augie
Guest
It turns out we're on the AM charter with Dive Solutions, so I'll look for you PM diving folks as we're going in opposite directions.
Palm Beach Dive Report
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augie
Guest
Fun day diving yesterday - although the already brutal crack of dawn departure from Melbourne to make the AM dives was made worse by I-95 being shut down between Malabar Rd. and Sebastian - caused us to take quite a detour, but we still made it to the Riviera Beach Marina by 7:20.
DCI's boat that we were on was packed to the gills. Our LDS had booked the boat so that their new scuba camp students could do their check out dives, and parents and friends filled up the rest.
My brother and I went along as safety divers for the students' group, and all of the certified divers went in the second group.
Seas were nice and flat, but it sure was hot topside!
First drop was at Flower Gardens - I hadn't been there in years. The vis wasn't all that great and the current wasn't quite "ripping", but it was substantial. All in all the students did great. It was fun to watch somebody getting excited about seeing a grunt! The biggest problem they had was they were so pumped that they kept passing the DM!
Second drop was on teardrop. Current was a little more gentle, and the vis improved to 25-30'. I had never been to that site before, and I liked it. The instructor had told the students that they should slow down since the reef wasn't as long, and that their air would last longer if they weren't "racing" and they all listened so well that the second group passed us during the dive.
Afterwards I made it a point to go by the AIA boat, where I got to meet Vickie, her husband, and Alli, even if only briefly. And on the way out of the parking lot I saw none other than Krista driving in, so we got to talk for a minute or so.
Looking forward to having a longer visit with all of you next time!
I'll be back - same boat time, same boat channel this coming Sunday for the second wave of scuba campers.
I hope the seas will stay as calm!
DCI's boat that we were on was packed to the gills. Our LDS had booked the boat so that their new scuba camp students could do their check out dives, and parents and friends filled up the rest.
My brother and I went along as safety divers for the students' group, and all of the certified divers went in the second group.
Seas were nice and flat, but it sure was hot topside!
First drop was at Flower Gardens - I hadn't been there in years. The vis wasn't all that great and the current wasn't quite "ripping", but it was substantial. All in all the students did great. It was fun to watch somebody getting excited about seeing a grunt! The biggest problem they had was they were so pumped that they kept passing the DM!
Second drop was on teardrop. Current was a little more gentle, and the vis improved to 25-30'. I had never been to that site before, and I liked it. The instructor had told the students that they should slow down since the reef wasn't as long, and that their air would last longer if they weren't "racing" and they all listened so well that the second group passed us during the dive.
Afterwards I made it a point to go by the AIA boat, where I got to meet Vickie, her husband, and Alli, even if only briefly. And on the way out of the parking lot I saw none other than Krista driving in, so we got to talk for a minute or so.
Looking forward to having a longer visit with all of you next time!
I'll be back - same boat time, same boat channel this coming Sunday for the second wave of scuba campers.
I hope the seas will stay as calm!
OP
Yesterday was so much like today that I'm going to skip it.
We hit the Flower garden, all time favorite of mine. The seas were 1-2 ft for most of the day with clouds and wind building later on in the morning. The viz was 60+ feet with almost no current at all. The ride home was a bit rocky with swells around 3-4ft. Water temp still at 81 and climbing, no sea lice in the water today (yay)
Diving was amazing today. I had a group from Colorado down. And also our very own Peter from CA... Within the first 10 minutes of the dive we saw 4 huge loggerhead turtles, a gaint green moray eel, 3 foot nurse shark, 6 legal sized lobsters, and all the normal reef fishes.. Dive two wasnt as exciting until the 10ft bull shark swam by us just outside the Trench (and yes Eric one other person saw it too). Oddly enough, it was the exact same place we saw one yesterday (weird).
