Help With Selecting Shore Dive Site for OW Students

I'm looking for suggestions for a good shore dive spot for Open Water students. Right now I'm looking at the Pompano Beach area, as I'm a little more familiar with it, but would consider other areas in Florida.

Currently, the shop I work for only does local quarry certifications or referrals and I think there is a want/need for the shop to organize trips to Florida for their certifications. Well, at least I'd like to run the classes there. :cool2: So I'm working up a plan to pitch to them.

I haven't done any shore diving in Florida and would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have. I've checked the local diving thread on this section and haven't really found what I was looking for.

I'm not opposed to boat dives, but our travel would involve the students and staff coming by air, and I'm trying to limit their (and my) costs. I think shore diving is the cheapest way to go.

My ideal spot would have the following:
1. decent parking situation, either onsite or nearby
2. easy walk from parking to the water
3. not very crowded
4. light/no current and no/low boat traffic
5. sandy bottom and area interesting enough to do the tours (within the depth limits needed for training students, like 15-30ft)
6. hopefully at least 20ft. viz
7. close to local dive shops that can rent gear and fill tanks.
8. nearby food/lodging would be a plus
9. showers/bathrooms/changing facilities would also be a plus

In the searches I've done so far, I came up with Destin Avenue Beach (S. of Pompano). It seems to have many, if not all, of my requirements, but not having boots on the ground there, I can't be sure.

Also, if anyone has any recommended shops for rentals and fills that would be helpful. I'm somewhat familiar with Force-E and Fill Express.

Thank you for the help. This info will help me narrow down the sites I visit later this year before I finalize the plan.

Check out Dania Beach.

No 1 and 3 are going to be a problem anywhere in S Florida if you are planning afternoon dives. There is usually parking available in the early am but the beaches fill in the afternoon

Coastal Diving shop is about a mile from the beach. They have rental equipment and tanks

Dania Beach is about 10 minutes from Fort Lauderdale airport and has inexpensive lodgings.

John Lloyd park is also in Dania - very close to Dania public beach and Coastal Marine where you can get fills. There is plenty of parking (I think you pay a token amount per car?) and it's usually not very crowded. However, it IS a bit of a hike from the parking lot to the beach.

Also in Dania: Tigertail Lake. Tigertail Lake Recreational Center

There is a process to become an approved instructor so call them directly. They are located in the same campus as Divers Direct. Of course you don't want to dive in a lake in South Florida but it's nice to have a plan B in case of weather.

except for parking, this is a good site. There are a very few spots right at the entry but you got to be at the beach really early to get hem. However, students can drop their gear off with you and then drive over to a public parking lot a couple of blocks north. It is an easy 5 minute walk

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/290550-lauderdale-sea-beach-dive.html

+1 LBTS.

I forgot about that. And if you stay at a little hotel along the strip like this one: Santa Barbara Inn - Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida you don't have to worry about parking. Just gear up and walk over to the beach.

I recommend the Santa Barbara because it is right at Datura Ave., which is one of the best entry points for diving from the shore.

There are two dive shops very close for rentals and fills: Gold Coast on Commercial Blvd. and another one (who's name I can't remember) on A1A & Comml. (I think) Maybe someone else will know or if you're interested pm me and I'll try to remember.

I've found the public parking lot at LBTS to be a perfectly fine solution to the parking issue there. I've also stayed at various motels nearby. All of them (where I've stayed), like the public parking lot, are north of the pier. I've diven both north and south of the pier and don't find a great deal of difference under water. I've also parked on all of the various access streets - just bring plenty of quarters. Got to remember to get me a handicap sticker after my next knee surgery - for that last access street. I keep meaning to knock on some doors down yonder and offer to pay some of the motels for parking. They typically have plenty of empty, close-in spots going to waste. . .

Kevin

Riding the local shuttle might be a possible parking solution. Check the latest post under the LBTS shore dives thread. I'd love to see an entire class of geared up students ride the shuttle.

+1 on Dania Beach... Lots of parking and very close to a lot of inexpensive places to stay. There's enough sandy areas between the beach and 1st reef line to do everything you'd need to do for OW classes and enough variety to do all your OW dives.

TigerTail is great for OW training, but if I'm coming to SOFL from some other state, I would not want to dive there. IJS!!!

Thanks to everyone for all the great info!

Are either of the sites, Dania Beach or LBTS, affected much by tides or currents? Just wondering if either is a site that can only be dived at slack tide or experiences heavy currents at times or if there are any other safety concerns with water movement especially with taking students there.