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I'm planning on diving the Hole in the Wall in Jupiter in two weeks. I was wondering if anyone has done this dive, has any suggestions or experiences to share? Thanks in advance.
But in any case this is a serious dive especially with winter conditions.
The is a very deep recreational dive and "interactions" with Bull sharks are very common. Big steel tanks + pony bottles (or doubles) are the best way to do this dive.
Yes you should have a lot of experience in drift diving at depths over 110 feet if you plan on that dive. I have hit over 150 feet on the outside of the break and there can be very strong currents and very curious sharks, especially this time of year. You really need to plan it for nitrox and a little deco time, in case you run a couple minutes late. Max depth is usually around 140 and minimum depth in the cave is like 125' ??? maybe, I don't pay that much attention to the depths (my computer keeps track of it). It is possible to get blown east on the drift, so if you don't see the reef and don't have the usual 50-80 ft visibility, you do need to be aware of your depth.
I remember the first time i did the dive, I felt fine but when I entered the cave and got into the dark I was really pretty narced. Once you get into the cave, everything is much easier with no current etc.
This dive has big animals, strong strong currents and the depths exceed typical recreational depths. If that sounds like fun, have a great time. It is a very cool dive, especially if the sharks, jewfish and jacks and other fish are home. If it makes you nervous, there are other excellent reef dives up on top of the reef just a few hundred yards west which are a lot easier.
P.s. Hopefully you are doing this dive with experienced divers and boat captain. It is best if someone else pulls the float ball for your first dive at this site. If you get blown off, you can easily be floating in 250 feet heading north very fast.
Yes you should have a lot of experience in drift diving at depths over 110 feet if you plan on that dive. I have hit over 150 feet on the outside of the break and there can be very strong currents and very curious sharks, especially this time of year. You really need to plan it for nitrox and a little deco time, in case you run a couple minutes late. Max depth is usually around 140 and minimum depth in the cave is like 125' ??? maybe, I don't pay that much attention to the depths (my computer keeps track of it). It is possible to get blown east on the drift, so if you don't see the reef and don't have the usual 50-80 ft visibility, you do need to be aware of your depth.
I remember the first time i did the dive, I felt fine but when I entered the cave and got into the dark I was really pretty narced. Once you get into the cave, everything is much easier with no current etc.
This dive has big animals, strong strong currents and the depths exceed typical recreational depths. If that sounds like fun, have a great time. It is a very cool dive, especially if the sharks, jewfish and jacks and other fish are home. If it makes you nervous, there are other excellent reef dives up on top of the reef just a few hundred yards west which are a lot easier.
P.s. Hopefully you are doing this dive with experienced divers and boat captain. It is best if someone else pulls the float ball for your first dive at this site. If you get blown off, you can easily be floating in 250 feet heading north very fast.
I've done quite a few drift dives, with 9 of them being over 100' in the last year. The strongest current I've been in so far is when I dove the Spiegel, Duane, and other wrecks in the Keys the beginning of December. The Dive Master will be carrying the float ball, so I won't have to worry about that. I've dove with Jupiter Dive Center quite a bit since I got back into diving several months ago, and did my AOW with them last month, so they are aware of my diving ability to some extent. I don't believe I've experienced a challenge with strong currents other than the wreck dives, and the worst conditions I've dove with JDC was once when the viz was about 5.' Big critters don't frighten me (I have 5 brothers....lol). Of course, once I get down there it may be a different story. That's why I was asking so I'll have a better idea of what I'll be dealing with. I like to be prepared and know what I'm getting myself into. Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.
I had one dive there with top-to-bottom viz - some goliaths and a couple of sharks in he distance. The rest have been in murky viz with no critters visible. I was on one dive where the spearguns onboard probably cost more than the boat - beautiful, super expensive custom jobs. Big long things too. Because of the murk, the "hunters" just shot sandwich meat - little bitty fishes. Some of them inedible, but they didn't know. No control on the boneheads on a commercial boat. Ripping currents on every dive.
I hope the viz works out for you. The dive is a lot more fun in clear water. Also, lemon shark season is soon upon us up there in WPB/Jupiter.
Every season, a couple of people dive this spot and kinda don't come back, so make sure you have your dive act together.
Most of the time the visibility is good. It gets hunted a lot and I usually don't do very well there and the sharks in the winter make me nervous. Sometimes you might see dozens of sharks.
I dove a little inshore of there today in 110 ft and had 80 ft visibility and no current. My mosy memorable dive on it was about 15 yrs ago on a night dive with my wife. We had 100 ft visibility and strong currents. I still remember the amberjack shimmering in the light.. maybe I was narced.
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Originally Posted by Tom Winters