We hit the Flower garden, all time favorite of mine. The seas were 1-2 ft for most of the day with clouds and wind building later on in the morning. The viz was 60+ feet with almost no current at all. The ride home was a bit rocky with swells around 3-4ft. Water temp still at 81 and climbing, no sea lice in the water today (yay)
Diving was amazing today. I had a group from Colorado down. And also our very own Peter from CA... Within the first 10 minutes of the dive we saw 4 huge loggerhead turtles, a gaint green moray eel, 3 foot nurse shark, 6 legal sized lobsters, and all the normal reef fishes.. Dive two wasnt as exciting until the 10ft bull shark swam by us just outside the Trench (and yes Eric one other person saw it too). Oddly enough, it was the exact same place we saw one yesterday (weird).
Vickie - Well I guess it is about time to name your U/W friend the Bullshark of WPB. I am looking forward to the name you give it. I am one of the divers that appreciates seeing a free swimming shark on a reef like that since it is not that common. When it happens though I also realize that this is something that has very limited cognitive power and an awesome set of powerful jaws crowned with rows and rows of disposible teeth that could remove my precious limbs. You can keep your bullshark I am not going to compete to "one up" you this time.
Eric
Eric
OP
This weekend was a great weekend for boaters with the seas nice and flat. I wish I could say the same for us divers. The viz in the AM on Sat. was about 40 feet dropping donw to around 30 by late in the afternoon. We did see a ton of lobster (9 out of the 15 I saw "looked" legal) and the turtles are still hanging out. The temps are still ranging between 81-82, mild North current.
Sunday's vis didn't improve what-so-ever
, but hey, the water was still wet and warm. We spent most of the fiorst AM dive hanging out on Bath & Tennis checking out the Loggerheads and one very large Southern Stingray (first I've seen this yr). I got reports of nine in the area from the divers I was down with, myself... I counted 5 different ones (I'm thinking they might have been counting the same ones over).
By the two afternoon dives, the wind started kicking up a little, still not terrible seas, but a bit bumpier then before. The vis did drop to a cloudy 15-20 feet, but our divers still had good spirit. I believe 6 new divers got certified on these dives (wooohoooo!!!).
As far as the bullshark goes (Ahem... Eric) I didn't see her at all this weekend.. I hope she will head back down our way and soon. Our Hammerhead that had been hanging out for a while is also not been seen. We saw one very small nurse shark, but that was it as far as the shark sitings go for the last few days. (usually we'll hear it over our radio if something big is in the area.......... notta!)
Sunday's vis didn't improve what-so-ever
, but hey, the water was still wet and warm. We spent most of the fiorst AM dive hanging out on Bath & Tennis checking out the Loggerheads and one very large Southern Stingray (first I've seen this yr). I got reports of nine in the area from the divers I was down with, myself... I counted 5 different ones (I'm thinking they might have been counting the same ones over).By the two afternoon dives, the wind started kicking up a little, still not terrible seas, but a bit bumpier then before. The vis did drop to a cloudy 15-20 feet, but our divers still had good spirit. I believe 6 new divers got certified on these dives (wooohoooo!!!).
As far as the bullshark goes (Ahem... Eric) I didn't see her at all this weekend.. I hope she will head back down our way and soon. Our Hammerhead that had been hanging out for a while is also not been seen. We saw one very small nurse shark, but that was it as far as the shark sitings go for the last few days. (usually we'll hear it over our radio if something big is in the area.......... notta!)
Oh... only 8 dives this weekend? I feel soooooooo bad for you 
OP
CBulla:Oh... only 8 dives this weekend? I feel soooooooo bad for you
Actually, I'm spent... I was starting think I was getting old or something.
I've had 2 days off in the last 10 days, I love every second of it, but dang man, got to eat your wheaties..
when y'all coming diving with me?????
twanderson
Registered
I completed my NAUI training this weekend. I got my Cert with Bill and the gang at Seminole Scuba in Lake Mary. Top-notch instruction, Id recommend them to anyone out there.
2 dives down in West Palm. This was my first time on the A1A Mardi Gras Float with Vickie and the crew. Defiantly will not be my last. I had a blast.
