Palm Beach Dive Thread
- Thread starter Divin'Papaw
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That makes sense
tekkydiver
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OP
This report is from a bit south of Palm Beach proper but placing here because I don't want to start an entirely new thread.
Went out yesterday (8/30/24) with Starfish Scuba in Boynton. We had Captain Chris and mate Katie. Topside conditions were FAR worse than forecasted. We had 3-4' seas at 5 sec instead of the 2-3s forecasted. Looks like the forecast for the weekend has now ticked up a bit too. But topside conditions were pretty miserable honestly. Starfish is not a large boat and we had 14 divers packed onto a serious bucking boat. Challenging conditions to say the least. At points we took some larger waves and many people went flying across the deck. Thankfully no tanks came loose.
Underwater conditions were much better. We had 85 F temps, blue water, 50-70' viz typically with some spots dropping a bit down to maybe 40'. Moderate to strong north current. Dive 1 was on Boynton Ledge. We had a pretty wicked west push most of the dive and given that I was towing the flag for our group of 3, I was working! Dive 2 was on the north end of Boynton Ledge into Lynn's reef. For this dive thankfully the strong west push abated, and the surface current was pretty much north as well but at a stronger clip. So towing the flag I was sailing along! We saw all of the usual tropicals but nothing more exciting on these dives. But LOTS of fish which is typical for Boynton.
Two great dives ... but getting back into the boat was an absolute bit$%. It was the hardest time I've had getting back onto a boat in quite awhile. But in the end, everyone that got in the water got back on the boat with no serious injuries. But man there was much work involved!!
Went out yesterday (8/30/24) with Starfish Scuba in Boynton. We had Captain Chris and mate Katie. Topside conditions were FAR worse than forecasted. We had 3-4' seas at 5 sec instead of the 2-3s forecasted. Looks like the forecast for the weekend has now ticked up a bit too. But topside conditions were pretty miserable honestly. Starfish is not a large boat and we had 14 divers packed onto a serious bucking boat. Challenging conditions to say the least. At points we took some larger waves and many people went flying across the deck. Thankfully no tanks came loose.
Underwater conditions were much better. We had 85 F temps, blue water, 50-70' viz typically with some spots dropping a bit down to maybe 40'. Moderate to strong north current. Dive 1 was on Boynton Ledge. We had a pretty wicked west push most of the dive and given that I was towing the flag for our group of 3, I was working! Dive 2 was on the north end of Boynton Ledge into Lynn's reef. For this dive thankfully the strong west push abated, and the surface current was pretty much north as well but at a stronger clip. So towing the flag I was sailing along! We saw all of the usual tropicals but nothing more exciting on these dives. But LOTS of fish which is typical for Boynton.
Two great dives ... but getting back into the boat was an absolute bit$%. It was the hardest time I've had getting back onto a boat in quite awhile. But in the end, everyone that got in the water got back on the boat with no serious injuries. But man there was much work involved!!
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Thanks @Divin'Papaw
Sounds like sporty seas. I had much milder conditions in Boynton and Palm Beach earlier in the week. I have not had challenging reboarding like you describe for some time. Yes, Starfish is crowded when it is full and then add the big seas!
Glad you had better visibility than I had. A strong west pull can make it a real workout for the flag carrier, finning constantly back to the reef.
Sounds like sporty seas. I had much milder conditions in Boynton and Palm Beach earlier in the week. I have not had challenging reboarding like you describe for some time. Yes, Starfish is crowded when it is full and then add the big seas!
Glad you had better visibility than I had. A strong west pull can make it a real workout for the flag carrier, finning constantly back to the reef.
johndiver999
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Today is strong current, 40 ft vis uncomfortably warm water
johndiver999
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Edit more like 60 ft vis and screaming current now in 100
Johnoly
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Thankyou for the updates !!
johndiver999
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We saw 4.2 to over 5 mph on the gps toward the end of the day. I don't remember seeing those speeds except in 200 ft of water, I think. Still not many lobsters around.
Two awesome dives today with Pura Vida.
Captain Dean, Amber, Quinne and Dave were on duty today and totally crushed it. The crew worked hard taking care of customers - very impressed with the team! Even though I’m probably the least impactful customer, I don’t mind tipping generously for their work ethic and tailored approach.
Flower Garden was beautiful. I didn’t see any big sea life but the reef is so healthy with barrel sponges, brain coral and tons of beautiful, purple fan coral. Add on top of that the great variety of colorful fish. Current was turned up high today! When we got to the east-west trench there were only three of us left (DM, me and a regular customer) so we dropped in and swam amongst the schooling fish. When we popped up it was like what a dog must feel sticking its head out the window. It was nice to get some extra time on the dive (although I still had plenty of air).
Second dive was Teardrop. Strangely, almost zero current - just a rhythmic surge where you time your kicks accordingly - “kick-and-pause, kick-and-pause”. Two large moray eels, several large schools of fish with one school probably numbering 500-750. I took videos while helicoptering three times. I’ll try to get a screen shot up. It was simply amazing to see such a large school. Two gorgeous, healthy, adult lemon sharks made my day and then a nurse shark at the very end right below the last few of us as we made our way to the SS.
Diving off a semi-private boat tomorrow down around Ft Lauderdale.
Captain Dean, Amber, Quinne and Dave were on duty today and totally crushed it. The crew worked hard taking care of customers - very impressed with the team! Even though I’m probably the least impactful customer, I don’t mind tipping generously for their work ethic and tailored approach.
Flower Garden was beautiful. I didn’t see any big sea life but the reef is so healthy with barrel sponges, brain coral and tons of beautiful, purple fan coral. Add on top of that the great variety of colorful fish. Current was turned up high today! When we got to the east-west trench there were only three of us left (DM, me and a regular customer) so we dropped in and swam amongst the schooling fish. When we popped up it was like what a dog must feel sticking its head out the window. It was nice to get some extra time on the dive (although I still had plenty of air).
Second dive was Teardrop. Strangely, almost zero current - just a rhythmic surge where you time your kicks accordingly - “kick-and-pause, kick-and-pause”. Two large moray eels, several large schools of fish with one school probably numbering 500-750. I took videos while helicoptering three times. I’ll try to get a screen shot up. It was simply amazing to see such a large school. Two gorgeous, healthy, adult lemon sharks made my day and then a nurse shark at the very end right below the last few of us as we made our way to the SS.
Diving off a semi-private boat tomorrow down around Ft Lauderdale.
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