How do you dive the following?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Hello everyone,

I am coming to Orlando on the weekend on the 17 for a week. I plan to dive on 21 (Thursday) 22 (Friday) and 23 (Saturday). I plan on diving the following:

• Rainbow river drift dive
• Blue Heron Bridge
• Jupiter

Was wondering who would like to join me and what would be the best way to hit those sites? Particularly the first two.

Thanks guys and gals. Who is in?

Regards -

Sinbad

 

[Texasguy]

Heron Bridge is only accessible ONE hour per 12 hours. Since one of them usually falls on darkness, thus, only ONE hour a day. Any other time the current is horrible and viz is way worse. Thus, timing for that dive is everything.

That is all I can suggest out of given options. Diving in Jupiter will be colder than even in Fort Lauderdale. Best bet to drive to Keys and do all the dives there, not just warm, it has wrecks, reefs. The Heron Bridge is over-hyped. It is my honest advice to do Keys and forgo with other choices (until it is summer). Jupiter to Keys is like less than 4 hours. Just wake up earlier one day. Cheap "staying" can be done next door to Keys, area called Homestead (20mins away), cheap motels there.

 

[sportxlh]

Those are all fun dives, but you'll be in the car a significant amount of time if you want to hit all those locations.

For Rainbow River, call Birds or American Pro...... this is an ultra shallow site. A boat insta-buddy will be fine.

For Jupiter, call Jupiter Dive Center, Stuart Scuba or Captain Sl8r. All will have an in-water dive guide that holds the surface buoy since these are drift dives. Assuming you're diving nitrox and rent a big tank (100 cf), you can just stick with the guide the whole trip. If you're not diving nitrox and don't arrange for a big tank ahead of time, my bet is that if you ping SB members a day or two before hand, you might find a buddy.

If you don't find a buddy for BHB, call Force-E, Pura Vida or Stuart Scuba and hire a guide: they'll show you the cool stuff. This is also an ultra shallow site but it is really easy to overlook interesting stuff like sea horses, nudi's or frog fish. A guide is worth the money for your first dive at the site, only in that they'll show you the neat stuff. After the first dive, you won't need a guide.

 

[Johnoly]

I am coming to Orlando on the weekend on the 17 for a week.

So a couple of “known” facts:

1) No matter what, you are coming back thru Orlando after Rainbow River which ever day you dive it cause it's on the way to WPB/JUP.

2) Enty & Exit dive times at BHB on Fri 22nd will be 10:15am to 11:15am and on Saturday 11:00am to Noon.

3) One way it's 4hrs from Rainbow River to West Palm. And it's 2:15 hrs from WPB to Orlando oneway. (I live in Orlando so I know those times)

Here's what I would do on those 3 days:

12/21
Lv Orlando 10am (You're on vacation, sleep in! )
Ar Rainbow river at Noon.
Lv Rainbow river at 4pm
Ar North Palm Bch Super 8 hotel at 8pm {~$90/nite}

12/22
Lv NPB at 7am, stop for breakfast at McD's arrive Jupiter Dive Center 8am for 3 tank dive including Deep Ledge & annual Lemon Shark mating season encounter. Purchase lobster license ($12) if you want to catch fresh seafood too.
Return to Super 8 at 4pm, Dinner at the world famous Brass Ring down the street, it will be wild that friday night.

12/23
Lv Super 8 at 9:30am, stop at ForceE shop along the way to get tank and flag rental and get to BHB early because it's a holiday weekend and parking will be tight
Lv BHB at 1pm and head back to Orlando by 4pm to wait for flights out the next day.

If you are staying free in Orlando, you could stay overnight Thurs and Lv Orlando at 6am on Friday morning, saving you one night hotel in NPB. Weather is always the wild card and you could flip BHB fri & sat but you might want to then look at a different boat option depending on what you want to see and do underwater. No matter what > pre-book everything, it's a holiday week and some boats are already nearly sold out.

Just my 2 cents or .00000000000012 of a bitcoin today.

 

[sportxlh]

That's a pretty good plan: one of the few that will get Sinbad to all three locations easily

 

[tursiops]

The High Tide times at BHB on Dec 21-23 are: 1009, 1048, 1127, respectively.
You can dive +/- 1h on those times. 21-22 are suggested; weekends are difficult parking.
It is one of the great dives in the US unless you are fixated on coral reefs and large pelagic animals.
It is the Reader's Choice Award (Scuba Diving magazine) second place *globally* for shore dives.

 

[tekkydiver]

12/22
Lv NPB at 7am, stop for breakfast at McD's arrive Jupiter Dive Center 8am for 3 tank dive including Deep Ledge & annual Lemon Shark mating season encounter. Purchase lobster license ($12) if you want to catch fresh seafood too.

.

3 day non-resident Florida Saltwater License $17.00 Lobster Stamp $5.00 lobster snare & gauge $50.00

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Great suggestions guys! Thanks so much for your input.

 

[Johnoly]

Great suggestions guys! Thanks so much for your input.

After your trip,,Can you share just a few sentences/photos here of what you really enjoyed on your trip to share with other divers that may want to duplicate and learn how to have a great 3 day dive trip hitting the best of similar spots ??

 

[Katch]

Hey buddy! I'll be getting in to Orlando Thursday afternoon...with my boat. I plan to do some boating/diving around Tampa, Venice, Ft Meyers and Key Largo before heading back north around January 6th. I'd be up for diving on Friday. I'll send you a text