West Palm Beach in March

[johndiver999]

I always have two DSMBs. I’m never lost. Sometimes I stay with the guide, sometimes I shoot my DSMB & come up on my own. The boat is always right there. That’s one of the really nice things about drift diving.

The boat is always right there....LOL.. not on some of the charters I see. There are smb's scattered all over the place, sometimes 1/4 mile apart.

The boat can't be with everyone all the time. If you are not pulling a float, assuming your boat will "be right there" is not always warranted.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

The boat is always right there....LOL.. not on some of the charters I see. There are smb's scattered all over the place, sometimes 1/4 mile apart.

The boat can't be with everyone all the time. If you are not pulling a float, assuming your boat will "be right there" is not always warranted.

Maybe you need to be more careful with what charters you’re using.

 

[tekkydiver]

I always have two DSMBs. I’m never lost. Sometimes I stay with the guide, sometimes I shoot my DSMB & come up on my own. The boat is always right there. That’s one of the really nice things about drift diving.

A DSMB offers you no protection as it has no standing. A flag gives you a 300' diameter idle zone around you. A sausage is just debris in the water.

 

[lowwall]

Hi @Harrisb411

The reefs in Boynton Beach are the shallowest. The west facing/inside reefs are 50 something feet on top and 60-65 feet in the sand. The operators in BB do not put guides in the water. Each diver or group takes a flag. I could give you the name of a operator with excellent guides if you want.

I'll second this. My son got his JOW certification with Starfish Scuba out of Boynton Beach over Christmas break. They were doing reef dives 5 days per week that are perfect for max 60' dives. Every buddy pair gets a flag. They did put a DM in the water, you could follow him if you wanted. The other two days were wreck dives that were too deep, but check their schedule.

I've also dived the same reefs in previous years with Kevin Metz of Underwater Explorers. He shut down his op at the start of the pandemic, but if he is running again I can highly recommend him.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

A DSMB offers you no protection as it has no standing. A flag gives you a 300' diameter idle zone around you. A sausage is just debris in the water.

In theory. In reality you have to assume the flag gives you nothing. The boat itself flying its diver down flag offers you the most protection. Always keep your head on a swivel regardless and be ready to descend.

 

[edwants2dive]

In theory. In reality you have to assume the flag gives you nothing. The boat itself flying its diver down flag offers you the most protection. Always keep your head on a swivel regardless and be ready to descend.

A lot of truth in that statement. Unfortunately many of the boaters down here don't pay attention to the 300' rule as well as they should either due to their ignorance, too much adult beverage consumption, or just plain don't give a $h1t.

 

[RyanT]

In theory. In reality you have to assume the flag gives you nothing. The boat itself flying its diver down flag offers you the most protection. Always keep your head on a swivel regardless and be ready to descend.

A lot of truth in that statement. Unfortunately many of the boaters down here don't pay attention to the 300' rule as well as they should either due to their ignorance, too much adult beverage consumption, or just plain don't give a $h1t.

Yep, last year we had a guy in a big center console run right up on us as we were getting ready to splash. Our captain pointed to our dive flag and told the guy to back off. He said, "you don't have divers in the water yet" and flipped us off.

 

[Redfoot]

Booked March 18-21 for a long weekend getaway, staying at Singer Island Hilton (Marriott was crazy expensive) and diving with Walker's- 3 tank trip on 3/29 and two tank AM on 3/20. Hoping to do BHB on 3/20 afternoon. Looks like the tide window is around 1300-1600 on 3/20, so it may just work out if I get back from the morning boat trip before noon!

Killer Delta flights from DTW-PBI. Round trip for around $250, and I had a $75.00 eCredit to use. I arrive PBI before noon on 3/18 and depart at 5:00 pm on 3/21, both nonstop!

If weather does not cooperate, will be nice to just get out of town for a few days.

 

[RyanT]

If weather does not cooperate, will be nice to just get out of town for a few days.

And that really is the right attitude. I've seen a lot of folks get upset and yell at the dive operator for not going out. What these folks don't seem to understand is that if the operator cancels the trip. They lose money. They DO NOT want to lose money. So if they cancel, it truly is a weather-related safety issue.

I take the same attitude as you @Redfoot, if dives get cancelled, I find something else fun to do where it's warm that time of year! Fingers crossed for you, that you do get out and have some good dives though!

 

[scubadada]

And that really is the right attitude. I've seen a lot of folks get upset and yell at the dive operator for not going out. What these folks don't seem to understand is that if the operator cancels the trip. They lose money. They DO NOT want to lose money. So if they cancel, it truly is a weather-related safety issue.

I take the same attitude as you @Redfoot, if dives get cancelled, I find something else fun to do where it's warm that time of year! Fingers crossed for you, that you do get out and have some good dives though!

I assume they are protecting me from hazardous conditions. If the boat goes, I go. If they call the trip, I thank them for good judgement. I know my operators quite well and trust them