. No rain offshore at all. Current was all over the place. From slack to moderate, west pull to east pull, in general it was a slow to moderate north current. Blue water, 40-60' viz, 81-83F.

Turtles, turtles so many turtles! Pretty sharky as well, mostly reef, a few nurse and a couple of lemons. A few goliath grouper. Nice schools of snapper/grunt and a sizeable school of jack crevalle. All of the usual tropicals.

Here are a few videos that are just a fraction of the turtles we saw. Captain Kirle's was especially turtly. 15-20 easily but I stopped county so I can't be certain. I was able to see hawksbill, green and loggerhead on that dive. It is always a treat to hit the "turtle trifecta" on one dive! Jupiter is the only place I've ever done that. The Captain Kirle's dive was one of those times.

Loggerhead resting on a sea fan for a cleaning


Foraging hawksbill


Cruising loggerhead #1


Cruising loggerhead #2


Large Male Green

 

[CosbySweater]

Great report and videos @JimBlay. I'm glad that conditions were good for you. The Hawksbill's are my favorite as they're indifferent to divers and wont flee when you get up close for a picture/video.

 

[CosbySweater]

The diving has been pretty darn good around Jupiter and Palm beach the last several weeks. We've been experiencing consistent 80+ degree water, calmer winds and seas, and decent viz in the 40-60 foot range on average. Lots of turtles are still on the reefs and the beaches are covered in nests. The Loggerhead Marine Life Center is reporting over 11,000 nests between Juno and Tequesta. I had the pleasure of watching a few Leatherback hatchlings make their way to the ocean for the first time on Sunday morning. It was an unforgettable experience (and a relatively rare one at that, as the leatherback nests make up only around 2% of the total nests in our area).

I'm planning to get out this weekend for a couple wreck dives around WPB and likely some more deep reef action off Jupiter. Who else is diving this weekend?

Looking forward to mini season next week. I'm on a 3-tanker with JDC (@Johnoly, I think we're on the same boat). This will be my first mini season.

 

[Johnoly]

.... I'm on a 3-tanker with JDC (@Johnoly, I think we're on the same boat). This will be my first mini season.

It's going to be ALOT of fun. {Tip=Bring 1 additional neoprene wetsuit/vest} Even if it just sits on the boat and you never use it, but 59 degree upwhellings regularly happen on mini-season. The 3 tanker should help us limit out if they keep us in 90ft deep
Great Leather Back photo - I've seen them on the surface but never underwater.

 

[Manatee Diver]

With the aggregate coming up we should do a Scubaboard weekend for it. Maybe a day on the Castor and a Jupiter wreck trek?

 

[CosbySweater]

With the aggregate coming up we should do a Scubaboard weekend for it. Maybe a day on the Castor and a Jupiter wreck trek?

I’m in to it. Let me look at the boat schedules and I’ll propose a few dates.

 

[CosbySweater]

It's going to be ALOT of fun. {Tip=Bring 1 additional neoprene wetsuit/vest} Even if it just sits on the boat and you never use it, but 59 degree upwhellings regularly happen on mini-season. The 3 tanker should help us limit out if they keep us in 90ft deep
Great Leather Back photo - I've seen them on the surface but never underwater.

Good call on the extra wetsuit! If you bring the pancake sausages I’ll bring some fruit and maybe another snack to share with everyone!

 

[Manatee Diver]

I’m in to it. Let me look at the boat schedules and I’ll propose a few dates.

Split it out into a separate thread.

Unoffical Scubaboard Goliath Grouper Aggregate weekend...

 

[CosbySweater]

Quick Jupiter update!

It's been a great late-summer season here in Jupiter. I've been out just about every weekend since mid July. I hit the Jupiter Wreck Trek and the MG111 this past weekend and there are still some GG's on both sites - more on the MG111. I saw maybe 20-25 on the MG111 and 10-15 on the Wreck Trek. Not as many of the SB group saw late last month, but certainly enough to entertain. Not very sharky as of late - a few Reefies and Nurse sharks here and there. Same with turtles - you may find a lone Loggerhead or Hawksbill lurking around the reef. The GG's are main attraction now. The water is still nice and warm but there are mild (5-6 degree) thermoclines here and there. Viz has consistently been 50+ with several days of 70+. Overall, late summer diving has been great!