Another shark diving thread...

[RDRINK25]

Was planning a tri to WPB/Jupiter this meorial day weekend. We have dived JDC before a few times and loved the OP. I consider my wife and I good divers with over 300 dives under us. We have done the Stuart Cove shark dive and recently cage diving with GW's in Guadalupe. Wanted to get a few opinions on WPB shark diving. The 2 most talked about are Cylpso and Emerald or is it Scuba Works now? My wife is slow laid back diver with great control and skills. Am a little worred what she would do if a shark was heading straight at her. What is the dive like and safety procedures? Any help appreciated.

 

[mscott556]

Calypso & Emerald are the ops to go to for close encounters with multiple shark species in south Florida (Emerald is now being booked through Scuba Works). Calypso is more of a shark-baiting dive while Emerald does shark-feeding dives.

Calypso typically runs 2-dive trips to a reef site (Lemon Drop) in ~95ft of water. You jump in and go straight down to the bottom where you sit and watch the sharks. They've had a great track record of bringing the sharks up into the water column where you can enjoy an extended safety stop w/sharks all around you. They don't do shark diving everyday so make sure your reservation says shark dive. Drinks and snacks are available on board. They take 6 divers and depart from the Lake Park Marina.

Emerald runs 3-dive trips and typically does a drift on the deep ledge (up to ~130ft but not necessary) and two drops on the wreck of the Bonaire (~85ft). If conditions are poor on the Bonaire then they will move to a reef site. Emerald provides drinks, snacks and a good boxed lunch. They take 12 divers and depart from Harbourside in Jupiter.

Safety is taken seriously but they don't treat you like elementary school students. It's advised to cover all skin w/black material and remember not to flail around. Ladies should tie up long hair and tuck it under a hood. The sharks don't act in an aggressive manner towards divers but they are curious and some will look at you quite closely. If at any point you are uncomfortable, all you have to do is back up 10-15ft from the bait and the sharks will hardly pay any attention to you. You need your own safety sausage and should be comfortable ascending with just your buddy in case your Nitrox mix is lighter than the rest of the group. I dive 36%-38% and still find myself coming up early to avoid deco stops.

 

[Johnoly]

Was planning a tri to WPB/Jupiter this meorial day weekend. ....... Am a little worred what she would do if a shark was heading straight at her.....

Right now in late January is the absolute peak of Shark mating season in Jupiter so you will see lots of great reports and shots (Like Mike's !!). Temps are perfect at 70 -73 degrees which they love.

But the middle of May we'll get a huge warmup of temps from 76 degrees all the way up to 80 degrees. This has a big effect on shark sightings and it's not unusual to go an entire weekend and not see a single shark on the reefs. If the intent of your trip is to see sharks, you really should change dates to the beginning of May and not the end. Usually the very 1st week of May is when we have the "Bull Run". This is really cool when hundreds of big bull sharks are migrating thru the deeper waters to go north but by the 3rd week they are mostly out of the area. Don't get me wrong, there will always be a few sharks where the operators know to look, but if you want quantity Memorial Day weekend is not the best.

And just my humble opinion, ALL the boats in Jupiter are great to dive with (I'm a boat whore, any boat, anytime!)

 

[RDRINK25]

Thanks all for the input. We are both comfortable in the water and have no prob ascending on our own. I am leaning towards Emerald from all the reviews. As for the time of year it is going to be Memorial day weekend as the flights are booked. I do planning on diving JDC one day and the shar the other. Are all Emerald Shark dives 3 tanks or is there a 2 tnaker?

 

[Johnoly]

.... Are all Emerald Shark dives 3 tanks or is there a 2 tnaker?

Yes all are 3 tanks and you'll need to call Scubaworks.com to book it. They will tell you all the info about the dives, Nitrox tank mixes, depths, AOW cards, equipment, etc. In general the boat leaves the dock at 8:30 and returns about 3:00 -3:30 or so depending.

I do planning on diving JDC

That's a good plan so you can see a ton of what Jupiter has to offer.

Book both boats very early since that's that a major holiday weekend and everyone will be sold out.