Vis was low on Sunday afternoon (15ft) saw some pretty big lobsters in The Trench. I know they wont be hanging around in a month. A 3 ft (or so) Loggerhead greeted us on the surface. The day was real nice, even after the clouds rolled in.
I know this is not much of a post but work is kicking my ***** today. Mostly I just wanted to say thanks to A1A. Everybody needs to dive with them ASAP.
2 dives down in West Palm. This was my first time on the A1A Mardi Gras Float with Vickie and the crew. Defiantly will not be my last. I had a blast.
Vis was low on Sunday afternoon (15ft) saw some pretty big lobsters in The Trench. I know they wont be hanging around in a month. A 3 ft (or so) Loggerhead greeted us on the surface. The day was real nice, even after the clouds rolled in.
I know this is not much of a post but work is kicking my ***** today. Mostly I just wanted to say thanks to A1A. Everybody needs to dive with them ASAP.
Dove WPB today with the Down Under Dive Club from Melbourne and Pura Vida Divers. It's always fun diving with Trevor from Pura Vida...
When I first got down there, I made sure I said Hi to Mike from A1A... and of course, we had to talk about Vickie... all good of course... I hope you have better vis tomorrow than I had today... Also, as A1A was doing their boat briefing, someone on the boat was waving at me... It was DriftDiver!!! I wish we would have had a chance to talk a little more... maybe next time...
Today, I was taking a Jr Advance student for her Deep and Fish ID adventure dives. I also had ScubaKat11 with me. Our first dive was in the Trench. Trevor told me to go over the rocks at the end of the Trench, and I'd find some 70' water. Sure enough... I did... So, we did our skills at 70 and ended the dive. The visability fluxuated between 30 and 15 feet. It got pretty cloudy at times. The water temp was 82, and the seas were 2-4. A little choppy. Some of the divers on the boat did get to see a frogfish in the Trench. That was pretty cool. I missed it, because I was in search of 70 foot water...
Our second dive was Elevator shaft for a Fish ID dive. I always love doing Fish ID... This one was fun, because I had a 12 yr old with me. She had my little waterproof book, and she had a blast trying to ID all the fish I pointed out. The vis and temp was the same as the first dive. Usually the vis was about 25-30, but every now and then.. we'd hit cloudy pockes.... We did see a HUGE turtle. We also got to see a juvi blue tang. At first, I thought it might be a yellow tang, but after watching it for a while... the edge of the fins had a blue appearance to it. So, I made the assumption that it was a juvi blue tang. The fish was 4-5 inches long, that's why I thought it was a yellow tang at first...
The nice thing about this dive... we had three parents who took their daughters... ages 11-13...
Overall... it was a great day... saw some green gills on the boat... but... almost everyone kept their breakfast.
I hope you have a great dive tomorrow, Vickie... I 'm looking forward to reading about it.
Al
When I first got down there, I made sure I said Hi to Mike from A1A... and of course, we had to talk about Vickie... all good of course...
I hope you have better vis tomorrow than I had today... Also, as A1A was doing their boat briefing, someone on the boat was waving at me... It was DriftDiver!!! I wish we would have had a chance to talk a little more... maybe next time...Today, I was taking a Jr Advance student for her Deep and Fish ID adventure dives. I also had ScubaKat11 with me. Our first dive was in the Trench. Trevor told me to go over the rocks at the end of the Trench, and I'd find some 70' water. Sure enough... I did... So, we did our skills at 70 and ended the dive. The visability fluxuated between 30 and 15 feet. It got pretty cloudy at times. The water temp was 82, and the seas were 2-4. A little choppy. Some of the divers on the boat did get to see a frogfish in the Trench. That was pretty cool. I missed it, because I was in search of 70 foot water...
