New Dive Charter in Fort Pierce

[steve-oh]

Steve...did you recently purchase that shop? Did Sean Kirby own that?

Also can you give me an idea of what safety/first aid equipment you have on the boat? For example a DAN 02 kit, AED, etc. And what level of training does the crew have both divewise and safety wise.

We are actually co-owners, my wife runs the store for me along with Sean.

---------- Post added December 18th, 2013 at 05:32 PM ----------

Steve-Oh;
This is great news, and I wish you all the best in the venture.
I know very little about that area as there is so little cross pollination from down here in Broward to up there due to the lack of a consistent charter/operator.
The winter seems like a tough time to start up the business, but if you have been on the "low-low" as you said, you are hopefully getting the bills paid.
While I did hit the website shown in your OP, can you answer some questions?

If you could, tell us something about the diving up there.

What are the reefs like? Similar to patch reefs, or ledges, or scattered encrusted rocks?
What are the wrecks like? Deep, shallow, encrusted with fish and or sharks?
What is the expected water clarity like for different times of the year?
What is the expected strength of currents for different times of the year?
What is the expected lobster and fish availability for different times of the year (and what species of fish)?
Grouper? Hogfish? Snapper? Lion Fish? Cobra? Etcetera......
What is the expected temperature of the water for different times of the year?
What is the average wreck dive depth? What is an average reef dive depth?
Is there an average depth??

This seems a great thing for the North of Melbourne crowd all the way up into South Georgia.
And I am looking forward to something new.

Chug
Never has experienced salt water north of Jupiter with a tank on.

Chug, the reefs offshore that i go to are usually ledges and encrusted rock, mostly ledges though and in 60 to 90ft. fish and lobster are usually bountiful, plenty of snapper, grouper, lobster, sheepshead and flounder. i do occasionally see hogs, but usually in the 10-14" range, so i dont bother with them. the wrecks that i visit are in 70' and 95'. both are ww2 wrecks so they have plenty of growth and life. being that their a good run from port they usually have a good amount of fish life. visibility greatly varies up here. average is around 15-25ft. this year a had several good days of top to bottom in 80ft. there are so many contributing factors, from wind to swell to lake okeechobee being dumped. during the winter, seas are very hard to predict. seas are usually in the 3-5 range, with small windows of calm conditions. as my boat is a 26' cat, i dont run in anything bigger the 3'ers.. It is also a fairly long run to good hunting grounds, 15-17miles each way. the plus side to all these negatives is that because of all these factors, there is alot of fish and lobster. alot! right after mini season, obviously lobster is scarce. but once the season dies down you can find large pockets of them. same with fish. water temps are another thing that is almost impossible to predict. i went diving last week and it was 76*otb. back in june and july, we had several thermoclines pushing bottom temps in the mid 50*. for the most part though a 3mm is sufficient. Tides- tides are usually* not to bad 1-2 knots if any. on occasion though we will get a rip of 3-4knts when the gulf stream pushes close. i hope i answered all your questions chug. Feel free to call me if you have any more 321-210-3774

---------- Post added December 18th, 2013 at 05:33 PM ----------

oh yeah, plenty of lionfish!!!

---------- Post added December 18th, 2013 at 05:44 PM ----------

Steve...did you recently purchase that shop? Did Sean Kirby own that?

Also can you give me an idea of what safety/first aid equipment you have on the boat? For example a DAN 02 kit, AED, etc. And what level of training does the crew have both divewise and safety wise.

We do carry a first aid kit but no AED, on occasion i do carry o2. i am a USCG licensed 6pack captain first aid/cpr cert./rescue diver. i have over 500 logged dives. i dont always use a D/M. due to spearo's wanting to do their own thing, but when i do, he is a PADI Instructor, 10 yrs in the business. both of us have over 20yrs exp.in this area

---------- Post added December 18th, 2013 at 05:48 PM ----------

Like Chug I have not dove north of Jupiter, am very interested in what you have to offer up there! Less oriented towards spearfishing and more to big fish/shark photography.

some of the places i go to have alot of goliath groupers, baracuda, rays, and big snook. as far as sharks, none of the areas i go to are very "sharky". on occasion one will show but its not really predictable.

 

[Jetfish]

Hi Steve oh
Do you do the Halsey routinely or by special charter only?


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[steve-oh]

Hi Steve oh
Do you do the Halsey routinely or by special charter only?


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i cant say routinely, because i honestly dont have a set schedule to go every week. but i go as often as i get a group of at least 3 that want to go and weather permits.

 

[steve-oh]