Distinctive Caribbean & FL Dive Destinations

[drrich2]

Dan:

I would like to go try Jupiter, or maybe West Palm Beach. It's had to get away from work since we're short-staffed in my department. Right now I'd like to hit Bonaire a week in the summer, and maybe get in a late Fall trip to Florida. I sent an e-mail to Jupiter Dive Center asking some questions, and today got a response including this line:

As to the weather that time of the year it is normally pretty good however don't forget September is the peak of our hurricane season so you do run the risk of a storm.

That's kind of making me nervous. I don't know whether that means there's a 1/100 chance of bad weather, or 1/10, or what. I've got a wife and baby/toddler to bring along, and maybe a mother-in-law, so while I want to stay in the U.S. when I've got them, I do have their safety to think about.

But getting 10 dives in over a week at Jupiter and hopefully seeing sharks, Goliath grouper and ideally loggerhead sea turtles (I've seen a number of green & hawksbill in the wild, but not loggerheads) while drift diving 120 cf tanks of nitrox sounds sweet.

Richard.

P.S.: MikeyCanuck, seems like Turks and Caicos is highly regarded diving on the forum; what is extra special about the diving itself vs., say, Cozumel? Some people like live-aboard diving in T&C, which would get around long boat rides. Compared to the rest of the Caribbean, is it lusher reef, more fish, bigger fish, species you don't see much elsewhere, or what?

 

[danvolker]

Dan:

I would like to go try Jupiter, or maybe West Palm Beach. It's had to get away from work since we're short-staffed in my department. Right now I'd like to hit Bonaire a week in the summer, and maybe get in a late Fall trip to Florida. I sent an e-mail to Jupiter Dive Center asking some questions, and today got a response including this line:



That's kind of making me nervous. I don't know whether that means there's a 1/100 chance of bad weather, or 1/10, or what. I've got a wife and baby/toddler to bring along, and maybe a mother-in-law, so while I want to stay in the U.S. when I've got them, I do have their safety to think about.

But getting 10 dives in over a week at Jupiter and hopefully seeing sharks, Goliath grouper and ideally loggerhead sea turtles (I've seen a number of green & hawksbill in the wild, but not loggerheads) while drift diving 120 cf tanks of nitrox sounds sweet.

Richard.

P.S.: MikeyCanuck, seems like Turks and Caicos is highly regarded diving on the forum; what is extra special about the diving itself vs., say, Cozumel? Some people like live-aboard diving in T&C, which would get around long boat rides. Compared to the rest of the Caribbean, is it lusher reef, more fish, bigger fish, species you don't see much elsewhere, or what?

The last 3 years has had Septembers with no storms...The Hurricane issue was true a decade ago....and maybe a cyclical issue....I think the Hurricane cycle now is having the Northeast getting slammed instead of the Southeast.

In any event, Goliaths are spawning in September--making this an awesome time to see 50 to 100 on a single dive.....and some Septembers the Baitballs will be there...though this can range a few weeks before or after.

I would also recommend JASA for the best Shark encounters ( JASA does this off Juno & Jupiter as well as the Bahamas) , and Abernethy is also the operator that was first to begin to do the Spawning dives....See Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures |
For more on the guy that ABC Nightline has labeled the "Shark Whisperer" Swimming With the Shark Whisperer | Video - ABC News

 

[diver 85]

rich, be careful of the sharks in some areas there......Our son was lead DM/guide for Peter Hugh's boat on the dive the husabnd's were doing(1st dive of the day)when this happened.......Guys went diving/gals(wives) decided to go snorkeling during that time..He said it was bad, happened when the divers were surfacing @ the end of their dive & said when they looked up, all they saw was red.........

Shark Attack Survivor: Michelle 'Micki' Glenn, 51, DeFuniak Springs, Florida - Pew Environment Group

EDIT....As in most written articles, most parts of the story are correct, some are off a little.........ie was a 5' shark and all help was given by the group of drs on board for the week(ie couples present that week with all of the guys being drs)...or,....... that's the story I got---I might be wrong???.......

 

[drrich2]

Richard, why no inclusion of West Palm Beach/Boynton/Jupiter?

Thought I'd follow up with more info. on what's distinctive about this. There's a thread called Palm Beach County vs. the Keys where the diving is described. That thread is well worth a read, and includes videos. Some highlights from posts on that thread:

From SportXLH:

If you like to see big sea life like turtles, sharks, goliath grouper, etc. then Jupiter is the place for you. You can see the same in WPB and Boynton, but are guaranteed to see such in Jupiter.

Unlike the keys, almost all Palm Beach county diving will be 60 feet or deeper.

