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Ok, so in a few weeks I am going to take a scuba road trip from Phoenix to Florida and Myrtle Beach SC. I am going to travel to the Athens scuba park in Texas and from there I have a couple thousand miles to cover before hitting Florida. Ultimately when I get there I want to dive on the Vandenberg and a few other wrecks, then up to Myrtle Beach, SC. Does anyone have any recommendations for must dive spots along this route either to or from as I will be driving?
I am an east coast USA diver. I recommend anything in the Gulf Stream of Southern East Coast Florida. That means Jupiter Florida all the way to Key West. Venice Florida on the west coast is famous for fossils and sharks teeth. Charleston SC has some ledges and shipwrecks. Myrtle Beach has lots of shipwrecks.
B]Inshore dive off a Coastal Scuba boat. Barracuda Alley.[/B]
Topside view of the "Scuba Express" dive boat. Approximately 45 feet long. Duel diesel engines. Second story bridge. Lot of railing. Duel ladders (fins off). Rear dive platform. Cooler. Water. Head. Pilot house. Unique tank holders (no bungies). Spear fishing allowed. Bow flat deck for lounging. Helpful dive masters. Excellent operation overall.
The Jupiter Florida Dive Center has two very nice boats. The boats are parked only a few feet from the rear door of the dive center. The one I was on had one ladder, in the center, and it is a "fins on" ladder. The boat has a nice water level rear platform that is about 30 inches wide and runs the length of the rear of the boat. They have two aluminum hand rails for personal support while boarding the boat after the dive. The head is clean and the boat is un-cluttered. The boat Captain is high above on a bridge. The tank securing arrangement is in excellent condition and there is plenty of seating. The boat is wide and divers can enter the water on both sides of the ladder at the same time. All in all, two very nice dive boats. Professional operation. Highly recommended!
JoyfulLee and I visited Key Largo Florida a few weeks ago. We stayed at a hotel called the Marina Del Mar
It is located at the 100 mile marker. The area has LOTS of scuba operations so it is not difficult to find a boat.
We used a scuba operation called (Rainbow Reef).
I was especially impressed with how helpful the boat captain was.
We dove the reefs named: the Bentwood, French, Wench, and Molassas. I thought the dives were excellent.
The water was only 40 feet deep and there was good visability. The reefs had lots of structure and lots of sealife.
Short boat ride, easy dives, and great opportunities for photos.
Helpful information in regards to diving offshore South Carolina:
Offshore diving varies significantly with the weather. The high swells and choppy water cause the boat to make less time, thus longer rides. As a general rule, the further the boat goes out, the better the viz. The soil within the river water, flowing into the sea, cause the water close to the shore to be brown. A little further out the water is green. Green water is about a 1hr boat ride. Even further out the water turns to blue. Blue water is about a 2hr-3hr boat ride offshore North & South Carolina. When they say inshore dive, they are usually speaking of green water 50-70 feet deep. When they say offshore dive, they are usually speaking of blue water 80-130 feet deep. All the specifics, depth, etc, on each dive site are listed on the websites. The water depth will give you a clue as to how far offshore the site is. It is helpful to ask the shop how long is the boat ride?
You want to dive the Athens TX Scuba Park, eh? There has to be a story behind that somewhere. I dived it once, hope to never do that again, but here a couple of suggestions along the first 1100+ miles. Click pics for larger.
Phoenix to Athens seems to be 1137 miles. *
Phoenix to Santa Rosa NM to Athens seems to be 1136 miles. *
Dive the spring fed volcanic vent known as the Blue Hole, features in "The Grapes of Wrath"Santa Rosa, New Mexico : City of Lakes This is an altitude dive now.
Phoenix to Balmorhea TX to Athens seems to be 1160 miles. *
Dive San Solomon Springs: TPWD: Balmorhea State Park
* Mileage could be less if you select "shortest route" on Map Quest, and you can find local opinions on both sites on Rocky Mountain forum here. If you're not going to stop in Athens each way, then you might select a different approach to one of those. Don't plan on diving Bottomless Lakes near Roswell NM.
Pretty adventurous plan for a newish diver, but doable if you got the time. Quite a kickoff to your growth in the sport. The deeper wrecks are a bit much for a newish diver, but they're done.
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