Palm Beach Shores area Sunday - Dive Buddy and/or boat/dive advice requested

[adder70]

I have a site visit next week that I hope to start Monday. That would allow me to arrive in the PB Shores area Sunday and get a few dives in. I'll need to rent equipment (except mask fins, snorkel) and I am open to boat or shore dives, etc. Im a master diver but haven't been in the water for a while so nice easy dives like the Breakers would be great. I can handle a deeper dive as long as it's not a high current and low vis type dive, especially for the first of the day.

I am also open to snorkeling the Blue Heron bridge (or anyplace, really!) if there's anything decent to see from the surface. I'm even open to evening dives depending on my workload which I'll know better in the next day or two.

Woohoo!! I am finally getting wet again!!

 

[adder70]

Confirmed Saturday evening flight. I'll be booking boat dives for Sunday morning and afternoon tomorrow unless someone responds with alternative solutions. I don't have a buddy, so a buddy would be great either way!

I'll be bringing reg (I hope I remember how to properly switch from DIN to yoke and combine my 2 regs into 1 with 2 secondaries. I'm pretty sure based on 2 minutes of looking that it will be cake but haven't done it yet.) and mask/fins/snorkel so will be renting tanks and BC.

I 'll also be bringing my digital pocket cam with U/W case so we can get some good pix and reasonable videos. Quality was pretty darn good for a video of a bass at Ginnie in the run and another of a catfish in the ballroom (under only a dive light). :uwphotographer:

I assume no wetsuit of any sort needed in So Florida summer waters. I know I didn't need them in the 90s and since we've had global warming...

 

[djtimmy77]

In order of preference of the West Palm boats I've been on I'd book on Narcosis, Little Deeper, Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures, Walkers. All good boats, my order is based mainly upon how crowded the boats feel to me. They all generally go to the same dive sites, and all have good crews from my experience.

I also recommend bringing exposure protection, not for the water temperature, but from all of the moon jellyfish that have been around lately.

 

[Splitlip]

If in need of tune ups, there is one op that limits certain dives to about 60 ft. I think Little Deeper or Sandy Sunday. I have dived with neither. Other ops do 80 footers AFAIK. And there is usually a current.

As for gear, Force-E is across the BHB from Palm Beach Shores. They don't have their own boats, but set up dives with the local ops. You can ask them what op might be best to use as a tune up.

As for the DIN; lots of places now rent the 100 cf steel tanks with the 200 bar convertable valves. Check with Force-E. You may be able to dive DIN. (I have a din to yoke converter in my save a dive.)

 

[adder70]

Thanks for the info on the DIN rental setups. I'd still have to move my stuff over to my preferred first stage, but the conversion to yoke (and back) would be annoying. If you're referring to to the converters to make a DIN tank a yoke tank, I actually have a couple of those in my "save a dive" box as well as the yokes for my regs. I'll have to figure out which is easiest overall.

The exposure protection is an issue because I only have a 3mm wetsuit, no skins. I may just risk it on the jellyfish. If there are many men-of-war (is that the proper plural?) I'll buy a skin.

 

[Codiak]

Any shops in the area deal with rebreathers consumables?

Still debating shipping mine UPS prior to a November trip.

 

[djtimmy77]

adder 70,

3mm should be fine in the water, you just might want to peel at the surface intervals. I generally wear a skin and a hooded vest this time of year. My dive buddies all wear 5mm and hooded vests. I'd bring the 3mm along regardless, as there can be upwellings in the summer that cool the water down quite a bit.

Codiak,

I am certain you can get ahold of the rebreather consumables, I just can't point you to a local shop. I know you can get it in pompano beach Rebreathers, Consumables, Accessories and Spares - Dive Gear Express

 

[Codiak]

Djtimmy,
Thanks, but I'm looking for local supplies to avoid the extra weight during transit.
Getting 40% blends is usally the more difficult task.

 

[djtimmy77]

That shop I linked is about 30 minutes south of WPB. You can get 40% pre-mix there, or from any place that does PP blending...which most shops locally can do.

I'd say that there is a good chance of someone in WPB having the materials, but I am not a RB diver so I can't say for sure.

 

[Splitlip]

Djtimmy,
Thanks, but I'm looking for local supplies to avoid the extra weight during transit.
Getting 40% blends is usally the more difficult task.

Maybe check with Brownies. They have a small shop in Riviera Beach.

http://www.yachtdiver.com/rebreathers-dive-gear.shtml