Palm Beach Dive Thread

[MrChen]

I went out on a private boat yesterday. It was forecasted to be 3-5ft swells, with a 11-12 sec interval. With the interval, it felt like 1-2ft, wasn't bad at all.

First dive, we went just north of the inlet, just south of the Anna C. Kyalami 2 was dropping divers, and we had hunters, so we moved a little more south. Next thing we hear Kyalami 2 talking to Kyalami 1 about vis and currents, and it wasn't good. K2 picked their divers up and dropped them a little closer to us. Then we realized Kyalami was in WPB, not Jupiter. For their dive 2, we could hear them talking about running further south for better vis and we saw both boats heading that way before we did our next drop. For us, vis was 10-15ft at depth. It was blue for the top 70ft, maybe 30ft vis. Below that, it was dark and green. It almost felt like a night dive. It was also a little snotty. The current was running slightly north but was VERY surgy. For every 5 seconds of surge north, it pulled back to the south for 2 seconds. It made catching lobster difficult because you'd suddenly be pushed into the lobster just as you're about to snare the tail. The surge was kicking up a silt storm in some areas too.

Dive 2, we went to a rocky patch area south of the inlet. This was after the tide shift. The water was bluer from the surface. At depth it was very hazy, maybe 30ft. The current was going slightly south, and the surge made it difficult to figure out. Now it was more like surge south for 4 seconds, surge north for 3 seconds. I was fighting it for 10 minutes trying to go north and it was marginally easier to go south. The dive was a workout for sure.

I remember looking at my dive computer mid dive (I haven't downloaded my dive logs yet), temps were around 83-84.

 

[Johnoly]

... The surge was kicking up a silt storm in some areas too.

I'm splashing Tue 19th in WPB. Heard MG111 was 3ft viz yesterday. I'll post up a 'what&where' tomorrow, but if I can get 5ft, I'll play hide & seek with bugs. Thanks for your conditions report !!

 

[Catito]

CALLING LOCAL DIVERS:

Monday September 25 is expected to be flat. Pura Vida has a boat going out at 10am (two tank), 50 to 60ft reef. Right now only two divers on the boat. Need 4. Consider calling them and joining. If you reserve over the phone you save a few bucks. Need to reserve by Sunday or they will cancel. I am hoping that does not happen!

 

[MrChen]

I went out on a private boat yesterday, 9/24/23. We went northeast of the inlet for our first dive. Surface conditions were rocky. Forecast called for 3+ft swells, 8s interval. Storms had just passed through, and the surface was angry. We didn't see any charters out and only a couple of boaters fishing.

First dive max depth was around 95. Water temp was 85-86 top to bottom, and the current was ripping north. Visibility was 50-60ft. I was the only one without a DPV, which made navigating any direction a challenge. I saw one small lionfish but was blown past it before I could even think to spear it. I found 3 patches of lobster, in total I counted 12 lobsters, all smalls except 1 which I caught.

Second dive, I know we went north. Max depth was 75ft. I didn't look at the temp, but it was more comfortable, so had to be a degree or two cooler than the first dive. Visibility was still 50-60ft. The current wasn't as strong, which made moving around easier, but was still strong enough that you had to quickly descend or miss a spot. I saw two shorts when I had 3200lbs of air. The DPV divers were zigging and zagging and then were gone, last seen heading east. I quickly learned why, I was over nothing but sand. I started going east and found some small structure, but no lobsters. With 1200lbs of air left, I see a boulder in the sand, maybe 2-3ft in diameter and antennas all around it. I counted 12 lobsters, but they were all small. I pushed the shorts out of the way and found 2 keepers hiding deeper inside, which I caught. 2 divers hit their limit on this dive, and they caught some really large lobsters. They scootered east and found some good ledge structure which I never found. At least the rock at the end was there for me

On the way back to the inlet, around 1pm, I would say swells were around 2ft and not angry like the morning. We saw a couple of charters going out on their PM trips.

In total, took home 3 lobsters, which is enough to feed the lobster eaters in the house a dinner.

TLDR; We had healthy northern currents, decent vis, and warm water north of the inlet.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I went out on a private boat yesterday, 9/24/23.

You're getting spoiled!

 

[PBcatfish]

...
First dive max depth was around 95. Water temp was 85-86 ...

...Second dive, I know we went north. Max depth was 75ft. I didn't look at the temp, but it was more comfortable, so had to be a degree or two cooler than the first dive....

Around here, you never know if you will find a thermocline or not when you get to depth. That's why I favor a front zip wet suit for diving here. If you get too hot, you can unzip & cool down a little.

Unfortunately, front zips are not commonly carried in the local shops. Only a few front zip full suits seem to be available across the entire market. Camero is one. One of the Italian companies offered one, I think it might have been Cressi. EVO sells a shorty front zip that is often stocked at a shop in Dania, but it's a unisex design & doesn't seem to fit very many people all that well.

Back zip suits are great for surfing & free diving with a spear gun, but I don't like them for diving with back mounted SCUBA.

I will sometimes dive with a very thin back zip full suit, and add a front zip vest or shortie over it. When I lived in colder climates, it seemed that every Farmer John combo had a front zip jacket. I don't know why they are not more common in the one piece suits.

 

[Johnoly]

. Visibility was still 50-60ft. T....TLDR; We had healthy northern currents, decent vis, and warm water north of the inlet.

Thank you for the conditions!. We're diving tomorrow near there. The annual mullet run is just starting in WPB. That will make the bridge (& sharks/Jacks) go just wild & crazy.

 

[MrChen]

Around here, you never know if you will find a thermocline or not when you get to depth. That's why I favor a front zip wet suit for diving here. If you get too hot, you can unzip & cool down a little.

Last year I switched to wearing the Sharkskin Titanium 2 front zipper jacket and pants. I can also wear it under my wetsuit during the winter.

 

[PBcatfish]

Scientists will unleash an army of crabs to help save Florida’s dying reef

Not all heroes wear capes. Some are crabs.

www.vox.com

I'm all for saving the reefs, and a few extra crabs seem harmless enough, but bringing in an invasive species & putting on a puppet show for them to train them about local predators? Really?

All that aside, it's sounding like we may have a new type of crab showing up in the local area in a few months.

I am left to wonder why they would not just populate with more stone crabs or blue crabs, or some other species that is already here.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Scientists will unleash an army of crabs to help save Florida’s dying reef

Not all heroes wear capes. Some are crabs.

www.vox.com

I'm all for saving the reefs, and a few extra crabs seem harmless enough, but bringing in an invasive species & putting on a puppet show for them to train them about local predators? Really?

All that aside, it's sounding like we may have a new type of crab showing up in the local area in a few months.

I am left to wonder why they would not just populate with more stone crabs or blue crabs, or some other species that is already here.

Hummm. Have we not learned that introducing an invasive species can, and more often does, have unintended consequences???