Palm Beach Dive Shop Recommendations
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Chugwhump
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The Force-E location in Riviera Beach is pretty much a full service dive center.
They book with many different dive boat operators in a Palm Beach County and Broward County.
There are others of course. There is also a healthy "Six-Pack" component in SoFla, if you want to avoid the large boats.
Pura Vida, Abernathy, Jupiter Dive Center, Scuba Works, and there are certainly many other dive shops in town.
Are you going to remain very local to WPB, or are you thinking of roaming around a bit?
You certainly have options.
Chug
Overdue for a shore dive at BHB.
They book with many different dive boat operators in a Palm Beach County and Broward County.
There are others of course. There is also a healthy "Six-Pack" component in SoFla, if you want to avoid the large boats.
Pura Vida, Abernathy, Jupiter Dive Center, Scuba Works, and there are certainly many other dive shops in town.
Are you going to remain very local to WPB, or are you thinking of roaming around a bit?
You certainly have options.
Chug
Overdue for a shore dive at BHB.
OP
Synonymous
Registered
Thanks for the tips. As for roaming around, what's your advice? It looked to me like there's enough right there to keep me busy, but I will have a car so traveling a little wouldn't be hard. I'm not looking to go down to the Keys because I'll be in Key Largo in May. I understand Jupiter is known for lemon sharks, would it be worth heading up there?
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Tom,
Abernethy is a great operator, with 3 of his own boats. Of all the people you can meet in Diving, few can share with you the love and excitement of Diving Adventures like Jim....You definitely should try his operation.
If you want to tell us what you would most like to see, it will be much easier to suggest individual dive sites here....there is a huge diversity.
I see you are from Buffalo.....I am also...from Eden.
Here is a quick tour
[video=youtube_share;BbppKZ3qxfk]http://youtu.be/BbppKZ3qxfk[/video]
As to roaming around...after diving, try the downtown Clematis Street area for Lunch or dinner---a very cool Entertainment District....Abernethy actually brings some of his dive groups there with his 15 passenger Van after diving...and this is always a big hit...they tend to favor Hamburger Heaven and Roccos Tacos.
You have a host of excellent operations in Palm Beach/Jupiter, which shows you how good the diving is. However the Jupiter shops do hit different sites that many of the Palm Beach operators. In addition, about the same distance south of palm beach as Jupiter is North, there is Boynton Beach, which has a superb "don't miss" wreck called the Castor. Here is just a suggested itinerary.
1. A dive or 2 at Blue Heron Bridge. This is a "DON'T MISS" DIVE. You must time this dive for the two hours around high slack tide. It is a shore dive in a protected inshore area so is do-able even if the ocean is rough. It is mainly a macro-oriented "muck dive" where you will see a large assortment of some of the strangest critters: frogfish, sea robins, flying gunards, batfish, stargazers, octopi, seahorses, nudibrachs, bobbit worns, mantis shrimp, snake eels, fireworms, scorpionfish, many different gorgeous juvenile reef fish, batfish, banded coral shrimp, arrowline crabs. Just amazing stuff. Also, you can often see larger gamefish like snook, assorted snappers, schooling fish like blue tang and spadefish, grunts, angelfish of several types, stingrays, eagle rays, the occasional manatee (odds are best this time of year), jacks, and barracuda. It is shallow (6 to 16 feet) so you can get 1.5 to 2 hours out of an AL 80. If the tide is early morning or late afternoon, you can even get in a morning or afternoon boat trip.
BHB is the only shore dive in the area that is really worth it. And, it is easy, clear water, sheltered to boot.
The shop closest and most dedicated to the bridge is Force E Riviera beach, where we rent our tanks and get the latest info, as someone from the shop is diving the bridge often.
If you want to maximize your chance of seeing critters, there is a dive guide on here that goes by scubajenny. She posts often in the Blue Heron Bridge Trolls thread. She is an ultimate pro at finding the good stuff and is at the bridge several days a week so she always knows what is going on. For a visitor like yourself, I would highly recommend contacting her. Don't know what she would charge, but it would probably be less than a boat trip and well worth it, in my opinion.
