Sunny Isles in June, looking for recomendations

[e36racerx]

I'm heading to Sunny Isles on 6/14 with my fiance, buddy and his wife. All of us are AOW except for one. I'm looking for recommendations for local shops and must see dive sites. I've spent hours looking online and it appears that there are 1,000 options so I thought it would make sense to get some personal recommendations. We have never been diving in FL before. I see the Keys are probably the place to be but the drive to catch the morning boat seriously hampers our desire to sleep in later than a normal work day. Also it seems like there are great spots much closer to Sunny Isles. We are interested in both boat dives and possibly beach dives. I've never done a beach dive and always wanted to try it out.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LowVizWiz]

North of Sunny Isles, the boats out of Pompano and Boynton Beach will put you on some of the nicest reefs and wrecks in the area. Ft. Lauderdale has nice wrecks too, but most of the shallower reefs are not spectacular. My favorite reef in FTL is fisherman's pedestal in 20' of water. The third reef line has a lot more relief and sea life.

South of Sunny Isles is Key Biscayne which has some beautiful coral reefs, but I almost always dive those from private boats. Check out RJ Diving. And of course you can drive down to Key Largo. Catch the afternoon boat and leisurely drive back during the evening.

The better beach dives are also north of Sunny Isles. You have Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Dania Beach (multiple spots there) and of course Lauderdale by the Sea. Make sure you have a dive flag when you beach dive please.

if you want more specifics, feel free to PM me.

 

[sportxlh]

I agree that Pompano might be a good choice if you want to try a few boat dives. I like all the reef lines in Pompano, the first one in particular is very easy diving. One of my favorite sites in the wreck and reef around the Copenhagen wreck. Lots of fish life and the east side of the reef has a fair amount of relief given the depths are only 20-30 feet.

http://www.museumsinthesea.com/_docs/Copenhagen_brochure.pdf

I dove the 60 foot reef a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it: very fishy with some turtles, nurse sharks and we were lucky enough to see dolphins too (a first for me). The coral formations were stunning in places. I used South Florida Dive HQ but have also had good experiences with Scubatyme and Pompano Dive Center.

Here's some info on Lauderdale by the Sea if you want to shore dive there.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/290550-lauderdale-sea-beach-dive.html

This group does a lot of beach diving: you can also rent gear from the Gold Coast Scuba shop as well.

Gold Coast Scuba Divers (954) 616-5909 (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - Meetup

If you don't like the look of the three shops I noted above, Gold Coast Scuba or Force-E can also hook you up with several other dive boats in the Pompano/Lauderdale area if you call and describe what you want (e.g. newbie, shallow easy dives)

 

[e36racerx]

That's awesome info. Exactly what I was looking for. Let's see, 8 days and shallow dives...... I'm going to fill a rental car with as many Nitrox tanks as it can fit and live under water for a week. Have to scoop a dive flag down there and keep it at my finance's parents house.


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---------- Post added May 20th, 2014 at 12:51 AM ----------

And this is a total noob question, I'm almost embarrassed to ask. But as far as the dive flag goes (never needed to use one). Do I just get a flag and inflatable inner tube or whatever? What about an anchor to hold it? I'm guessing that you don't tie it to your BC....

I'm very interested in the beach dive scene. My girl and boats don't always get along so instead of pumping her full of ginger and every other wives tale to keep her from sick, beach dives could be the answer. We went to Roatan last summer and she never had a major issue but they were also short rides to the dive spots.


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[sportxlh]

The ride time in a boat to most shallow dive sites in Pompano is pretty short. South Florida Dive HQ is very close to the inlet. Sea sickness might not be an issue if the marine conditions are calm.

On beach dives, your flag will be attached to a line which you'll hold. Most regular beach divers have a reel or you can use one of those plastic extension cord winding devices from Home Depot or get a similar cheapy plastic reel from a dive shop.. If you go to a shop like Gold Coast or Force-E, they can rent or sell you a flag, line and plastic reel.

Examples of reels:

http://www.diversdirect.com/scuba-diving/float-line-holder-100ft/

http://www.diversdirect.com/scuba-diving/drift-reel-with-150ft-of-line/

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-150-ft-16-3-Extension-Cord-Wrap-CE-150PDQ/100354512

If you choose the beach dive route, I highly recommend you hook up with a dive club like Gold Coast. If you don't, just make sure the marine conditions are calm: you don't want your girlfriend, or you, sucking down a bunch of seawater while trying to swim out to the reef or back to shore. The second reef line, a prettier reef, is beyond the pier at LBTS and to the uninitiated, it looks like an intimidating swim (and it can be in rough seas).

Here's one more link regarding beach diving at LBTS:

http://www.godiveflorida.com/greater-fort-lauderdale-wrecks-reefs/floridas-best-shore-dive/

 

[iluvtheocean]

14th & 15th have a few shore dives scheduled for that weekend & a night dive on sunday.

most of the boat dives are easy to get to and dramamine works better than ginger

flag rental for non-members for GCS is $8.


They are finally getting nitrox in a few months!!!!! heard it directly from a very reliable source!

 

[aquaholly]

Squalo Divers is located on 826 in North Miami Beach
We do shore dives and boat dives out of Miami, Hollywood, Ft. Lauderdale and Key Biscayne 7 days a week.

 

[Trigger-F]

The Pompano Drop off is a good, relatively easy,(inexpensive) shore dive. By parking around the 8th street (Pompano Beach), it's straight out ( a bit of a swim but worth it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2Gw5685oU

Btw, does anyone in the area know where exactly the staghorn/acropora field is on the west/leeward side of the reef? I saw different staghorn clusters growing on different places, but not a large field as I've been told.

 

[e36racerx]

All great info. We now have another couple coming so it should be an epic trip. I'm hoping we can hit up just about all of the spots mentioned. Not too excited about having to drag a flag in tote with me while on the bottom, but it is what it is. If any of you are going to be around during that week and want to hang out and dive with a group of jokers, by all means let me know.

With respect to Squalo Divers. I think that is the closest shop to where we are staying and I was going to call to check availability for a few members of the group to get their nitrox cert and wrap up the last few courses they need for their advanced open water.


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