Palm Beach Dive Thread

[NothingClever]

Well, it was a small-scale ScubaBoard invasion today on Pura Vida’s Marin!

I had the fortunate luck of meeting @Divin'Papaw and @DiveFlag = Target today. @DiveFlag = Target was diving dry, looking dapper in his Otter and LP85 twinset. @Divin'Papaw was properly prepared for the brisk weather with his boat coat. He was able to accurately recount every fish we saw without his teeth chattering.

We dived Teardrop and Elevator Shaft, both garden reefs. Viz was average on the first dive but improved on the second. “Surgey” current to the N. Very healthy schooling fish, especially the second dive with a massive school of _______ (?) and a large school of spadefish 1m above. A lone bull shark appeared at the very end of both dives. Sometimes it’s even cooler when you only see one shark during a dive, making it that much more special.

Wave height and intervals picked after the first dive and more after the second. Captain Jason, Amber, Quinne and Tom did great. Lots of charters out there but I think PVD hires great people and serve as great ambassadors for Florida diving.

So great to meet real people from ScubaBoard. Big thanks to @Divin'Papaw and @DiveFlag = Target for being super divers and super dive buddies!!

@CosbySweater - sorry I forgot I had this weekend booked!

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Went out with Pura Vida on Marin this morning with Capt. Jason and the crew included Ambar, Quinn and Tom (in training). Had the pleasure of meeting two other ScubaBoarders I'd not yet met in person ... @NothingClever and @DiveFlag = Target. Great to meet and dive with both of you!

It was a chilly morning with air temps in the low 50s and winds out of the NW at 15-20 mph. Seas started out pretty calm at maybe 1-2' but built throughout the morning. After our 2nd dive we surfaced to 3-5' roughly.

We did Teardrop first dive which is where they saw a juvenile humpback whale yesterday. We have 30-40' of viz that improved to 40-50' as we moved north. Water temps were 75-76 F. We got to Ron's Rock, Middle Earth and crossed into south Flower Gardens. We saw all the usual tropicals in large quantities plus a bull shark that seemed to be hanging with the group, coming and going a few times. Unfortunately, no humpback whale.

We did Elevator Shaft on the second dive. Viz was even better at 50-60' of beautiful blue water. Similar water temps. We saw a number of huge schools of snapper/grunt as well as a school of atlantic spadefish. While on the surface we looked down to see another bull shark.

By the time we got back to the dock it was sunny, temps in the mid-60s and much more pleasant.

This was my first time using Pura Vida since they moved the boats to the south side of Lake Park Marina due to the construction on the northside of the Marina. As expected, Pura Vida had worked out the logistics and while not ideal, it worked better than I had anticipated. Kudos to the crew as the new location means more work for them. I spoke to Jason and at this point they aren't sure how long they will be at this location. They are at the mercy of the huge condo high rise they are building next to the Marina.

It was a beautiful couple of dives! Looking forward to two more tomorrow.

 

[NothingClever]

We should have a in the emoji tray .

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Here is one of the huge mixed schools we saw.

 

[NothingClever]

Holy cow!

You got dive kung fu for days.

My gear hasn’t even stopped dripping and you already have a perfect YT video posted.

My suckiness is reaching new heights .

 

[DiveFlag = Target]

Nice meeting both of you. I would give an update but I think you covered everything. Hoping tomorrow is just as good.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

A few screen grabs from my videos from today. Unfortunately I wasn’t close enough to any of the bull sharks to get a decent photo from the video.

 

[h2o_hamilton]

Went out with Pura Vida on Marin this morning with Capt. Jason and the crew included Ambar, Quinn and Tom (in training). Had the pleasure of meeting two other ScubaBoarders I'd not yet met in person ... @NothingClever and @DiveFlag = Target. Great to meet and dive with both of you!

It was a chilly morning with air temps in the low 50s and winds out of the NW at 15-20 mph. Seas started out pretty calm at maybe 1-2' but built throughout the morning. After our 2nd dive we surfaced to 3-5' roughly.

We did Teardrop first dive which is where they saw a juvenile humpback whale yesterday. We have 30-40' of viz that improved to 40-50' as we moved north. Water temps were 75-76 F. We got to Ron's Rock, Middle Earth and crossed into south Flower Gardens. We saw all the usual tropicals in large quantities plus a bull shark that seemed to be hanging with the group, coming and going a few times. Unfortunately, no humpback whale.

We did Elevator Shaft on the second dive. Viz was even better at 50-60' of beautiful blue water. Similar water temps. We saw a number of huge schools of snapper/grunt as well as a school of atlantic spadefish. While on the surface we looked down to see another bull shark.

By the time we got back to the dock it was sunny, temps in the mid-60s and much more pleasant.

This was my first time using Pura Vida since they moved the boats to the south side of Lake Park Marina due to the construction on the northside of the Marina. As expected, Pura Vida had worked out the logistics and while not ideal, it worked better than I had anticipated. Kudos to the crew as the new location means more work for them. I spoke to Jason and at this point they aren't sure how long they will be at this location. They are at the mercy of the huge condo high rise they are building next to the Marina.

It was a beautiful couple of dives! Looking forward to two more tomorrow.

It’s a shame that condo is going to force its way into that marina and make all the locals to relocate or go out of business.

That marina land was donated to the city of Lake Park.

 

[Johnoly]

... at this point they aren't sure how long they will be at this location.

@NothingClever & @Divin'Papaw ,,Thanks for the conditions, picts & reports !!

It's going to be a while for the changes. Just the marina expansion, including digging further east into the ICW, is a 2 year project. And the conservation groups are lining up to collect dollars & delays{manatees/eagle rays/endangereds, etc}. The project when done will be impressive. but it's not free and dock fees are going to change.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

@NothingClever & @Divin'Papaw ,,Thanks for the conditions, picts & reports !!

It's going to be a while for the changes. Just the marina expansion, including digging further east into the ICW, is a 2 year project. And the conservation groups are lining up to collect dollars & delays{manatees/eagle rays/endangereds, etc}. The project when done will be impressive. but it's not free and dock fees are going to change.

View attachment 877604

WOW! I hadn’t seen the full extent of those plans. It’s going to be challenging for the charters using the marina to operate through all those changes.