Palm Beach County v. The Keys

[devinesigns3]

My husband and I are experienced divers looking to plan our first dive trip after having a baby. My parents live in Boynton Beach and are on board to babysit! How good is the diving in the West Palm area compared to the Keys? We've dove Key Largo in the past and liked it. I am always wary of diving an area though that's not protected reef in fear I'll be disappointed (we did not like Oahu diving for this reason; too little marine life compared to places like Bonaire/Great Barrier Reef/etc). Considering going back to the Keys but staying in Boynton area would let us dive mornings and spend afternoons going to beach/pool/biking with our daughter which is the direction we'd prefer. I don't expect perfection but was curious to know the opinion of divers who have done both areas.

 

[MrChen]

I haven't been to the keys, but I live just north of WPB. We do regular dives at BHB and do drift diving off Jupiter and WPB. Depending on conditions, there's plenty of sea life.

Here are examples of typical dives out Jupiter:
Bonnies and Tunnels Dive - Capt. SL8R charters - 12 July 2013 - YouTube
SharkAddicts - Gopro 3 Scuba Diving Jupiter, FL Capt Sl8r Charters - YouTube

Can't always promise the dive will be that good, but there's a pretty good chance of it. Last 2 drift dives, saw 3 sharks and 3 turtles on each. Good stuff.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

What did you dive in Key Largo (that you liked)?

 

[djtimmy77]

The diving in Boynton is awesome. If you have babysitters there, can't go wrong with diving there. Gorgeous reefs! MV Castor wreck with goliaths.

 

[drrich2]

How good is the diving in the West Palm area compared to the Keys? We've dove Key Largo in the past and liked it.

Glad you asked! I, too, dove Key Largo, and would like to know how West Palm Beach compares (I've got a wife, infant and mother-in-law who might tag along and do other things).

When I've researched it online, I've noticed people talk about drift diving the West Palm Beach area. How much of the diving is drift diving? Wonder what the average depths tend to run?

I did 20 dives in Key Largo; 3 Spiegel Grove, 1 Duane, otherwise reef & Benwood wreck dives. Average depth mostly 16 - 40 feet, clustering in the 20 something, dive times around 50 minutes, usually not much current but a couple of drift dives if memory serves. The deep wreck dives were much shorter, max. depths around 81 - 106 feet, with some current. And with Rainbow Reef Dive Center, I could do 2 boat trips/day, & got 20 dives in 5 days.

So, diving West Palm Beach, I wonder:

1.) Roughly what % of the dives are drift dives?

2.) Do most op.s put a guide in the water, or must you pay for a private one if you want one?

3.) Roughly what % of the dives are deeper wreck dives, vs. reef dives? I know this will vary by op., and Rainbow Reef had another boat so I could've done all reef dives.

4.) Is it mostly a '2 dive a day' destination (not counting night dives), or can you '2 trip it' and get 3 or 4 dives per day?

5.) How far out is the typical boat ride & how rough do seas tend to be? (I'm not sea sickness prone, but my 2 dive buddies are).

6.) Are rental tanks larger than 80 cf a common option?

Richard.

 

[sportxlh]

I mostly dive in northern Palm Beach County (Jupiter and WPB) but make at least 2 or 3 trips to the Keys each year for a long weekend of diving. I'll also make a few dives in Boynton, Pompano or Lauderdale by the Sea each year too. Both Palm Beach County and the Keys offer fantastic diving.

I won't describe the Keys since you've been there......If you like to see big sea life like turtles, sharks, goliath grouper, etc. then Jupiter is the place for you. You can see the same in WPB and Boynton, but are guaranteed to see such in Jupiter. In Boynton one of the best places to see goliath grouper is the Castor wreck. All of Palm Beach County has decent to fantastic tropical fish life: like the Keys, some sites are more prolific than others.

Unlike the keys, almost all Palm Beach county diving will be 60 feet or deeper. Pompano and LBTS have some pretty shallow reefs and they are just a stones throw from your family's place.

Virtually all the diving is drift diving in Palm Beach County. In WPB and Jupiter a dive guide is included in the price of the trip. In Boynton, most dive ops give small groups of divers a dive float and reel but a dive guide can be hired. Since WPB and Jupiter are so close to Boynton, you can give all three a try while you are here.

Some good dive ops include:
Jupiter Dive Center
Jim Abernathy
Sandy's Sunday
Narcosis
Splash Down
Underwater Explorers

 

[drrich2]

Thanks, SportXLH.

At some point last summer, I contacted Jupiter Dive Center about big tank availability and was told:

We do rent steel 120's at a cost of $20.00 per tank per day

Especially for deep dives, I'd consider it. Your mileage (and SAC) may vary!

Richard.

 

[Steve_C]

Did a couple drift dives out of Jupiter. (with Jupiter Dive Center) In summary

-Depths were 60-80
-Viz was about 30-40
-Saw fair amount of life. Number of big turtles.
-There was a guide in the water. We never saw him on either of our two dives
-Dives were pretty close to the dock. Short runs. They have some 3 dive trips.

Fun dives. Would do it again.

*They had a DM guide who splashed first but I and my instabuddy who had a large camera were the last to splash. We dropped, buddy took about 10 seconds to get camera ready. We never saw any guide to follow. No problem. We drifted along checking out the wild life.

***You will want to have a large SMB. We came up probably a half mile from the boat but they quickly saw us. If you know how to do it, bring a reel and shoot the SMB. Makes the drifting safety stop easier. Be prepared to do your dive without the DM. Stuff happens. Some days the viz is great some days it is ok.

 

[devinesigns3]

Cool this is great info so far! We love drift diving and one thing I disliked about Key Largo was how every reef dive was shallow. I prefer multi level dives. We love seeing abundant reefs and bigger fish- is Jupiter our best bet? We don't mind diving different areas of WPB each day. What locations/dive ops do you recommend?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[CajunDiva]

I would suggest that it doesn't HAVE to be Palm Beach County v The Keys. Since the baby will be in good hands, why not try both and mix it up a bit? I'm envious