Where to Weekend Tec Dive Jupiter to Miami FL ???

[Narcosis Mike]

Hello All!

I'm taking my AN/DP class at the moment and want to get consensus on which shops offer weekend tech trips (for us 9-5 folks) from the Miami to Port Saint Lucie area. I currently live in Jupiter and the closest shop I can find is Pura Vida, however they seem to mostly do Trimix Level dives. While I'd love to do those, my plan is to get at least 15 deco dives prior to taking the Trimix & Adv Wreck class with Chatterton (it's a requirement of his prior to signup!).

Need to find a place where I can do 110~150 ft or so deco dives to get the experience! Was planning to use Pompano dive center but they have closed....

Thanks in advance,
Mike Shields

 

[rddvet]

Hello All!

I'm taking my AN/DP class at the moment and want to get consensus on which shops offer weekend tech trips (for us 9-5 folks) from the Miami to Port Saint Lucie area. I currently live in Jupiter and the closest shop I can find is Pura Vida, however they seem to mostly do Trimix Level dives. While I'd love to do those, my plan is to get at least 15 deco dives prior to taking the Trimix & Adv Wreck class with Chatterton (it's a requirement of his prior to signup!).

Need to find a place where I can do ~150 ft or so deco dives to get the experience! Was planning to use Pompano dive center but they have closed....

Thanks in advance,
Mike Shields

in my opinion a 150ft dive would be a trimix dive. Maybe think about longer run time dives in the 100-120 range to get deco experience. Others will disagree and chest thump that they can do 200 on air easy. At 150ft for a newly certified deco diver, you’re going to get narced

 

[Narcosis Mike]

in my opinion a 150ft dive would be a trimix dive. Maybe think about longer run time dives in the 100-120 range to get deco experience. Others will disagree and chest thump that they can do 200 on air easy. At 150ft for a newly certified deco diver, you’re going to get narced

To Clarify - I'm totally OK getting the deco experience shallower, as long as the dive boat offers it as a Deco trip. Most of them are No-Deco recreational diving only trips unless specifically designated as a Tec Diving trip.

 

[NothingClever]

Great question, @Narcosis Mike.

While I can't offer you a direct answer, you might check with Aqui Water Sports (www.getaqui.com) in Lauderdale by the Sea. They run technical training and, as you already know, those are typically small courses so they might be happy to have you join them to help fill a boat (no greater than a six pack). They have a very strong grasp on high standards without being dorks about it so you'll definitely be happy with perpetuation of your training through the osmotic learning.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Key Largo, Horizon divers does double dips on the SG and the other wrecks in that area almost every day. And they are tech friendly.

 

[RyanT]

Pura Vida does have at least one dive in your range, called hole-in the-wall. You can keep it at 140' and it's a really great dive. On the wreck side of things, Pompano Beach has a lot more to offer, and indeed PDC was my go to. ScubaTyme in Pompano Beach runs a good operation with DMs. Scubatyme more recreational oriented, but they do run tech trips. Also Missconduct charters is an option in Pompano Beach. It's a small six pack boat and they'll run with just two divers. You have a lot of flexibility with Missconduct and my buddy and I have gotten the boat to ourselves. The downside is that they don't have a DM and don't tie in to the wrecks. So you have to quite self sufficient. I'm not a fan of South Florida Dive HQ.

For gaining the skills your looking for, the Lady Luck is one of my favorite dives in Pompano. It's 110' to the deck and 135' to the sand at the props. It's a huge wreck, so there's lots to see and deep enough to rack up some deco pretty quickly.

 

[Narcosis Mike]

Pura Vida does have at least one dive in your range, called hole-in the-wall. You can keep it at 140' and it's a really great dive. On the wreck side of things, Pompano Beach has a lot more to offer, and indeed PDC was my go to. ScubaTyme in Pompano Beach runs a good operation with DMs. Scubatyme more recreational oriented, but they do run tech trips. Also Missconduct charters is an option in Pompano Beach. It's a small six pack boat and they'll run with just two divers. You have a lot of flexibility with Missconduct and my buddy and I have gotten the boat to ourselves. The downside is that they don't have a DM and don't tie in to the wrecks. So you have to quite self sufficient. I'm not a fan of South Florida Dive HQ.

For gaining the skills your looking for, the Lady Luck is one of my favorite dives in Pompano. It's 110' to the deck and 135' to the sand at the props. It's a huge wreck, so there's lots to see and deep enough to rack up some deco pretty quickly.

Thanks Ryan! Yes i've dove with SFDH before and it's hit or miss. Jumping off of a catamaran in doubles is quite the experience...... I haven't been fortunate enough to visit lady luck but if there's any shop which goes there and allows a deco dive that one would be perfect - heard great things about it.

 

[PfcAJ]

Capt Conrad with Miss Conduct will take you where you wanna go.

 

[PSUSciDiver]

Boca my friend. It gets deep quick out the inlet.

 

[azstinger11]

Check with Force-E since they do TDI training they might have spots on open on the boats or know which ones are currently doing tech trips.