Our second dive was Elevator shaft for a Fish ID dive. I always love doing Fish ID... This one was fun, because I had a 12 yr old with me. She had my little waterproof book, and she had a blast trying to ID all the fish I pointed out. The vis and temp was the same as the first dive. Usually the vis was about 25-30, but every now and then.. we'd hit cloudy pockes.... We did see a HUGE turtle. We also got to see a juvi blue tang. At first, I thought it might be a yellow tang, but after watching it for a while... the edge of the fins had a blue appearance to it. So, I made the assumption that it was a juvi blue tang. The fish was 4-5 inches long, that's why I thought it was a yellow tang at first...
The nice thing about this dive... we had three parents who took their daughters... ages 11-13...
Overall... it was a great day... saw some green gills on the boat... but... almost everyone kept their breakfast.
I hope you have a great dive tomorrow, Vickie... I 'm looking forward to reading about it.
Al
OP
Well, conditions had improved this morning from yesterday just a little.
This morning we had clear skies with a light breeze coming from the ESE. Water temps at 60ft were 83f with almost zero current and viz right around 45+ on the North end of the Flower Garden. We didn't see any loggerhead turtles this dive, but I counted 16 legal sized, yummy with butter and garlic, lobsters on dive one.
AM dive #2 North Breakers, viz did drop a bit down to about 30feet, still not much current . I was looking for one of the local green eels and instead found a giant mouth opened and looking at me..hehehehe, a bit surprised at first, then realized it was a Goliath grouper. That baby was huge. It just sat there until all the divers got a chance to have a look, very cool! Only counted 7 legal sized lobsters on this site, plenty of little ones though.
PM dive #3 site unknown.....hehehehehehe, gps was set for the Flower Garden, but a number was left off. This was a pretty cool site, wonder if I get to name it now. Anyway's, temps went up to 84f and viz dropped down to around 25feet. We had 8 amazing students getting certified. This was their first time on a reef in the ocean and they loved every second of it. When we first got down to the bottom, a huge Loggerhead swan by us with a giant shark bite taken out of his shell. Coming back to the boat was a little less than fun with the seas kicking up to around 4+feet.
PM dive#4 South Breakers, viz was still around 20-25 feet with a stronger North current, actually it was a cross current going North West making us have to actually swim to stay on the reef. This site rocked with life. Tons of lobsters and eels. Lots of grouper laughing at us. Unfortunately, no sharks on any of the 4 dives. The seas did lay back down by the time we surfaced from our last dive. Hopefully the viz conditions will continue to improve soon.
This morning we had clear skies with a light breeze coming from the ESE. Water temps at 60ft were 83f with almost zero current and viz right around 45+ on the North end of the Flower Garden. We didn't see any loggerhead turtles
this dive, but I counted 16 legal sized, yummy with butter and garlic, lobsters on dive one.AM dive #2 North Breakers, viz did drop a bit down to about 30feet, still not much current . I was looking for one of the local green eels and instead found a giant mouth opened and looking at me..hehehehe, a bit surprised at first, then realized it was a Goliath grouper. That baby was huge. It just sat there until all the divers got a chance to have a look, very cool! Only counted 7 legal sized lobsters on this site, plenty of little ones though.
PM dive #3 site unknown.....hehehehehehe, gps was set for the Flower Garden, but a number was left off. This was a pretty cool site, wonder if I get to name it now. Anyway's, temps went up to 84f and viz dropped down to around 25feet. We had 8 amazing students getting certified. This was their first time on a reef in the ocean and they loved every second of it. When we first got down to the bottom, a huge Loggerhead swan by us with a giant shark bite taken out of his shell. Coming back to the boat was a little less than fun with the seas kicking up to around 4+feet.
PM dive#4 South Breakers, viz was still around 20-25 feet with a stronger North current, actually it was a cross current going North West making us have to actually swim to stay on the reef. This site rocked with life. Tons of lobsters and eels. Lots of grouper laughing at us. Unfortunately, no sharks on any of the 4 dives. The seas did lay back down by the time we surfaced from our last dive. Hopefully the viz conditions will continue to improve soon.
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