2. Jupiter Dives: The sites I like up there are (1) the Zion "wreck trek" which is a series of 3 wrecks all do-able on a single dive, depth 95' max. Lots of goliath groupers, all the time. (2) Spadefish Point or Monkey Ledge, these are part of a long deeper reef called the Juno Ledges and are by far the most scenic portions. They are absolutely beautiful deep reefs with a variety of large (turtles, goliaths, maybe some sharks) and small marine life and loads of tropical fish. Depth 90'. 3. The MG-111. This is a sunken barge that is not a spectacular wreck but always a spectacular dive as it attacts a huge amount of big marine life. Goliaths, lemon sharks, huge stingrays, gamefish, this dive just never disappoints and is a great second dive after one of the deeper ones. I would ask for a trip here, specifically. 4. Tunnels or Shark Canyon. These are shallower reefs with good marine life, lots of sharks, usually goliaths, often turtles as well. Depth around 60-70'. These are often second dives after one of the deeper ones.
Jupiter Shops: Scubaworks, works with the Kylami, a top boat. Jupiter Dive Center, a great shop, serviced tech divers, operates two boats that they own themselves.
Palm Beach Dives. (1) The Amaryllis. A series of really nice wrecks with lots of life. Depth about 90' max. (2) The breakers reef. This is a shallower reef with multiple different sites Ron's Rock is a great section. Lots of soft coral, big sponges, and is the place where we see the most turtles in the area. Depth 50' or so. These are often second dives after a deeper wreck. (3) Governor's Riverwalk wrecks, again, lots of life and the wrecks are very scenic as well. depth around 90'
Operators: Jim Abernethy is my "go to" operator and he has just gotten an awesome new boat.
Boynton: You go here for THE CASTOR. It is the best wreck in the area by far. Thickly encrusted with bright orange cup corals, red sponges, a riot of color. Lots of big life, goliaths, turtles, sharks. This is an essential dive. For the second dive, Boynton has shallow reefs as good or better than Palm Beach. Black Condo is one of the top sites.
Operators: Underwater Explorers, a nice roomy 6 pack and our personal favorite. For a larger boat with more stability if it is rough, Starfish Enterprises or Splashdown Divers are excellent.
Also, be sure to contact Danvolker, above. He runs a dive oriented website, knows everyone there is to know, has created great hotel deals. He is an invaluable source of information for lodging, meals, bookings and shops.
One important piece of advice, ASK IF THE CHARTER WILL INCLUDE OPEN WATER CLASSES. If they are taking classes, the best sites, which are all deeper as you can see, will not be on the itinerary. If you want these deeper sites make that clear when you book so you don't get a disappoinemtnt.
1. A dive or 2 at Blue Heron Bridge. This is a "DON'T MISS" DIVE. You must time this dive for the two hours around high slack tide. It is a shore dive in a protected inshore area so is do-able even if the ocean is rough. It is mainly a macro-oriented "muck dive" where you will see a large assortment of some of the strangest critters: frogfish, sea robins, flying gunards, batfish, stargazers, octopi, seahorses, nudibrachs, bobbit worns, mantis shrimp, snake eels, fireworms, scorpionfish, many different gorgeous juvenile reef fish, batfish, banded coral shrimp, arrowline crabs. Just amazing stuff. Also, you can often see larger gamefish like snook, assorted snappers, schooling fish like blue tang and spadefish, grunts, angelfish of several types, stingrays, eagle rays, the occasional manatee (odds are best this time of year), jacks, and barracuda. It is shallow (6 to 16 feet) so you can get 1.5 to 2 hours out of an AL 80. If the tide is early morning or late afternoon, you can even get in a morning or afternoon boat trip.
BHB is the only shore dive in the area that is really worth it. And, it is easy, clear water, sheltered to boot.
The shop closest and most dedicated to the bridge is Force E Riviera beach, where we rent our tanks and get the latest info, as someone from the shop is diving the bridge often.
If you want to maximize your chance of seeing critters, there is a dive guide on here that goes by scubajenny. She posts often in the Blue Heron Bridge Trolls thread. She is an ultimate pro at finding the good stuff and is at the bridge several days a week so she always knows what is going on. For a visitor like yourself, I would highly recommend contacting her. Don't know what she would charge, but it would probably be less than a boat trip and well worth it, in my opinion.