Virtually all the diving is drift diving in Palm Beach County. In WPB and Jupiter a dive guide is included in the price of the trip. In Boynton, most dive ops give small groups of divers a dive float and reel but a dive guide can be hired. Since WPB and Jupiter are so close to Boynton, you can give all three a try while you are here.

I'm biased since I live about 10 minutes from Jupiter Dive Center's dock and do at least 50 dives or so with them each year. Its a rare dive not to see goliaths or turtles or big green morays or sharks or all of the above. I dive in WPB if I can get off work early on a Friday and I see the same sort of big see creatures, just not as often.

Regarding visibility:

In my experience, 65-70 feet is about the norm in Jupiter. But you'll occasionally find terrible days of 30 feet, such as yesterday, and less often 100+ feet such as two weeks ago.

From UNCFNP:

...out of Jupiter/WPB

1) it's all drift dives. Except the BHB shore dive.
2) Dives ops do put at least one DM in the water with you to carry the flag.
3) Mostly reefs that run 50 to 100 feet deep. But several good wrecks at 80 to 100 feet.
4) Mostly 2 tank trips during the week with 2 tank am and pm dives on the weekends.
5) Reefs are just a short ways off shore. Most of the ride is either north or south along the coast to the dive site. Averages maybe 20 minutes. Seas can be flat to 8+ feet! it's the luck of the draw. I'd say my ride average is 1 to 3 foot waves.
6) Before we bought tanks Eric had no trouble renting AL 100's, steels were a little harder to find.

I hope to dive there someday. People often asking about diving locations where they can see big animals; seems like the east coast of Florida can serve that up to you.

Richard.

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

Been thinking about starting a thread on this since people often post asking about dive destinations, or what destinations would meet some particular need, or how a couple compare. Or just where to go. Sometimes it's shore diving, sometimes it's how a place would compare to Cozumel, etc…

So I'd like to hear about destinations in Florida and the Caribbean people think are particularly distinctive for some reason. Something special. And I'm focusing on the diving; if we get into rainforest treks to see Mayan ruins in Belize vs. the Ostrich farm in Curacao, the thread may get over-extended. And you need not have been to a destination to list it. I'm sticking to easily U.S.A.-accessible sites that have warm water and good viz., so the options will be at least in the same ball park.

Mine would be:

1.) Upper Florida Keys - lots of shallow reef diving with ready access to the U.S., including health care, and airfare (from Nashville, anyway) is pretty cheap. Cost per 2-tank trip was cheap with Rainbow Reef Dive Center, 2 trips/day let me do 20 dives in 5 days, and we could also hit some wrecks like Spiegel Grove and the Duane, so deep diving & seeing Goliath grouper was also available. Saw a few reef & nurse sharks. Quite cost effective as a value trip for me, taking wife, baby & mother-in-law along & renting an SUV. U.S. health care access is good when you've got a baby, and there were things for non-divers to do (e.g.: Jungle Island near Miami, the Everglades are nearby, Miami & Fort Lauderdale…).

2.) Bonaire - shore diving. A road runs along the west coast, the reef is close in to shore, you can dive many sites in near-aquarium class conditions, at many navigation is nearly a non-issue, a number of resorts have buffet-style 'all you can dive' unlimited tanks (with free nitrox upgrade common) facilitate this dive style, and you can dive 24/7. Fairly easy to get 20+ dives into a week, which is a lot for a non-live-aboard trip. Airfare can be steep; resort + diving are usually fairly cheap, and with shore diving, you don't need to tip. There's boat diving for people who want it.

3.) Cozumel - high viz., warm water, ride the current drift diving, varied reef topography at different sites, a number of very reputable op.s meeting different needs (e.g.: steel 120's at Living Underwater and Aldora), some big stuff (e.g.: saw a big black grouper, and a large eagle ray, both up close on a dive at the Santa Rosa site), off an island considered pretty safe (though part of Mexico), and Cozumel trips are famous for being a good overall budget value trip that people still love.

4.) Saba - I haven't been. From what I understand, a lush, beautiful island, where you may have some current but the underwater pinnacle diving at least sounded 'special' to me. Some people love Saba. From what I've read, the plane landing bring you in can be something of an adventure itself.

5.) Bahamas - I haven't been. If I ever get to go, I hope to do the AquaCat live-aboard. But the reason I included the Bahamas here was a specialty site, Tiger Beach, where some op.s can put you in the water with a decent chance of cageless diving with a tiger shark. Like the 14 foot Emma the Abernathy has taken divers to see. And the Bahamas is famous for shark dives. Since sharks are high on a lot of divers 'want to see' list, the Bahamas bear a mention. I get the impression it may be the premier shark destination in the Caribbean? Or do some of you know better?

Honorable mention to Curacao, which for whatever reasons doesn't seem to command quite as much mind share on the forum as Bonaire, but has some advantages with some from what I'm told. Here's a link to a thread on Curacao vs. Bonaire for those interested.

