SE Florida for timid beginner, early March

[Schwob]

Sitting on detail decisions:
So, my wife, a former, life long, scared of water non-swimmer is a sort of swimmer and OW certified diver since last fall. Since then she just did 1 quarry and 1 pool dive. But she'll go to FL (reasons why not further this time) with me for a week in 17 days or so. She might do one 2-dive boat trip per day or 2 shore dives per day ... (not 4 dives a day) She wants to do just that. No dive training this time is the rule she put in the room, just practise and enjoy. I am a smart guy and hence I will obey...

She is comfortable (not good but comfy) UW, including in bad vis (bad as in 12'... 20', not 1'). Rough surface has her thinking "discomfort & dislike" while dangling on a line behind a boat waiting for others to get their fins off...

Going to northern FL cave country / springs is not the plan this time around (another time hopefully)... --- we got cheap flights into FLL.
I am still holding back on accomodations because:

She already knows how diving with Rainbow Reef works on Key Largo. So there is a comfort factor in doing that or similar again, if the weather is somewhat nice that is... (I will just skip smaller boat, 6 pack diving for this trip).

If the weather is "hearty" but such that the boats still go, she'll however be wondering why she's out there. I'd like her to be in her comfort zone..., so she'll dive and get better at it and enjoys it in the process. And it's early March, so the weather could be either way ... we'll see....

If the weather is "hearty" (quite windy) I am thinking maybe we just stay "somewhere around BHB" instead. I am dying to dive the place anyway. But then, that's one dive per day and doing it all week? (And she is thinking reef --- will she be disappointed?)
Not sure about that, although one hears / reads great things about BHB...

I also hear that getting out by boat in the "greater BHB area" can get quite rough in middling weather (If we were looking to change it up). Is that so?

Could some of you tell me how the beach dives are ... in the FLL - BHB area if the weather is middling?
Is there one or are there several beach dives that stand out as easier, more beginner friendly than others, yet still with stuff to see or do (we could look for shark teeth for a dive or so...)? Which ones?

If the weather is quite bad, is BHB still an option at high slack tide?

Any accomodation recommendations in the area? She likes "nice", but we are not on an inlimited budget... We might not need a pool since we play in the ocean anyway... A hot tub might be nice(not a must, but mught be nice...

Feel free to opinionate... appreciate your thoughts & input.

She is petite and has a choice between 3mil full and 7 mil full and she has a hood of needed (maybe with the 3 mil?). What might other petite woman wear "thereabouts" that time of year?

 

[Steve_C]

BHB is great, of course.

I usually hang out around Key Largo. If things are bouncy outside I usually do one of two things.

1. Go play in Jules. Viz is usually 10-20 ft but there is some stuff to see, zero viz, and some fish of different sorts. Not a coral reef but very easy diving. Think a quarry with some saltwater fish. You can find some odd stuff there. I found a sargassum fish once and spent some time with a horseshoe crab

2. You can shore dive from the main beach at Pennekamp state park. Dive shop will rent tanks etc. If you wade straight out from the beach you will come to a large rectangular area that is cut out and runs out pass the buoys. Maybe 20 ft deep. It has a silt bottom and best to avoid especially if your buoyancy is to be worked on. However along the sides you will find some fish and critters. lobsters, lettuce slugs, your snappers etc. On the left side the top of the "quarry" is an expansive flat area with plant life. Upside down jellies and a few fish. Out a bit further by the buoys the water is maybe 10 ft deeps, and pretty clear. There area some cannons laying around with lots of schools of small snappers and other odds and ends swimming around. Mostly you see small stuff here but in my 4 dives here I have seen a school of large jacks, tarpon, and other fish. Tarpon were in the deeper area and there was some silt. Viz good out on the flats. Pictures from Pennekamp. Was having some camera issues.

 

[Flotsam]

I'm a pretty cold diver, so I'll be taking my 7mm and a hood to dive off Jupiter this weekend - it's been around 72F. I'd probably include a hooded vest if my husband wasn't wearing it under his 5mm. But you guys may be more cold tolerant than native Floridans If you get the chance to dive BHB, hire a guide - they can find all the cool critters it's easy to miss. You can probably find some great scubaboard member guides in the BHB troll thread. Force e dive shop also offers guides for a reasonable amount.
I think all of the shark tooth diving is on the west coast, off Venice.

