So Cal Kelp Divers come to Ft Lauderdale in August

[CBulla]

Ken - I was diving in shorts this weekend without any problems at temperature wise. It was a lot like diving in a swimming pool.

Depending on the beach you enter at will depend on your walk to the shoreline to. Down by Mike Jacobs place its a short walk (100yds) to the water and a short swim out (100-130yds) to the beginning of the reef line. 8th street near Pompano pier is an even shorter walk (40yds). The beach at the place we stayed at this weekend was about 250yds of shifting sand and a 200-225yds swim to the reef.

Its all relative to what sort of physical exertion your used to. I quite enjoy the mini-work out since the time on the reef is hardly spent working at all.

 

[Wristshot]

Ken,

I am a Monterey-ish based diver, and I have gone to Florida twice in the last two years.

In November 2002, I used a 3mm for diving as that was the thinnest that I had at the time. Water temps ranged from ~82 @ surface to a low of 79 @ 107 ft. Pompano area and Key Largo. Never a problem, but I could have used less.

December (xmas-New Year) 2003 I used my 1/2 mm for the first dives, but switched to the 3mm for the remaining days. When temps get below about 74 I need just a little more. Temps ranged from 68 - 73 during that week.

However, everyone's tolerance is different. Local (Boca Raton) friends wouldn't dive in November because it was too cold!!! We saw people on the dive boat piling on 3 layers, including hoods, and still complaining about the cold afterwards.

My guess is that since you are acclimated to So Cal waters, that you would be fine in any of the aforementioned set ups. I doubt that you will get cold, but YMMV.


Wristshot

PS: I always use a full suit because I am fair of skin and I find that neoprene is a great sunblock.

 

[MikeJacobs]

SNIP... Local (Boca Raton) friends wouldn't dive in November because it was too cold!!! We saw people on the dive boat piling on 3 layers, including hoods, and still complaining about the cold afterwards.

LOL I would have been embarrassed to wear a wet suit when I first moved here, but after a summer I usually grab the 3/2 when the water drops to 80.

 

[Mo2vation]

Got flights

Got a car

Got Jaye and I booked in the IA trip on 8/7 - both AM and PM sessions for requisite dive-my-face-off in the keys

Will book hotel today - likely PierPoint in FLL. Local, cheap, I don't need no stinking resort.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like a good SB-er I spent the last 2 nights plowing through every single FLL / Southern Fla thread in the place. Got out my map, and its all making sense now (well, a little more sense.) After reading through several hundred posts, here's the take of a non-local (spear me if I'm all wet...)

Ft Lauderdale

BEACH- for the most part, guppy beach diving on the local reef. Shallow (60-ish max) across a very popular, so pretty much picked over reef. Rip currents drown swimmers.

Pros: Local, cheap, easy, fish.
Cons: Tired reef


BOAT - lots of local operators. Some to stay away from. There are reefs further oout that a boat can get us to that are much nicer (read: less people dragging fins and consoles over them.)

Pros: not a beach dive, more diversity, a little deeper
Cons: paying to dive, snorklers


After reading all the stuff, there seems to be a lot of you that dive in WPB (do I sound local yet?) From what I discerned from my reading, the WPB area offers more challenging dives, deeper dives, drift dives and a tower that is not to be missed.


So maybe revise the plan?

Would it be worth it to take our Friday to drive up to WPB (while most of you responsible adults in FLL are, you know, WORKING) do our Sat Keys thing, and the party like beach diving rock stars in FLL on SUNDAY wif you all? I'm thinking Sunday beach diving would probably be the ticket (We leave Monday at 5:30 PM... so we can dive most of Sunday and still have 19 - 26 hrs+)

Thoughts? Issues? Ken you suck, what are you thinking? Its all good.

Thanks -

K

 

[simbrooks]

Although having never dove there, the books and reports i hear on here suggest that the 1st reef (quick swim out) is not that deep, maybe up to 20-30ft max. Otherwise there are the other options you suggested. Isnt Tenaco Towers further south than WPB, like Miami or something? 130ft or so of old oil drilling platform stuff left out and knocked around by a hurricane or two? There are plenty of good dives off WPB and all along that south east coast if you want to pay the money. Who is available to dive on the friday all day??? Any of you thinking of a half day at work or cough, cough calling a day at the office? How late would the sunday beach dives run til? If til around early evening or dusk we could stay down and leave late to drive back, otherwise maybe we would leave in the afternoon after a few goodbyes and lunch if there is no diving going on after the morning.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

You might reach 23fsw on a beach dive, but only if you swim to the mooring balls and its high tide. What you miss in depth, you make up in bottom time. It is not uncommon to do a 100+ minute dive. Most of our beach dives hang around 70-95 min.

I think I have a cold coming on, and will need to take that Friday off. *cough cough*.

And Ken, do I need to change my title to "guppy beach diver?"

 

[Mo2vation]

Although having never dove there, the books and reports i hear on here suggest that the 1st reef (quick swim out) is not that deep, maybe up to 20-30ft max. Otherwise there are the other options you suggested. Isnt Tenaco Towers further south than WPB, like Miami or something? 130ft or so of old oil drilling platform stuff left out and knocked around by a hurricane or two? There are plenty of good dives off WPB and all along that south east coast if you want to pay the money. Who is available to dive on the friday all day??? Any of you thinking of a half day at work or cough, cough calling a day at the office? How late would the sunday beach dives run til? If til around early evening or dusk we could stay down and leave late to drive back, otherwise maybe we would leave in the afternoon after a few goodbyes and lunch if there is no diving going on after the morning.

Thinking we can dive until dinner on Sunday. A real dinner (like 6:00 OM-ish) not the Arnaud 10:00 PM So Cal dinner.

A zillion minutes of good diving really doesn't beat half-a-zillion minutes of great diving, IMO. But I hear ya. That's why I dive the E8-130 Waterheater... mad BT.

The only thing set in stone are the 4 dives Sat in the Keys. We're open for anythng / anywhere else, for sure.

K

 

[reubencahn]

This may be heresy but if you're paying for boat dives, I would skip FTL and drive up to WPB and dive with Pura Vida. I live in Hollywood, the real one, which is south of FTL and I still prefer to dive in Palm Beach and Jupiter.

 

[Mo2vation]

This may be heresy but if you're paying for boat dives, I would skip FTL and drive up to WPB and dive with Pura Vida.

This is what I got out of the stuff I read last night.

I live in Hollywood, the real one...

THIS IS THE HERESY


K

 

[simbrooks]

Did you book the hotel yet? What price for a room? Phone number?