2. Jupiter Dives: The sites I like up there are (1) the Zion "wreck trek" which is a series of 3 wrecks all do-able on a single dive, depth 95' max. Lots of goliath groupers, all the time. (2) Spadefish Point or Monkey Ledge, these are part of a long deeper reef called the Juno Ledges and are by far the most scenic portions. They are absolutely beautiful deep reefs with a variety of large (turtles, goliaths, maybe some sharks) and small marine life and loads of tropical fish. Depth 90'. 3. The MG-111. This is a sunken barge that is not a spectacular wreck but always a spectacular dive as it attacts a huge amount of big marine life. Goliaths, lemon sharks, huge stingrays, gamefish, this dive just never disappoints and is a great second dive after one of the deeper ones. I would ask for a trip here, specifically. 4. Tunnels or Shark Canyon. These are shallower reefs with good marine life, lots of sharks, usually goliaths, often turtles as well. Depth around 60-70'. These are often second dives after one of the deeper ones.
Jupiter Shops: Scubaworks, works with the Kylami, a top boat. Jupiter Dive Center, a great shop, serviced tech divers, operates two boats that they own themselves.
Palm Beach Dives. (1) The Amaryllis. A series of really nice wrecks with lots of life. Depth about 90' max. (2) The breakers reef. This is a shallower reef with multiple different sites Ron's Rock is a great section. Lots of soft coral, big sponges, and is the place where we see the most turtles in the area. Depth 50' or so. These are often second dives after a deeper wreck. (3) Governor's Riverwalk wrecks, again, lots of life and the wrecks are very scenic as well. depth around 90'
Operators: Jim Abernethy is my "go to" operator and he has just gotten an awesome new boat.
Boynton: You go here for THE CASTOR. It is the best wreck in the area by far. Thickly encrusted with bright orange cup corals, red sponges, a riot of color. Lots of big life, goliaths, turtles, sharks. This is an essential dive. For the second dive, Boynton has shallow reefs as good or better than Palm Beach. Black Condo is one of the top sites.
Operators: Underwater Explorers, a nice roomy 6 pack and our personal favorite. For a larger boat with more stability if it is rough, Starfish Enterprises or Splashdown Divers are excellent.
Also, be sure to contact Danvolker, above. He runs a dive oriented website, knows everyone there is to know, has created great hotel deals. He is an invaluable source of information for lodging, meals, bookings and shops.
One important piece of advice, ASK IF THE CHARTER WILL INCLUDE OPEN WATER CLASSES. If they are taking classes, the best sites, which are all deeper as you can see, will not be on the itinerary. If you want these deeper sites make that clear when you book so you don't get a disappoinemtnt.
OP
Synonymous
Registered
Thanks! You know why I want to get out of here and get to Florida for awhile, then.
I'm most interested in big animals, especially sharks. Any diving is fun for me, though, and I always enjoy a good wreck. I guess what I'd like to see is whatever the area is best known for.
I'm most interested in big animals, especially sharks. Any diving is fun for me, though, and I always enjoy a good wreck. I guess what I'd like to see is whatever the area is best known for.
I believe you book Kyalami straight through them now, jupiterscubadiving.com. Both Kyalami and JDC are fantastic and you can't go wrong with either.
You can also see other shops in the area and see what dives they have scheduled for the time you'll be visiting. These shops have online calendars using Scubaocity's Dive Shop Management System.
You can see other dive centers in the Florida Keys and Virgin Islands who are using Scubocity by going to DiveRadar where you can. "Search Tomorrow's Dive's Today".
Good Diving,
Capt Gary
- Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventure
- Jupiter Dive Center
- Odyssey Charters
- Riverwalk Dive Center
- Sea Experience
You can see other dive centers in the Florida Keys and Virgin Islands who are using Scubocity by going to DiveRadar where you can. "Search Tomorrow's Dive's Today".
Good Diving,
Capt Gary
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OP
Synonymous
Registered
Thanks everyone for all this great information. Blue Heron Bridge sounds like a must-do, but I will be by myself and don't feel comfortable diving solo. Are there any shops that do a tour there?
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