Trip Report My First Year of Local Diving in South Florida

[ABLAB]

Thanks for the response. And, I realize feeding sharks is frowned upon by some and tolerated by others to have the opportunity to see them.

 

[Johnoly]

.... advanced, nitrox, and ......... Been to 90-95 feet a couple of times with no issues.

Jupiter is my home port and I know Salty Divers. Because their dives are 90ft deep & there's ALOT to see, you just need to keep your eye on your computer. Similar to you are stuck in a meeting but need to leave soon for another appointment >> It's perfectly acceptable to keep your computer pointing at your face and check it every minute towards the end of your dive. You may go into the caution light (not deco) on the dive. At your pre-planned 'leave the bottom' tank pressure PSI, just wave to the DM and signal you are going up early since the other divers may choose to stay on the bottom longer. The important thing is Don't wait on the bottom for everyone else when your limits are reached, just leave & go up. Roger the captain is very good and he will easily pick you up.

Wandering:

1. If you've dove with Kyalami since your post or have more information about their outfit.

Several of us have dove with both Kyalami WPB & Kyalami JUP. They are a very relaxed and easy going boat. Meme will most likely be your DM on one of your trips and she's also very good. She will see bigger fish in the distance before you see them and will point them out to you. Stay close to her underwater and you'll have a great trip.

 

[ABLAB]

Jupiter is my home port and I know Salty Divers. Because their dives are 90ft deep & there's ALOT to see, you just need to keep your eye on your computer. Similar to you are stuck in a meeting but need to leave soon for another appointment >> It's perfectly acceptable to keep your computer pointing at your face and check it every minute towards the end of your dive. You may go into the caution light (not deco) on the dive. At your pre-planned 'leave the bottom' tank pressure PSI, just wave to the DM and signal you are going up early since the other divers may choose to stay on the bottom longer. The important thing is Don't wait on the bottom for everyone else when your limits are reached, just leave & go up. Roger the captain is very good and he will easily pick you up.



Several of us have dove with both Kyalami WPB & Kyalami JUP. They are a very relaxed and easy going boat. Meme will most likely be your DM on one of your trips and she's also very good. She will see bigger fish in the distance before you see them and will point them out to you. Stay close to her underwater and you'll have a great trip.

That's very good to know. Appreciate it....

 

[ABLAB]

Jupiter is my home port and I know Salty Divers. Because their dives are 90ft deep & there's ALOT to see, you just need to keep your eye on your computer. Similar to you are stuck in a meeting but need to leave soon for another appointment >> It's perfectly acceptable to keep your computer pointing at your face and check it every minute towards the end of your dive. You may go into the caution light (not deco) on the dive. At your pre-planned 'leave the bottom' tank pressure PSI, just wave to the DM and signal you are going up early since the other divers may choose to stay on the bottom longer. The important thing is Don't wait on the bottom for everyone else when your limits are reached, just leave & go up. Roger the captain is very good and he will easily pick you up.



Several of us have dove with both Kyalami WPB & Kyalami JUP. They are a very relaxed and easy going boat. Meme will most likely be your DM on one of your trips and she's also very good. She will see bigger fish in the distance before you see them and will point them out to you. Stay close to her underwater and you'll have a

 

[ABLAB]

And very good advice. Thanks again. I'm very safety first especially in new environments. Btw, anyone familiar with Gung Ho Divers? Some fantastic reviews and appear to very safety conscious.

 

[h2o_hamilton]

And very good advice. Thanks again. I'm very safety first especially in new environments. Btw, anyone familiar with Gung Ho Divers? Some fantastic reviews and appear to very safety conscious.

Gung-Ho is a good operation, but their dive site is just out of the Jupiter Inlet on the wreck treck. Its a long ride from their slip at Lake Park Marina.

What time of year are you visiting?

 

[ABLAB]

Thanks for the tip. Didn't think about the long boat ride from the inlet to the dive site. How long is the ride? My dates are May 15-21. Going back and forth between Salty and Gung Ho.

 

[h2o_hamilton]

Thanks for the tip. Didn't think about the long boat ride from the inlet to the dive site. How long is the ride? My dates are May 15-21. Going back and forth between Salty and Gung Ho.

If memory serves, it's an hour"ish" each way.

Bear in mind Kyalami may not have both WPB and Jupiter boats running Mon-Thursday, so plan accordingly. Friday-Sunday they'll for sure have both going.

Cant give you advice or options on the shark boats. I've only been on Gung-Ho once.

 

[johndiver999]

And very good advice. Thanks again. I'm very safety first especially in new environments. Btw, anyone familiar with Gung Ho Divers? Some fantastic reviews and appear to very safety conscious.

So how does the "safety first" mantra work with doing shark feeding dives?

I'm not trying to be a wise ass or dissuade you from doing it, nor criticizing you for doing those dives. However, I am really curious to understand how someone who has never been to the area and has relatively few dives, comes to that decision - more particularly, how did you determine that you would be safe?

 

[ABLAB]

Fair questions. Obviously, getting in the water with sharks is inherently dangerous but there are some outfits that are more safety conscious by taking down smaller groups or having a another crew member in the water to keep an eye out. And, those outfits are the ones I'm inclined to dive with given my relative lack of experience. And, there is level of trust given their years of experience running these dives as presumably if they weren't keeping people safe and providing a secure enough service they'd be out of business in the current climate given people's propensity to document and review everything. And frankly, if I feel I'm not comfortable in my skill level/buoyancy after three days of diving in the area I won't do the shark dive. That's the safety first....