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I've only made one trip, but we dove of Jim Abernethy's boat, and I can't say enough good things about the boat and the crew. Pleasant, helpful, cheerful people and a very well laid-out boat off which to dive.
If you haven't dived off West Palm before, you're in for a treat! The reefs are beautiful.
Planning a dive in West Palm beach in April. My friend recommends diving with Narcosis. Any suggestions would be helpful!
I just did a couple of days at this location and had a great time. I will be returning there with my family of divers in May. The way they run the dives is that you don't know where you are going until they get out and check the water. Most of the dives are drift dives. They have 2 DMs in the water with the dive, one with the flag leading the dive and one in the rear for issues. They are not what I would call scuba police pushy about dive styles they ask for everyone to be up at 500psi but They do not go to the extent of demanding to look at your SPG to verify your ending pressure. The role call was adequate but not intrusive. I was a single diver who has always been diving privately or with a much smaller operation and I never felt like I needed to worry about being left behind. The boat had space for 24 divers but they still went out with 5 on one scheduled dive. As I am in/from Alaska there is no fear that I have anything to do with the shop. I was diving this trip simply to check things out before the entire family goes in May.
I've only made one trip, but we dove of Jim Abernethy's boat, and I can't say enough good things about the boat and the crew. Pleasant, helpful, cheerful people and a very well laid-out boat off which to dive.
If you haven't dived off West Palm before, you're in for a treat! The reefs are beautiful.
I agree. We have been out on a couple of dive trips with Jim Abernethy's boat. My son and I really enjoy diving with them. You will love the driftdiving in WPB. Have a great time.
Dove there last summer and we used the the Little Deeper dive operation and had a great experience. Dove the Juno Ledge and the corridor. I would highly recommend them!
Finally reached 25 dives and it only took 2 years...
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Not a boat dive but might I recommend BHB. It's a wonderful dive with lots of down time and some great scenery you won't get elsewhere. It's also free, which isn't a bad thing. We'll be there in April too, doing BHB and maybe get a boat dive in as well. Haven't picked any operators yet.
Never judge a day by the weather. The best things in life aren't things. He who dies with the most toys still dies. There are 2 ways to be rich - make more or desire less. No rain, no rainbows. Take it easy.
-Hawaiian rules to live by
So many great choices in the area. I used to teach in that area and got to dive with many good dive ops including my favorites: Little Deeper (Lynn & Dave are super friendly), and Abernathy's (great staff really!). Ocean Quest (Sandy's Sunday), Capt Sandy is a SB member (sandybramm) and always helpful. Narcossis also gets good reviews. Talk to each of these ops to get a feel for what they offer and if that matches your expectations. These are all very experienced, safety-conscious, warm friendly, professional dive ops that work hard so you have fun...(hint: they live for tip$). If you are really into UWphoto, try to go with Laz Ruda at Abernathy's, he is a world-class photo pro with a couple decades of local experience.
It is all drift diving, so you do need to carry and inflate an SMB during your safety stop. The captain & the mate on deck will be watching for these and will be there to pick you up quickly. All ops put guides with floats in the water for the group to follow, the bigger the group or the more inexperienced the group (students, etc.), the more guides the op will have on the boat - usually assigning one just to help with students.
While you are in WPB, depending on the tide schedule, don't miss the famous Blue Heron Bridge. It is a great (free) shore dive known for it's amazing diversity of critters living in 18ft of water.
There is a long ongoing thread in the FL Conchs forum called Blue Heron Bridge Trolls (go to last page, read back a page or two) where they talk about daily conditions, tides, post pics, plan meet-ups, etc. I'm sure there are more than a few SBers in the area who would be happy to show you around/under the bridge.
Please report back and tell us all about your WPB dive adventure.
Jim Abernethy is a great operator and will be back in So Florida diving with them again in a couple of weeks. As someone else mentioned, don't miss out on diving the Blue Heron Bridge!
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Originally Posted by Palmcoastdiver
