Who to dive with in Boca Raton?

[gcarter]

I am going to be in Boca / Deerfield Beach the week of the 13th. I have the opportunity to do a 2 tank on the morning of the 14th with a co-worker. He is only OW with about 45 dives and it has been a year and a half since his last dive. So we are limited to easier sites / dives.

I did a web contact with Dixie Divers but have received no response, and they have now updated their schedule with the United Caribbean for the morning of the 14th; my co-worker has a preference for pretty fishies rather than wrecks so they are probably out.

Any other suggestions that are occasional diver friendly? Or should we just hop down to Key Largo? I know he has dived there before (I have as well, but this is about getting him in the water), but it is a bit of a hike.

I should mention that I will be bringing my own gear, but he will need full rental kit.

 

[seaseadee]

Weather this time of year is hit or miss. I would recommend Starfish in Boynton or Diversity in Boca. The problem is that you may not know for sure if you are going out until a few days before. There is always the Blue Heron Bridge if the boats cancel on you. Call Force-E in Boca and they can also help you book a dive.

 

[NothingClever]

It sounds like you're willing to drive a little bit.

I can't recommend Jupiter Dive Center enough. I dived with them in July and had a great experience so I picked them again.

Sam and Adam are superb at customer service over the phone and face-to-face in the shop. The owners will be decisive with their weather call and you can bet Adam or Sam will be on the phone with you pronto to inform you of the weather call and to refund your money or reschedule you with no drama.

Lisa, one of the owners, guided today's dive and was great. Crisp, descriptive but succinct dive briefs.

Tom, one of their skippers, is a standard bearer. Great job skippering today in some sloppy waters. He's nice and mellow but can drive that vessel like a jet ski when he needs to.

Ryan is a great deck hand. Attentive and very helpful but never slips into nanny role.

Today was more of the same - lemon sharks and groupers for days.

In contrast, I've dived with Starfish down in Boynton Beach but did not have the positive experience others have had. I think the owners Adam and Maggie are genuinely good people so perhaps we just had a bad run the week I was with them.

Anyways, my sense is JDC is a fixture in the local business community with long term ownership and generations of brothers working there. I think you can rely on JDC for a great Florida dive experience.

The dive shop (SP) is well stocked, too.

 

[gcarter]

It sounds like you're willing to drive a little bit.

I can't recommend Jupiter Dive Center enough. I dived with them in July and had a great experience so I picked them again.

Sam and Adam are superb at customer service over the phone and face-to-face in the shop. The owners will be decisive with their weather call and you can bet Adam or Sam will be on the phone with you pronto to inform you of the weather call and to refund your money or reschedule you with no drama.

Lisa, one of the owners, guided today's dive and was great. Crisp, descriptive but succinct dive briefs.

Tom, one of their skippers, is a standard bearer. Great job skippering today in some sloppy waters. He's nice and mellow but can drive that vessel like a jet ski when he needs to.

Ryan is a great deck hand. Attentive and very helpful but never slips into nanny role.

Today was more of the same - lemon sharks and groupers for days.

In contrast, I've dived with Starfish down in Boynton Beach but did not have the positive experience others have had. I think the owners Adam and Maggie are genuinely good people so perhaps we just had a bad run the week I was with them.

Anyways, my sense is JDC is a fixture in the local business community with long term ownership and generations of brothers working there. I think you can rely on JDC for a great Florida dive experience.

The dive shop (SP) is well stocked, too.

I have been out with JDC once before and have a favorable view of them. May 2014, a stop on my way to a 20 dive week in Key Largo I even still have their website bookmarked LOL.

 

[seeker242]

I did a web contact with Dixie Divers but have received no response, and they have now updated their schedule with the United Caribbean for the morning of the 14th; my co-worker has a preference for pretty fishies rather than wrecks so they are probably out.

Dixie Divers is much better to contact on the phone. The trip mentioned is probably the wreck the first dive and 2nd reef dive. A wreck is a great dive for seeing fish as that is where the fish congregate. You typically see a greater concentration of fish on a wreck than you do on the reef. United Caribbean would be a fine dive for that.

 

[gcarter]

Current forecast shows 2-4 ft seas with 5 second interval and 15 kt winds for Tuesday. Doesn't sound great.

 

[NothingClever]

For other folks doing research, you might reach out to @scubadada . Although he doesn’t live in Florida, he dives there frequently and has a pretty well-vetted list of charter companies from which to choose.

 

[Lostdiver71]

The forecast offshore is not looking good for Tuesday! A great dive is the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach, you can get in the water about 10 AM on Tuesday and dive until about 11:45 AM during slack high tide. Contact Force E or Pura Vida Divers for more information. It is not a bad idea to hire a guide to show you the best sites or reach out on the Blue Heron Bridge Forum for a guide there are several experienced guides here on ScubaBoard.

 

[scubadada]

For other folks doing research, you might reach out to @scubadada . Although he doesn’t live in Florida, he dives there frequently and has a pretty well-vetted list of charter companies from which to choose.

I do all my diving in Boynton Beach, Jupiter, and West Palm and only have recommendations for those places.

 

[delacrue96]

+1 for Narcosis Dive. If interested in a shore dive, try Lauderdale by the Sea, or check out Sink Florida Sink for other options. Enjoy!