West Palm Beach Diving

[Qtpie54346]

Hi everyone. I am new to the board, but find everyone's advice and stories very helpful and interesting! I will be in West Palm Beach/Singer Island for a few days in August and was wondering what suggestions you have for dive charters?

We are thinking that we might do one day at a few different shops, so what charters in Jupiter, West Palm, Palm Beach etc. do you recommend and any specific sites to request?

I couldn't find much input on Coral Island Dive Charters- has anyone used them before? I really want to see some turtles but don't want to be bombarded with sharks cuz I might freak out. Thanks for the help!

Kim

 

[PapaBob]

Hi Kim:

Welcome to the board. You might want to repost in the Florida Conch subforum. Just CLICK HERE and post your question for Baitedstorm and ScubaKevDM. Vickie runs a boat out of Palm Beach and Kevin works for Splashdown in Boynton. Both are popular operators and will be glad to help.

---Bob

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Kim:

I've heard that Coral Island Charters went out of business, but I can't confirm that. In addition to the Vicky's and Kevin's operations, I would also recommend checking out
Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures (www.scuba-adventures.com) and Pura Vida Divers (www.puravidadivers.com) just off Singer Island in Riviera Beach. If you want to go a little farther north, I'd check out Jupiter Dive Charters (www.jupiterdivecharters.com) as well. Everyone has their own favorites, but I've had nothing but great experiences with all of these operations.

Turtles are in great abundance in the West Palm area in the summer so that shouldn't be a problem. The area for reef sharks if you want to see them (or avoid them!) is north of West Palm around Juno. The area is often called Shark Canyon. Many operators go there if their customers WANT to see sharks. In the other West Palm dive sites you'll probably see nurse sharks, but other shark sitings in West Palm are relatively uncommon.

I dive that area a lot. If you want to check out some recent "critter" sitings from the area, check out my website (www.debersole.com) and look in the "Galleries".

Doug

 

[Qtpie54346]

Thanks, those are some great pictures!! Looks like the water is really clear. I can't wait!

 

[Nic160]

Thanks, those are some great pictures!! Looks like the water is really clear. I can't wait!

If you're interested in Turtles, it's hard to miss them in West Palm. From my experiences all of the reefs there are crawling with turtles.

 

[LiteHedded]

yep
I saw a GIANT loggerhead out there on my first ever dive
lots of puffers and moreys as well

 

[del_mo]

I just did a week of diving with Jim Abernathy. While most of the folks were quite friendly, the boat was a stinker and the fumes made a bunch of divers ill.

 

[baitedstorm]

Hi Kim:

Vickie runs a boat out of Palm Beach and Kevin works for Splashdown in Boynton. Both are popular operators and will be glad to help.

---Bob

Although sometimes I might think I run the boat (usually until the Captain reminds.... hehehe) but I'm actually just a lonely little DM out of Palm Beach.

Kim
I'm going to send you a pm right after I post this to give you the scoop about a few of the Op's that have been mentioned..

 

[divingisawesome]

Hi everyone. I am new to the board, but find everyone's advice and stories very helpful and interesting! I will be in West Palm Beach/Singer Island for a few days in August and was wondering what suggestions you have for dive charters?

We are thinking that we might do one day at a few different shops, so what charters in Jupiter, West Palm, Palm Beach etc. do you recommend and any specific sites to request?

I couldn't find much input on Coral Island Dive Charters- has anyone used them before? I really want to see some turtles but don't want to be bombarded with sharks cuz I might freak out. Thanks for the help!

Kim

Yes Kim, Coral Island Charters went out of business last year after the hurricanes hit Florida. I would recommend Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures.

 

[PapaBob]

Vickie:

Hope you are feeling better. I did my best to give you a promotion.

---Bob