Want To Dive Venice

[ReefGuy]

I have found a couple of 4" teeth off the beach, but my largest (5") I found on a charter, about 1 1/2 miles out in 40' of water. It's not too difficult to find megs in the 2" to 3" range off the beach. I've dove in January in a 3mil shorty under a 3mil john/jacket, but it's very cold still. I use a drysuit for this dive now.

Bulls/Duskys, Lemon, and Sand tiger are by far the most common teeth to be found here, less common are the Tiger, Snaggletooth, Mako, and Megs. Apart from teeth, you can find (commonly) stingray barbs, puffer mouth plates, rib bones, whale earbones, etc. Cbulla once found a juvenile Mastadon femur just south of the pier. Rarely, you can also find mastadon teeth.

 

[sharkboy1515]

ok thanks, my plan was to dive the beach the first day im there and to do a charter with Florida West Scuba the second to get a try of both. Do you think 3 wetsuits will be warm enough for the dive, or will i need to learn how to use a dry suit?

 

[sharkboy1515]

are most people sucessful with the charter dives?

 

[CBulla]

Success in finds depends largly upon the water conditions. There is a higher measure of success from newer divers on the boats, but the same sort of success can be found beach side if conditions are good.

 

[sharkboy1515]

i can't wait to do some dives down there! I'm also planning to dive Wilmington, NC next June, and Venice again this spring break. That way I can try Venice in Winter and spring- (they'll probally be really different!

 

[ReefGuy]

That depends on you. Mid 60s is definately at least a full 3mm for me, but CBulla, I believe, still wears his speedo :11:

Diving the springs vs Venice beach is the same as night vs day.

Do you think 3 wetsuits will be warm enough for the dive, or will i need to learn how to use a dry suit?

 

[sharkboy1515]

i dove the springs before, they're freezing! i've also been thinking about diving the cooper river too... im still debating that though..

 

[ReefGuy]

The springs in Florida are 72 year around. The gulf will be a little colder than that.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

ok thanks. I've done some low visability dives before, so maybe they'll help. So my guess is that i'll need around 3 wetsuits or a drysuit for a dive in the winter. I still would like to dive whether the conditions are bad, i've been looking for sharks teeth since i was five, but i've never been able to dive for them yet, so this will be a good oppertunity. What do you find regularly on a dive in venice?

I'm the queen of cold and was just fine for an hour in an old 1/4" farmer john (probably 5mm after years of compression) and a hood with no gloves when Walter took me out a couple of years ago in February. My computer was reading 63 degrees, his was registering a little colder. If you're used to diving cold water you won't find the water to be cold, if you're a warm water diver you'll need more exposure protection.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[UB]

ok thanks, my plan was to dive the beach the first day im there and to do a charter with Florida West Scuba the second to get a try of both. Do you think 3 wetsuits will be warm enough for the dive, or will i need to learn how to use a dry suit?

Depends on your tolerance - I only dove Venice twice in the winter and used a 7 mm farmer john with a hood and didn't even feel the cold. But keep in mind that Venice boat dives are ~30ft deep and beach dives are ~20ft so you will be under water for a significant amount of time (~60-67F water does not bother me for ~30min with a 3mm wetsuit but after 1hr I will probably start shaking.)