10 Months and Counting...

It's unofficially official! I'll be pulling out of here by mid October and arriving down there by early November.

You know, unless I happen to meet the woman of my dreams and she actually wants to live on a boat.
And maybe she'll be loaded and we can upgrade to a Lagoon, and monkeys might fly out of my ass, and the Rangers will win the cup.

Anyway, back on topic. Not sure exactly where I'm going to end up, but probably somewhere between Palm and Miami.
So, looking for recommendations on either a dive guide for that area, or more importantly numbers for dives sites and wrecks?

Also, it's been a few years since I've dove in Florida. If I remember correctly, most of the sites have moorings, right? Or am I going to need that grapnel?
Ok, any general info on standard operating procedures for boat diving down there will help too.

Lastly, who wants to do some free diving next year?
Or maybe some REALLY cheap diving...hey, I can't turn down free lunches, beer, or gas money now can I!

Anyone...anyone...should I have posted this in the boating forum instead?

You have so many really general questions, and you aren't even down here yet...your move is nearly a year away...and many of your questions are answered in the forum's stickies. I'm not being sarcastic, just telling you why you probably didn't get any replies, and why I didn't reply.

Numbers for wrecks and sites are on maps and easily searchable on the internet. A few sites have moorings, but drift diving is super popular down here. You know you need to have a couple of anchors on board anyway (Danforth seems to be the preferred style down here) as standard boating equipment.

I hope this helps.

Yes, but it's DAMN cold up here, which is great for hiding in a boat grumbling to yourself about why you didn't leave 2 months ago, and wondering why so many looks but no responses.

Point taken. I didn't realize that. I would have been very happy if someone would have just said, "look in the stickies moron!"

True, all charts show wreck locations, but it's hard to tell from a chart if it's a good dive site or just a hunk of junk. Even up here it took a fair amount of googling and some help to find a very well hidden page with Dan Berg's NJ wreck numbers.

Well I have plenty of anchor and different kinds aboard. Now that you mention I do remember doing drifts when we were on the reefs...some really long ones too. Guess I'll need to make friends with a few non diving captains. Or maybe drop the hook and tow the dink.

Thanks

this will get you started with your research......here's a few reef and wreck descriptions, mostly in the Palm Beach county area. I have not dove all of these but have been on quite a few. Of the ones I have dove, none were a waste of time. In Palm Beach County, most, if not all, boat diving is drift diving. Further south that changes, though I have done drift dives out of Ft Lauderdale too.

Local Reef's:: Scuba diving lessons at a PADI 5 Star facility, daily scuba diving trips in  Jupiter, Florida.

South Florida Boat Diving Sites - Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach

South Florida Wreck Diving Sites - Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach

An article describing Scuba Dive in West Palm Beach, FL

Palm Beach County Reef and Wreck Dive Sites - Boynton Beach, Florida

Reef Locations

West Palm Beach Dive Sites

Palm Beach Dive Sites :: Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures

grunzster:

Point taken. I didn't realize that. I would have been very happy if someone would have just said, "look in the stickies moron!"

Click to expand...

Lol, I don't know you well enough to call you a moron yet. Wait until you get down here. J/K

There is a book readily available at all dive shops, Dr. Ray McAllister's "Diving Locations", and you should also buy Ned DeLoach's Diving Guide to Underwater Florida. You could spend all winter studying it and wishing you were here.

Check out Dive Spots website for some of the best dive sites and if you want numbers that are always right for all the reefs and wrecks Florida Nearshore is the best program to use.

Wow! Thanks for all the links!

Lots of studying to do...and lists to make now.