Trip Report My First Year of Local Diving in South Florida

[Manatee Diver]

One other thing. One year of diving in this warm water.. yeah, the second year its cold! LOL..

What that never happens.

*Zips up drysuit*

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I knew a diver who moved here from MIchigan. He couldn't understand why Florida divers were so wimpy using a drysuit in the winter balmy water temps..
The following year he understood.

I'm diving a 5mm right now and freezing! Course I don't really swim around much, and have some pretty long bottom times..

 

[Ironborn]

I knew a diver who moved here from MIchigan. He couldn't understand why Florida divers were so wimpy using a drysuit in the winter balmy water temps..
The following year he understood.

I'm diving a 5mm right now and freezing! Course I don't really swim around much, and have some pretty long bottom times..

It has taken a while, but living in Florida has just barely started to impact my cold tolerance, which was high even by New Yorker standards when I first moved here. For example, I remember diving the Spiegel Grove in the dead of winter earlier this year and not even noticing that it was 68 degrees at depth in my 3mil, until I got back on the boat and wondered why other people were shivering. My most recent dives were in Jupiter two weeks ago, and I definitely noticed the beginning of the winter temperature change but was still comfortable in my 3mil with a hood and gloves (for shark diving safety, not for thermal protection.) The cold does not bother me yet, but at least I notice it now.

I still find it funny that people in Miami find 60 degree air temperatures to be cold, such that they start wearing hats, heavier coats, and boots.

 

[gamon]

Conch Republic. Cap't Gary used to be on SB years back. Good guy. Good operation.

Conch is my go to dive op when I'm in the Keys. One thing I really like is that even if you're only one diver, if the schedule is open Brenda will schedule your choice of dives including double dips on wrecks if that's what you want. I was just there last week and did the SG, the Duane and the Eagle, double dips on all 3. The weather was crappy for the first 1.5 days so Brenda moved things around to accommodate me and I got all my requested dives in, even though the weather was marginal on one day they still went out.

One issue to be mindful of- when I arrived for my first dive and intended to pay, Brenda said "we can settle up at the end". All good- except she neglected to mention that they offer a multi trip discount card which would have saved me $150 between me and my buddy. Yes it's on a paper taped to the desk but still.. and when I noticed it at the end of the week she said "we already gave you a 3% discount because you paid via cash rather than credit card". As far as I'm concerned the two things are not related.

So make sure you pay in advance and get that multi trip discount if you're going to do several trips with them.

As far as the cold water goes- I decided after last week the next time I dive in Florida from December through February I'm going to use my 5mm hooded wetsuit. The 3/2 just isn't cutting it for my anymore.

It's an age thing

 

[Manatee Diver]

It has taken a while, but living in Florida has just barely started to impact my cold tolerance, which was high even by New Yorker standards when I first moved here.

I moved here in February from Wisconsin, we went to the beach, swimming, and all the other things in 58 degree gulf water. Years later I would never do that.

 

[chillyinCanada]

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It doesn't matter whether people have thick or thin skin, this is not a forum for expressing political views of any stripe.

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[Pipehorse]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

There has been a posts and thread cleanup.

It doesn't matter whether people have thick or thin skin, this is not a forum for expressing political views of any stripe.

We agree that the OP has written an excellent report and appreciate very much that OP didn't engage with those critical of the political inclusion.

We have now edited the report to trim out the political comments and due to such, further edited and or deleted posts in the same regard.

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Thank you!

 

[stronj1]

The Future

The opportunity to dive locally in South Florida has literally changed my life as a diver. I can dive more frequently and in shorter bursts on weekends without having to travel internationally or even out of state. The two dive operations in Miami are just fifteen minutes from my home. Diving locally has greatly improved my skills as a diver and a photographer by giving me more frequent practice, more opportunities to learn and experiment, and greater familiarity with the local environment. I no longer feel the need to cram all the highlights and as many dives as possible into a limited window of time on a longer trip overseas; I can take my time and achieve my goals at my leisure and at my own pace.

I kept telling myself last year that I should use this opportunity to do more training and expand my skills and certifications beyond AOWD and Nitrox. I had previously been reluctant to use my limited travel time overseas for courses, but now that I live here I have plenty of weekend time to spare. I nonetheless kept procrastinating and was more interested in exploring these new environments. Now that I have settled down and familiarized myself with the area, I can take the time to invest in training that will further enrich my experiences. Wrecks are a significant feature of the underwater landscape here, so I will probably do a wreck diving course. Many of these wrecks, and even some of the reefs in Jupiter, are quite deep or even below recreational depths, so I will also probably pursue some light/introductory tech diving courses as well. I have also been meaning to do a Self-Reliant Diver course for years, ever since I first went to Bonaire. I now have more of a use case for that certification, since my reliance on “instabuddies” does have its occasional downsides and separations are not uncommon in these environments, with occasionally strong currents and sub-optimal visibility.

There is nonetheless still much for me to explore. I am curious as to what the rest of the Keys, such as Islamorada and Marathon, might be like, or if they are just another Key Largo without two of Key Largo's highlights (the Spiegel Grove and Horizon Divers). I have also thought about going further north for the springs, the manatees in Crystal River, and even the Oriskany near Pensacola (once I have the proper tech training). Even closer to home, there are still many wrecks in the Tri-County area that I have not dove yet, including many of the deeper ones for which I would need tech training.

Great information! Thank you for all your reports.

 

[Rox1731]

Fantastic write up. Thank you for putting so much time and effort. This is an amazing resource.