Richard.

BAHAMAS
Did the Shark Feeding thing for just over 3 years in Nassau. Good fun and a must do. But get in a suite and learn to actually feed. Even after doing it over 100 times, it still got the blood pumping.

One you should add is Roatan. Good value for money diving. We sell a five day two tank boat dive package with unlimited shore diving for U$350.00. Hard to beat that.

The BVI also has some great diving. Good combination of historical wrecks, reef and grottos. Best if you like sailing. You can rent tanks on one island and drop them off on another.

Although I feel they are over priced, no dive list of the Caribbean would be complete without a mention of Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos.

 

[drrich2]

Roatan got mentioned in an earlier post. The issue remains that, based on other posters' comments elsewhere, people who go to Roatan often don't 'get off the reservation' and wander around the island the way they do Bonaire, the dive op. at a given resort often dives mainly a fairly localized area, and the diving on Roatan varies a good deal based on what part you are on. So people going to Roatan looking for the experience someone else reported had better get the same op., or one close by, the reviewer used. Unlike Bonaire, where people staying at Caribbean Club, Beachcomber Villas, Buddy Dive, Harbor Village and Windsock Resort, though scattered, could easily hit all the same sites.

I'm not saying Bonaire is 'better' than Roatan. I'm saying Roatan may be a bit more complicated, if you want to gain the full Roatan experience. I think you can get to know Bonaire fairly well in a week, maybe two (ignoring East coast diving). If I understand correctly from others, that's not so true with Roatan.

All that said, I'd love a week at CocoView Resort.

People seem fond of the British Virgin Islands, but as I think you alluded to, it sounds like a place for people who appreciate good diving 'and other things.' Rather than a dedicated dive trip where anything outside eating, sleeping, diving and basic bodily functions is an annoying distraction.

I enjoyed a 2 tank boat dive in Grand Cayman. I'm waiting for someone to come post about Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, particularly with the shore diving opportunities on each, and perhaps tell us what's great about Bloody Bay Wall. It gets spoken of like a 'must do' so I assume it's a sweet site to hit.

Richard.

 

[diversteve]

tell us what's great about Bloody Bay Wall. It gets spoken of like a 'must do' so I assume it's a sweet site to hit.

1000 feet of this maybe? Portrait of a Coral Reef

Bloody Bay in particular is consistently ranked as one of the world's top dive sites. Many dive operations claim the late Philippe Cousteau declared its wall to be one of the three best dives in the world, although this story may be apocryphal. At its shallowest point, the drop-off begins at a depth of 18 feet, allowing divers who plan carefully to achieve maximum depth of over 100 feet but still enjoy exceptionally long dive times. But the wall is so famous primarily because sections of it are so sheer as to be effectively vertical, a rarity.

Wikipedia ^

 

[diver 85]

Roatan got mentioned in an earlier post. The issue remains that, based on other posters' comments elsewhere, people who go to Roatan often don't 'get off the reservation' and wander around the island the way they do Bonaire, the dive op. at a given resort often dives mainly a fairly localized area, and the diving on Roatan varies a good deal based on what part you are on. So people going to Roatan looking for the experience someone else reported had better get the same op., or one close by, the reviewer used. Unlike Bonaire, where people staying at Caribbean Club, Beachcomber Villas, Buddy Dive, Harbor Village and Windsock Resort, though scattered, could easily hit all the same sites.

I'm not saying Bonaire is 'better' than Roatan. I'm saying Roatan may be a bit more complicated, if you . I twant to gain the full Roatan experiencehink you can get to know Bonaire fairly well in a week, maybe two (ignoring East coast diving). If I understand correctly from others, that's not so true with Roatan.

All that said, I'd love a week at CocoView Resort.

People seem fond of the British Virgin Islands, but as I think you alluded to, it sounds like a place for people who appreciate good diving 'and other things.' Rather than a dedicated dive trip where anything outside eating, sleeping, diving and basic bodily functions is an annoying distraction.

I enjoyed a 2 tank boat dive in Grand Cayman. I'm waiting for someone to come post about Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, particularly with the shore diving opportunities on each, and perhaps tell us what's great about Bloody Bay Wall. It gets spoken of like a 'must do' so I assume it's a sweet site to hit.

Richard.

I've got the perfect solution to "if you want to gain the full Roatan experience, I think" you just buy a house on the beach, travel to Roatan 25+ times, & you'll DEFINITELY gain that 'experience'......Glad we 'did it' & also glad we sold it....

 

[Jordan23]

beutiful video

how the children dive with no equipment? only long yellow tail and inflator? where do they get air from?
thanks for answering

 

[arubabob1]

Its called snuba. The tanks float on top and you get a hose and a regulator.