New Fl resident - needs local FLL advice

[Li'l38]

You can hook up with the Conch divers, plenty of them here on the board, kind of like we're infested with them.
David

Sounds like someone's jealous....

 

[Bill51]

Sounds like someone's jealous....

Plus he’s jealous of all the super diving women we have enjoying the warm water here.

Poor Huckleberry.

 

[KBeck]

B--
You generally can't go too wrong with the ops down here; most often, the profiles are 60 ft or so, simple wreck or reef diving. Just be sure to ask the schedule ahead of time, as sometimes the ops have a deeper wreck planned.....but, as you asked:

Ft Lauderdale: My two favorites are Parrot Island has a great boat and great crew; slightly north towards Pompano; and American Dream II—new boat, farther south at the 17th St. Causeway.
Going north from there……
Pompano: Diversity (Sunstar Aquatics); Tony's the best. The boat can get cramped, but he's great, and generally allows divers to go in small groups with their own flag rather than diving the "herd." From West Palm, it's a 30-40 minute dive.

Boynton: There are several charters out of the same marina. We use Splashdown a lot, scubakevdm on the board is the DM and makes it great fun; they also break you up into smaller groups.

To get more than the standard reef dives, just request a wreck as far ahead as possible when booking, and I've found they'll usually honor your request.

West Palm/Riviera Beach certainly has it's share of charters; baitedstorm on the board DiveMasters the A1A boat regularly if you want to drop her a line.

You can also go north to Jupiter if you're comfortable with some deeper profiles (70-90 ft reefs). I love the reefs; I have yet to fail to see sharks, large turtles, large stingrays, Goliath Groupers, or any combination of all of those on every single dive. Capt. Paul on Temptation is great.

Let us know when you’re ready to head out and you may just get a boat full of Conch divers to share the fun with!

 

[CBulla]

Excellent answer Krista!

 

[btaylor999]

One last question - I'm used to divemasters ALWAYS leading the dive in the Caribbean/Mexico. You can go off on your own if desired, but only if you prove you are capable. I contacted a couple of outfits here, and they said that they do not send a divemaster down unless you pay extra. - Is that common for Florida?

thx,
b

B--
You generally can't go too wrong with the ops down here; most often, the profiles are 60 ft or so, simple wreck or reef diving. Just be sure to ask the schedule ahead of time, as sometimes the ops have a deeper wreck planned.....but, as you asked:

Ft Lauderdale: My two favorites are Parrot Island has a great boat and great crew; slightly north towards Pompano; and American Dream II—new boat, farther south at the 17th St. Causeway.
Going north from there……
Pompano: Diversity (Sunstar Aquatics); Tony's the best. The boat can get cramped, but he's great, and generally allows divers to go in small groups with their own flag rather than diving the "herd." From West Palm, it's a 30-40 minute dive.

Boynton: There are several charters out of the same marina. We use Splashdown a lot, scubakevdm on the board is the DM and makes it great fun; they also break you up into smaller groups.

To get more than the standard reef dives, just request a wreck as far ahead as possible when booking, and I've found they'll usually honor your request.

West Palm/Riviera Beach certainly has it's share of charters; baitedstorm on the board DiveMasters the A1A boat regularly if you want to drop her a line.

You can also go north to Jupiter if you're comfortable with some deeper profiles (70-90 ft reefs). I love the reefs; I have yet to fail to see sharks, large turtles, large stingrays, Goliath Groupers, or any combination of all of those on every single dive. Capt. Paul on Temptation is great.

Let us know when you’re ready to head out and you may just get a boat full of Conch divers to share the fun with!

 

[Soda]

Thats was the case on most of the paid trips Ive been on. Scuba Quest in West Palm sends a "Dive Guide" down for the drift dives. Had alot of fun with them.

 

[mcm007]

Hey let me know what you come up with. Didn't know there was diving in Boynton beach. My parents winter there. thats good to know.

Im moving to Jax in August. Keep in touch

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

HIya Welcome to Florida
KBeck covered the area pretty well, not much to add..
Most boats do not put a DM in the water unless you a$k. Don't worry, if you are with a group, your confidence will start to build and suddenly you will realize that having a DM in the water is like follow the leader instead of finding the path yourself.
Oh, and we do a lot of beach diving down here too!

 

[griffincp]

One last question - I'm used to divemasters ALWAYS leading the dive in the Caribbean/Mexico. You can go off on your own if desired, but only if you prove you are capable. I contacted a couple of outfits here, and they said that they do not send a divemaster down unless you pay extra. - Is that common for Florida?

thx,
b

Hi - The Temptation run out of Jupiter always has a DM on the dive. The DM will bring a float ball along for safety. The group may get split, but if you want to you can stay with the DM for the entire dive unless you need to surface early depending on your mix and no-deco limits.

I have done many a dives on this boat and the crew, boat, and captain are great. The reefs are typically 60 to 80 feet - however, you can stay on top of the reef at about 60 feet for almost all of the reefs.

Hope that helps.

 

[Padipro]

If you're looking for a quality operation in Ft. Lauderdale (aka FLL) then check out Pro Dive. They have a 60 foot custom built boat with a great staff and crew. They are mostly a training operation, everything from Openwater to Instructor so they have quite a few staff members that will dive with you for a price. They have a set schedual of dive sites so you'll know exactly what they are going to be doing everyday of the week. I've been diving with them on and off for nearly 8 years and while they can run a cattle boat at time because of there training schedual they never fail to run a good trip.

Give them a call and they can set something up for you, even a hotel.