Any good Shore diving near Orlando?

Hey


Are there any good spots for shore diving near Orlando. Like Daytona or anything close.

Some nice reefs or so?

Thanks
Manni

The closest shore diving that is ok as far as visibility would be Pepper Park in Fort Pierce. You can shore dive Wabasso, but the viz is usually very poor. Vero Beach is a little better. The further South you go, the better the viz gets.

I am not sure about the Daytona area, but I suspect that the shore diving is not very good around there.

I checked some websites and I guess I go to Vero Beach tommorow.
Does anybody know what the conditions are?

By the way what is the best time for shore diving? During high tide, before or after?

When do I have to watch out for rip currents?

It's gonna be my first shore dive!!! And I am all excited.

Tiefseetaucher:

By the way what is the best time for shore diving? During high tide, before or after?

When do I have to watch out for rip currents?

It's gonna be my first shore dive!!! And I am all excited.

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That you find an experienced diver to do this with. That may postpone your dive.

However, you don't know the area, you don't understand the tides, or even when the best time to dive is. Shore diving can be dangerous. If you get caught in a tide, and pulled out to sea, your first shore dive maybe your last.

I really can NOT comment on the conditions at Vero (other than to say my Cuz that lives in Ft. Pierce says the vis is generally poor), but IMO you need to find someone with some experience diving where you plan on gonig before you plan a shore dive, if for no other reason than to get the skinny on Tides, reef locations, currents, and other potential hazards.

pepper park is good, call the dive shop near there and they will give you the tides. viz is on a day to day . take a flag with you enjoy

There are lobster holes scattered all over Vero but if you don't know where to look, you're just not going to find them. Viz ranges from merely murky to nil. You can rent a boat in Sebastian at Captain Hiram's and run down there pretty quickly, but going off the beach is just getting wet and covered with sand for nothing. No float and I bet you get a nice ticket too.

For your first beach dive I would head farther south around Lauderdale by the Sea if you are set on the east coast beaches. From Orlando you are looking at a very long day to say the least no matter which beach you dive. I would suggest diving Venice beach, atleast over there you can look for sharks teeth and not have to spend air swimming out to a reef line. More times then not you will be brail diving in Venice but you will complete your goal and have fun doing it. The surf in Venice is generally more forgiving then that in Pepper Park and Vero area.

To answer your question about which tide is better, High Tide will give you the best Viz. Be very mindful of when the tide is turning so you do not get pulled out to sea. Dive flag is a MUST so do not leave without one. I am not an expert but I do not think Venice has alot of Rip currents like much of the east coast has.

Also watch your weather patterns and try not to dive soon after a North eastern front on the eat coast. They tend to get running ground seas that can cause you some problems. As Tom mentioned earlier beach diving is a great way to get sand everywhere and good for exercise as well. With that said EVERYONE needs to try it at least once Goodluck and tell someone your plans just in case.

Shane

Thanks Guys!!!
I called some dive shops at Vero Beach and Jupiter. They said the Vis is like chocolate milk right now.
They said I should call them on Sunday, could be better next week.
If it is good, I might go on Tuesday! Anybody wanna join!

So today I went to the gulf.
I went beach diving in Brandenton Beach. There is a wreck, the Sugar Barge. It was a nice little dive, but the vis was not too good!!!The water was really calm, but the water is still stirred up from Wilma.

And I used a float!!!

Manni