kjunheart
Contributor
Yesterday was one of those rare days where my office was closed for a holiday and my daughters day care was open, which means the pool is open for me!
I went with Jupiter Dive Center. First I cannot begin to say enough good things about them. They are professional, extremely friendly, great dive charts I could go on, but you should find out for yourself. Since there were two boats going out yesterday morning, I went out on the Republic IV, which is a boat JDC recently acquired. The boat was fast and smooth in the 2-4ft seas (I swear it was more 4-6 on the first dive). The only negative I have to say about the boat is the deck was slippery as hell and a number of divers, with gear on, did some nice rump bumping on the floor. Ouch!
The first dive site was Area 51 and the second was Spadefish Point and it was aptly named. If I had to choose between the two, I would do Area 51 over and over again. It was well worth it. Vis was about 80 feet and the most beautiful blue that it made you feel so peaceful despite what they called guerilla conditions. I saw about 6 or so sharks. :sharks::sharks:Someone said they were Caribbean reefs, which is possible. But I do know that out of the sharks I saw, I am certain one was a lemon, one was a nice size nurse shark and two were black tip. The others I am not sure because they were pretty far away. Sharks are just amazing to watch. They are so graceful. We also saw a nice ray but I wasnt close enough to see what kind. A green moray let a couple of freshly certified divers he wasnt happy to see them. I think they got a little too close for comfort.
And there were turtles! We saw MASSIVE loggerhead turtles and yes, I am jumping up and down over that! :boings: What incredibly beautiful creatures. I guess it is loggerhead mating season and I personally saw about 7 loggerhead and all of them were huuuge! I also saw a little guy that I think was a hawksbill but I cant be certain. There was one loggerhead that was sleeping and I kind of hovered over him and watched. I swear his head and neck were almost as big as my daughter!!! It was a fantastic dive!
The reef itself looked a lot better than the last time I dove it, which was about three years ago. Now that they arent spilling all of the freshwater from Lake O into the ocean, maybe the reef continue to get better JMO. Anyway, the reef had vibrant colors and tons of life. I took a few minutes watch a long-spine sea urchin. I know most people will say they are boring. But I think they are beautiful and fascinating. I got completely engrossed just watching it.
I finished the day with a chili dog and a corona at Dune Dogs. All in all, it was a spectacular day!
Sandy
I went with Jupiter Dive Center. First I cannot begin to say enough good things about them. They are professional, extremely friendly, great dive charts I could go on, but you should find out for yourself. Since there were two boats going out yesterday morning, I went out on the Republic IV, which is a boat JDC recently acquired. The boat was fast and smooth in the 2-4ft seas (I swear it was more 4-6 on the first dive). The only negative I have to say about the boat is the deck was slippery as hell and a number of divers, with gear on, did some nice rump bumping on the floor. Ouch!
The first dive site was Area 51 and the second was Spadefish Point and it was aptly named. If I had to choose between the two, I would do Area 51 over and over again. It was well worth it. Vis was about 80 feet and the most beautiful blue that it made you feel so peaceful despite what they called guerilla conditions. I saw about 6 or so sharks. :sharks::sharks:Someone said they were Caribbean reefs, which is possible. But I do know that out of the sharks I saw, I am certain one was a lemon, one was a nice size nurse shark and two were black tip. The others I am not sure because they were pretty far away. Sharks are just amazing to watch. They are so graceful. We also saw a nice ray but I wasnt close enough to see what kind. A green moray let a couple of freshly certified divers he wasnt happy to see them. I think they got a little too close for comfort.
And there were turtles! We saw MASSIVE loggerhead turtles and yes, I am jumping up and down over that! :boings: What incredibly beautiful creatures. I guess it is loggerhead mating season and I personally saw about 7 loggerhead and all of them were huuuge! I also saw a little guy that I think was a hawksbill but I cant be certain. There was one loggerhead that was sleeping and I kind of hovered over him and watched. I swear his head and neck were almost as big as my daughter!!! It was a fantastic dive!
The reef itself looked a lot better than the last time I dove it, which was about three years ago. Now that they arent spilling all of the freshwater from Lake O into the ocean, maybe the reef continue to get better JMO. Anyway, the reef had vibrant colors and tons of life. I took a few minutes watch a long-spine sea urchin. I know most people will say they are boring. But I think they are beautiful and fascinating. I got completely engrossed just watching it.
I finished the day with a chili dog and a corona at Dune Dogs. All in all, it was a spectacular day!
Sandy
almtree: Bob
