South Florida trip coming. No dive buddy, tips on that and schedule?

[SomeGuy509]

Hi All,

Kind of long post.

So I am heading down to South Florida for my honeymoon in December. My wife is a not a diver however so I will be making buddies as I go.

I am bringing all my own gear since we are going to be driving. I have AOW but the deepest I have been is 65ft. So for at least the first dive on the deeper wrecks I want to hit I plan to hire a guide. I have dove on long island sound in pitch black, 3ft of vis at 55ft, which was awesome though.

A lot of the time is going to be in West Palm beach area. There are so many operations there it's almost overwhelming to pick from. I actually did my OW the Jupiter Dive Center but I am curious to try some of the other ops (spread the love).

-Does it make more sense to do most of my booking with the same op? Maybe less likely for there to be an issue if there is a weather cancellation (double booked).
-Do most of the ops run weekdays? Or am I likely to deal with cancellations due to not being able to fill the boat enough? They all have dates on the calendar but given the time of year is it an issue?
-What about finding a buddy. From what I remember at least on the drift dive it was more of a group thing. Stick with the DM carrying the flag and you are good. Make friends with somebody on the boat?

Here is the plan I have right now:

• Dec 17-19th Key largo. Driving down from Miami in the morning. I'm looking at going out with Horizon Divers or Conch Republic. I am at the Hampton so CRD is a little farther but not bad. The Rainbow Reef thing didn't appeal to me.
  • 17th: Reef, confirmed with CRD.
  • 18th: Spiegel Grove. Confirmed with CRD. Interestingly Horizon's prices are fixed even if you bring your own tanks and weights.
  • 19th: Backup. Maybe another wreck?
• Dec 19th-21st Looe Key Reef Resort
  • 19th: See above
  • 20th: I'd like to hit the Vandenberg. I've already sent a note to Captains Corner
  • 21st: Backup, maybe do something at Looe Key

• Dec 21st-29th: WPB, I am staying in the City Place area. I think the main things I have on my itinerary are to hit BHB and the 3 tank dive JDC is planning on the 22nd. Otherwise the schedule is open. Jupiter is a bit further north so I was looking at Narcosis and Pura Vida as options. Kyalami seem like a good weekday option because of the price.
  • Dec 21st: BHB night dive with Pura Vida (confirmed)
  • Dec 22nd: JDC 2 tank dive (confirmed)
  • Dec 23rd: JDC 3 tank dive (confirmed)
  • Dec 24th: ???
  • Dec 25th: Looks like high tide is at 10am. Maybe a fellow scuba boarder wants to do BHB on Christmas day?
  • Dec 26th: ???
  • Dec 27th: ???
  • Dec 28th: ???
  • Dec 29th: ???

 

[kelemvor]

-Does it make more sense to do most of my booking with the same op? Maybe less likely for there to be an issue if there is a weather cancellation (double booked).

Yes, Most operations will give you a decent discount for booking multiple days. Many operators require a credit card to secure a slot and won't give refunds within 24 hours. So if you double book, you might end up paying for both seats.

-Do most of the ops run weekdays? Or am I likely to deal with cancellations due to not being able to fill the boat enough? They all have dates on the calendar but given the time of year is it an issue?

Each operator has their own cancellation policy. Pick one, and ask them about it. Most times I've found operators want at least 4 divers booked in order to go out. You could probably pay for 4 seats if the boat was otherwise empty... If you've got the dime, they've got the time What time of year are you going? Winter is "high" season as northerners invade from Georgia on up to Maine. If you're coming in the winter, you'll have to worry more about finding an open seat than you will cancellations, although many of us Floridians give up when the water gets down into the 70's.. that stuff is for the birds.. snowbirds that is.

-What about finding a buddy. From what I remember at least on the drift dive it was more of a group thing. Stick with the DM carrying the flag and you are good. Make friends with somebody on the boat?

If they have a DM in the water with you then you don't need a buddy. Tell the operator when you're booking that it's just you. They'll either put you with an instabuddy (another single diver) or with the DM with or without a group. You can always pay for your own private DM, which can be nice as you don't have to stick with a crowd underwater. That tends to be cheaper than you might expect, too. Many operators include a DM in the water with you as part of the regular fee. That makes the buddy issue a non-issue.

 

[SomeGuy509]

Thank's for the quick reply.

I will be there from 12/17-12/29. Let me update the original post to reflect.

I guess you can lump me in with the birds then. 70+ deg water sounds pretty nice

 

[kelemvor]

Thank's for the quick reply.

I will be there from 12/17-12/29. Let me update the original post to reflect.

I guess you can lump me in with the birds then. 70+ deg water sounds pretty nice

Yep. That's high season alright. You might have trouble finding a spot already.

 

[SomeGuy509]

Interesting. I am really only going by the calender's that are posted online and it looks like there is still plenty of room. Guess I will be making some calls tomorrow.

 

[Marivan377]

I’m headed to Florida myself from dec 26 to the 31st. I have a dive scheduled with South Florida dive headquarters on the 27th diving the Okinawa. I recently got my ow certification so it’s all new to me but I’m bringing my gear cause my gf doesn’t dive either. Would like to do another dive on another day. I know wpb is like 45min from ft lauderdale but if your interested I’d dive with ya.

 

[uncfnp]

Thank's for the quick reply.

I will be there from 12/17-12/29. Let me update the original post to reflect.

I guess you can lump me in with the birds then. 70+ deg water sounds pretty nice

It looks like Pure Vida is sponsoring a night dive at BHB on the 21st and
Force-e on the 22nd. I really encourage you to make one or both dives.

 

[SomeGuy509]

It looks like Pure Vida is sponsoring a night dive at BHB on the 21st and
Force-e on the 22nd. I really encourage you to make one or both dives.

Don't know how I missed that. I'll put the 21st down for now.

Also Marivan, would love to get out on a boat with a few people. Maybe Narcosis? It's a bit further south and I' like to see how they run things.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Each operator has their own cancellation policy. Pick one, and ask them about it. Most times I've found operators want at least 4 divers booked in order to go out. You could probably pay for 4 seats if the boat was otherwise empty... If you've got the dime, they've got the time

I can speak for Conch Republic's policy, when I last dived with them the minimum is 2 divers if the weather is good enough to take the small boat out. I've seen them take the big boat out with as little as 4 divers (which is really comfy on a 42ft Newton).

 

[SomeGuy509]

I can speak for Conch Republic's policy, when I last dived with them the minimum is 2 divers if the weather is good enough to take the small boat out. I've seen them take the big boat out with as little as 4 divers (which is really comfy on a 42ft Newton).

Awesome. I sent a note to them earlier today. Just waiting to hear back.