Trip Report My First Year of Local Diving in South Florida

[Skeptic14]

Many of the operators in Jupiter and West Palm put a guide in the water, who you can follow if you choose. I use Jupiter Dive Center, Walker's Charters, Narcosis, and Pura Vida as examples. This frees you up from having to carry a flag or from buddying up with folks you do not know. This might be an easier intro to drift diving, as none of the operators in Boynton Beach put a guide in the water.

The photos at the end of my recent trip report were all taken in Jupiter and West Palm with ambient light and a compact camera, Canon G7X Trip Report - Back in SE FL 2021 part 6 I have other reviews with photos in this forum

Hey @scubadada that's kinda where I'm leaning... I'd definitely prefer not to have to drag a flag with my camera rig on first drift dives. Leaning pura vida too based on your and few other SE FL divers posts here.

 

[CosbySweater]

Hey @scubadada that's kinda where I'm leaning... I'd definitely prefer not to have to drag a flag with my camera rig on first drift dives. Leaning pura vida too based on your and few other SE FL divers posts here.

Can't go wrong with Pura Vida. They're top notch in Northern PBC.

Where in VA are you from? I lived there until about 15 months ago.

 

[drrich2]

The Keys seem to get most of the press and publicity, e.g. articles and advertisements in dive magazines, booths for operators at trade shows, etc., perhaps because they have more of an out-of-state customer base. I knew about the Keys from my regular consumption of dive content before I ever moved to Florida. I only discovered the full extent and variety of diving in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties by making a point of proactively researching it in whatever sources I could find (it is not as well-documented as the Keys scene), and also from word of mouth once I got on local boats and started talking to local divers.

Yes, the upper Keys do, and there's a lot to like about them. Glad to hear your impressions about the other options, too. Following up on that, I'm curious about something...

At least in the past when I looked at organized trip offerings from regional dive shops, clubs, etc..., in the greater region from where I'm at, I noticed what amounted to 'long weekend' trips to dive North Carolina's offshore wrecks for 2 days were fairly common. Understandable...historic wrecks and sand tiger sharks!

But I don't recall fall trips (for goliath grouper) or winter trips (for lemon sharks) to Jupiter. I wonder why not? People from around here travel. I've seen trips for Key Largo and Panama City Beach, or to dive with whale sharks in the Georgia Aquarium. Seems like Jupiter ought to be a big offering.

After all, one of the common requests on ScubaBoard regarding destinations is a desire to see 'big stuff.'

I have considered buying my own tanks to lower costs in the long-term but hesitated due to my uncertainty about how long I will live here and because I would want 8-12 of them to fill in advance for a normal or extended weekend of diving 4 dives per day.

Would that me lower cost than just renting? Not just tank price, but viz. and hydro., having to get them filled and lug them around...sounds like a lot of hassle.

Key Largo has many different dive operations, but the one that stands out among local divers for its stellar reputation and excellent service is Horizon Divers.

Did they offer 'free' guide service by chance? Any idea what their policy is on solo divers? Did they require you have have a clearly set buddy, or could you just sort of dive with the group?

They have the advantage of a bunkhouse at their retail location, which provides affordable lodging for those that do not want to shell out for the ridiculously overpriced hotels in the Keys.

Thank you for this. With 'retirement budget' in mind, considering how often people lament the price of lodging in the upper Keys, this is good to know.

 

[gamon]

Great write-up,

Edited by Moderator

That much being said, Florida seems to be a great place to live if you don't mind the heat- which as you said takes some adjusting to, but as I get older I'm thinking Florida heat beats NY winters.

I didn't know Horizon provides cheap "bunkhouse" lodging, thanks for that tip, I'm going to check it out on my next solo trip.

Although I snore. Might make some other cheapo travelers miserable.

 

[Jcp2]

Yes, the upper Keys do, and there's a lot to like about them. Glad to hear your impressions about the other options, too. Following up on that, I'm curious about something...

At least in the past when I looked at organized trip offerings from regional dive shops, clubs, etc..., in the greater region from where I'm at, I noticed what amounted to 'long weekend' trips to dive North Carolina's offshore wrecks for 2 days were fairly common. Understandable...historic wrecks and sand tiger sharks!

But I don't recall fall trips (for goliath grouper) or winter trips (for lemon sharks) to Jupiter. I wonder why not? People from around here travel. I've seen trips for Key Largo and Panama City Beach, or to dive with whale sharks in the Georgia Aquarium. Seems like Jupiter ought to be a big offering.

After all, one of the common requests on ScubaBoard regarding destinations is a desire to see 'big stuff.'

Would that me lower cost than just renting? Not just tank price, but viz. and hydro., having to get them filled and lug them around...sounds like a lot of hassle.

Did they offer 'free' guide service by chance? Any idea what their policy is on solo divers? Did they require you have have a clearly set buddy, or could you just sort of dive with the group?

Thank you for this. With 'retirement budget' in mind, considering how often people lament the price of lodging in the upper Keys, this is good to know.

I think the main plus of owning a couple of tanks is that you can have a better sense of weighting if you know what you use, and if you have steel tanks you can also reduce the absolute dry weight you carry.

 

[scubadada]

I think the main plus of owning a couple of tanks is that you can have a better sense of weighting if you know what you use, and if you have steel tanks you can also reduce the absolute dry weight you carry.

If you always dive rental AL80s, you know exactly how much weight you need with any wetsuit or combo. Yes, you will use about 4 lbs more than if you dived with a steel cylinder.

 

[Jcp2]

HP80 also 6 pounds lighter than AL80, so total weight delta is 10 pounds less.

 

[jlcnuke]

Would that me lower cost than just renting? Not just tank price, but viz. and hydro., having to get them filled and lug them around...sounds like a lot of hassle.

Did they offer 'free' guide service by chance? Any idea what their policy is on solo divers? Did they require you have have a clearly set buddy, or could you just sort of dive with the group?

T

Buying tanks is more about convenience for most people than actually saving money. If you want to be able to go diving "whenever", or take a bunch of tanks places they aren't regularly available, or use tanks not normally available for rent, then you buy tanks.

Horizon divers hasn't put a guide in on any of the trips I've done with them, and they require either a buddy or that you are certified as a self-reliant/solo diver and fill out that waiver with them as well if you don't have a buddy.

 

[scubadada]

HP80 also 6 pounds lighter than AL80, so total weight delta is 10 pounds less.

In water weighting difference between an AL80 and a steel 80 is about 5 lbs. For a steel 100, it is about 4 lbs

 

[Jcp2]

View attachment 696581
In water weighting difference between an AL80 and a steel 80 is about 5 lbs. For a steel 100, it is about 4 lbs

I was referring to dry weight. On land. For those of us that dive without falling off the back of a boat.