Diving Central Florida coast

[Nick A]

Does anyone do any diving out of Port Canaveral? I know there's a bunch of wrecks and artificial reefs and haven't really seen any (anywhere, internet or forums) talk about diving there and I don't think there's any charters out of there either. Anyone know why?

 

[sheeper]

try a bit further south from Sebastian to Fort Pierce. reefs, wrecks, turtles, sharks....

visit us on Facebook (Vero Beach Scuba Club).

 

[Nick A]

Right on. I'm wondering why there's not much diving there. Is it the longer trips? Greenwater?

 

[sheeper]

the dives from shore are murky and there are only a few good locations. Some good offshore dives but the really good stuff is far out. Sebastian to Ft Pierce shore dives have good reef structure. For boats, the place to go is Jupiter. The loop current is closer, BIG sealife, great wrecks, all drift dives. check out www.jupiterscubadiving.com and Capt SL8R for an awesome dive.

 

[aue-mike]

There is plenty of diving off Canaveral, and it probably has the highest concentration of WWII wrecks than anywhere else in the state. There are also a few charter boats, but they mostly focus on spearfishing and lobstering, and only as a side venture from their regular charter fishing ops. The apparent lack of opportunities is because the Canaveral area is fickle in regards to conditions. Very often visibility is poor (e.g., 5'-20') and summer cold-water upwellings are common. Also, dive sites are more temperate than tropical, as wrecks are not covered in luxurious growth as they are farther south. Dives are farther offshore than say WPB or Jupiter, but less of a ride than the west coast of Florida, with most recreational wrecks and reefs 15-20 nm from Port Canaveral. These conditions are not conducive to the Florida tourist diver, but are still acceptable to the locals. BUT...when Canaveral is good, it is incredible! Great wrecks, more turtles than you can throw a stick at (including lots of leatherbacks), manta rays, etc. One of my favorite places to dive....
YMMV
Cheers,
Mike

 

[jkyle]

Is the diving any good around november/thanksgiving? Whats the water temp and vis like?

 

[aue-mike]

This time of year for everywhere in FL is problematic for offshore diving. You start having fronts move through fairly regularly, so your odds of getting offshore are not in your favor. Best bet is from the second half of May through mid-September for Canaveral (and NE FL, west coast of FL, etc.). You can still get flat calm periods throughout the year, but they are much less common, shorter in duration, and much more random than in the summer. If you want to go diving around Thanksgiving in Florida, your best bet is south of Jupiter through the Keys (inside the reef), where you are closer to shore and more sheltered from the wind (depending on direction). You are still screwed if the wind is cranking from the NE, but you are a lot more likely to get wet there than many other places in FL.

 

[jkyle]

This time of year for everywhere in FL is problematic for offshore diving. You start having fronts move through fairly regularly, so your odds of getting offshore are not in your favor. Best bet is from the second half of May through mid-September for Canaveral (and NE FL, west coast of FL, etc.). You can still get flat calm periods throughout the year, but they are much less common, shorter in duration, and much more random than in the summer. If you want to go diving around Thanksgiving in Florida, your best bet is south of Jupiter through the Keys (inside the reef), where you are closer to shore and more sheltered from the wind (depending on direction). You are still screwed if the wind is cranking from the NE, but you are a lot more likely to get wet there than many other places in FL.

hmmm bummer ever tried sea dogs in new new smyrna?

 

[aue-mike]

hmmm bummer ever tried sea dogs in new new smyrna?

Yes, maybe 10+ years ago and they ran a fine operation then.

 

[Nick A]

There is plenty of diving off Canaveral, and it probably has the highest concentration of WWII wrecks than anywhere else in the state. There are also a few charter boats, but they mostly focus on spearfishing and lobstering, and only as a side venture from their regular charter fishing ops. The apparent lack of opportunities is because the Canaveral area is fickle in regards to conditions. Very often visibility is poor (e.g., 5'-20') and summer cold-water upwellings are common. Also, dive sites are more temperate than tropical, as wrecks are not covered in luxurious growth as they are farther south. Dives are farther offshore than say WPB or Jupiter, but less of a ride than the west coast of Florida, with most recreational wrecks and reefs 15-20 nm from Port Canaveral. These conditions are not conducive to the Florida tourist diver, but are still acceptable to the locals. BUT...when Canaveral is good, it is incredible! Great wrecks, more turtles than you can throw a stick at (including lots of leatherbacks), manta rays, etc. One of my favorite places to dive....
YMMV
Cheers,
Mike

Right on, thanks for the reply. I'm getting out of the Marine Corps in about a year and looking in to possibly running charters out of the port. Its where I'm from just never did any diving there. I have a buddy that runs fishing charters out of there and i have a few numbers and he's gonna take me out to a few, see how it is.