 

[ABLAB]

Dive Operations

Choosing a dive operation may be easier in South Florida, since divers must be more self-sufficient and rely less or not at all on guides. Some would go so far as to say that local dive boats are just a taxi service ferrying divers to the dive site, although I would not take the point that far. Local divers may bear more responsibility for their underwater experiences than they would overseas, but one's choice of dive operation can still have a significant impact on topside comfort, the selection of dive sites, bottom time, safety, and other issues, and their reliability and business practices warrant consideration as well.

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. I have not tried any of the other operations in Key Largo yet because I have not seen the need to do so. This one works well enough for me, so I have stuck with it. One of its selling points is regular deep trips to the Spiegel Grove and other wrecks. The crew moors on the wreck and offers either two single-tank recreational dives or one long technical dive for those with appropriate training and equipment. More broadly, I like the atmospherics and the helpful crew, which seems to have a stronger sense of customer service than any other local operator I have tried thus far. They strike a good balance between being supportive without babysitting or interfering. 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.

Jupiter has two different types of operators: regular reef/wreck diving boats and specialized shark diving charters. I have gone out with both of the shark diving operations, Emerald Charters and Salty Divers. They are quite similar to and cooperate with each other. I was satisfied with both of them but had a slight preference for Salty Divers for their atmospherics. Unlike the regular reef/wreck diving boats, their normal schedule consists of one three-tank trip per day. The primary operator for regular reef/wreck diving is Jupiter Dive Center, which has two boats and an ample schedule of morning and afternoon trips, and they even offer occasional night trips. I have been satisfied with those trips that they actually ran, but they seem to be more prone to cancellation than other local operators, perhaps for questionable reasons. I thus tried my luck with the competing Scuba Works, a smaller operator whose atmospherics and customer service I preferred, but it may be harder to get a full weekend schedule with them. I would go with either one again but would be more confident and comfortable with Scuba Works. The Kyalami gets good feedback via word of mouth, but I have not tried it yet because they only offer one trip per day that returns too late to combine with an afternoon trip elsewhere.

West Palm Beach has several operators to choose from, but I have found it harder to book spots with them, as they seem to fill up faster. Pura Vida Divers seems to be the most popular by far, and it took me longer than I would have liked to get spots on their popular trips. I was ultimately quite satisfied with their customer service and would be happy to go with them again. The other advantage of this operator is that they specify the depth range and types of environments that they plan to dive on each trip, which is key for me, as I found that the shallower reefs here are much better than the deeper reefs and the wrecks. I also hope to go on one of their blackwater night dive charters in the future. I have also gone out with Narcosis, which was satisfying too but did not have the same competitive advantages as Pura Vida. There are two other operators, Calypso and Walker's, that I have not had the opportunity to try yet, also because of scheduling issues and their apparent popularity.

Boynton Beach has three dive operations, all of which use the same marina: Starfish Scuba, Loggerhead, and Splashdown Divers. Starfish has a more “boutique” feel to its trips, and perhaps a stronger sense of customer service, and thus charges somewhat higher prices. Its boat trips often have fewer customers, which I prefer, but it may get to the point that they do not have enough customers to run at all, which I obviously do not prefer. Loggerhead seems to be more willing to go the extra mile, if you will pardon the pun, to get divers to more interesting and often more distant dive sites. Splashdown is fine too but, in my experience, have not distinguished themselves as much as the other two. I would be happy to go with any of these three again but would have a preference for the first two.

The two main operators in Pompano Beach are right next to each other in the same marina and have a cooperative relationship with each other: South Florida Diving Headquarters (SFDH) and ScubaTyme. SFDH has the advantage of size and volume, with three boats, two of which are more spacious catamarans. The problem is that SFDH is disorganized and prone to errors, the most glaring of which was the July 2021 sinking of one of its boats due to an unsafe stern tie-in on a wreck dive. As the icing on that cake, I booked a trip with SFDH after that incident (which I had not heard about yet), when SFDH knew that this boat was unavailable but had left it on the schedule of the online booking system anyway. To its credit, SFDH comped me a trip on the ScubaTyme boat for that same time slot. I used to prefer ScubaTyme, but they have had some staff turnover and gotten stingier with bottom time since since I first went with them. These changes makes them less competitive, particularly since they just have that one smaller boat. Operator issues are one reason that I do not dive in Pompano Beach more often, as I like the wrecks and the proximity to Miami. (The other reason is that most of their two-tank trips have one wreck and one reef dive, the latter of which is usually not that great. I would go more often if both dives were on wrecks.) I have since discovered a third operator, AquaLife Divers, that I would like to try, but I have not had the chance yet and have not heard much feedback about them.

Miami has two dive operations: Deco Divers/Tarpoon Lagoon out of Miami Beach, and Diver's Paradise in Key Biscayne. I have a strong preference for the former over the latter. Deco Divers usually does two wreck dives on a two-tank trip, whereas Diver's Paradise offers a wreck dive followed by “Captain's choice,” which is usually a reef dive (Miami's natural reefs are sparse in life and barely worthwhile). Deco Divers usually sticks to the wrecks that they advertise on the schedule, whereas Diver's Paradise often changes the destination at the last minute for no apparent reason. Deco Divers/Tarpoon Lagoon also displays a higher standard of professionalism, from their precise Nitrox fills to a perfectly executed “hot drop” that their captain set up for us due to strong current on a deep wreck. Deco Divers/Tarpoon Lagoon also enables customers to specify the percentage of their Nitrox fills, tailoring them to the depth of the wrecks on the schedule in order to maximize bottom time.

(to be continued in the next post on this thread)