 

[aquacat8]

I second going with the 7 mil... no fun being cold! Make sure she gets her weight right for it. If you do BHB area instead of the Keys and want to also boat dive I suggest you don’t even think of diving deep, fast Jupiter yet, instead head an hour south to Pompano or Lauderdale By The Sea where depths are shallower. Lauderdale By The Sea is also a shore dive which Gold Coast Scuba can help with. But boat dives are easier—South Florida Diving Headquarters and others down there can take you somewhere like the wreck of The Copenhagen which lies at around 30 feet, a long, shallow, pretty, easy dive, right under the big stable boat... kids snorkle it from the surface. It’s fun and very close to shore.

Afterwards you can eat at The Sea Watch Reastaurant, and you can see the site from there! People have actually done it as a long surface swim from their parking lot. Lauderdale By The Sea is adorable... rows of vintage old Florida style motels make it like a trip into a 1950’s beach movie. Beachside Village Resort is a nice clean updated one, but there are others... it’s high season so some may be sold out.

 

[Bubblesong]

Sands Harbor Hotel and Marina Pompano Beach : We have stayed there twice, not on beach, but on a canal. It has a pool that instructors give pool skills in. It has nice restaurants and nightlife. It is easy to walk out to boats in the marina for boat dives. We never had to drive to dive. I chose another instructor (lionfish hunting, night Diver) from force-E Scuba shop, but inside hotel is shop South Florida Dive Center, down the dock is Pompano dive center as well as boats for Scubatyme. I also paid for four people, to ensure that the three of us could meet the minimum divers to not get boat cancelled, so we had private boat. If you like beaches, it is a few blocks walk, and more restaurants on the way. Some weekends they close off part of beach for foodie festivals, so I recommend checking local events calendar for Pompano Beach. We also took the Jetskis from same marina. Not much of a view from rooms, like an ocean front room, but way less expensive.

 

[Schwob]

@Steve_C
Thanks for such a detailed reply! Like the pics too.

sargassum fish

cool!

and spent some time with a horseshoe crab

Should I worry?

Pennekamp vs. Jules for simply a "lets get used to this again dive", which would you pick?
If the weather is OK, we'll just go out on a boat, but if not, it would beat just sipping something the whole day...

@msbovary
(I do wonder what's behind your username)...
Thanks!
Yeah, I have a 5 mil and that's what I'll bring ... If I had a three mil I would bring that and a hooded vest and would be fine but I take your advise and will convince the wife to bring the 7 mil ...
BHB: Force e ... gets recommended a lot. Why?
I am merely asking because as a never been there googler, BHB Scuba is the shop that pops up prominently ... but it appears Force e is mentioned quite more ... and its mostly about renting tank and weights... so, wondering...
Will contemplate the guide. Typically I do more enjoy explorating and discovering on my own, knowing I may miss stuff, but I do enjoy it... but I need to remember... this is about the wife...

@aquacat8
Thanks for the tips on the easier dives. 7 mil for the wife. Got it. Copenhagen ... always wanted to go there... didn't think of it as a wreck so ...

@Bubblesong
(no wondering necessary at all about what's behind your user name)
Thanks!
Lionfish hunting, hmmm, I might really want to try... but if then when the wife relaxes somewhere or just on a later trip... cannot temporarily abandon buddy duties just yet... Anyway, will look into these places...

Thank you all!

 

[sportxlh]

Force E has been around for 30+ years. The owner is one of the deans of Florida diving: that's probably why it is mentioned so much. The shop in the park is relatively new, though it's affiliated with a legit shop in Stuart.

Hire a guide for your first dive at BHB, if you end up there. I only suggest that because your wife is a new and nervous diver. A guide can show you the cool stuff. Either of the shops can accommodate you, but you'll need to make a reservation. After your first guided dive, you'll be easily able to do subsequent dives.

I think the shallow reef line in Pompano is very easy to dive and is quite pretty. It is only 20 to 30 ft deep. As long as the marine conditions are decent, It's an enjoyable dive. The shops I have used on the shallow sites include South Florida dive headquarters and Pompano Dive Center.

Beach diving Lauderdale By The Sea if marine conditions are bad is not a good option. The waves can get pretty big and be very rough. You'd be much better off at Blue Heron Bridge because it is in a protected area

 

[Bubblesong]

@Schwob , I hired the The Force-E fellow named Sam because I was diving with my daughter, and just wanted an expert that was teaching us other skills as well as extra safety. He just brought the bungee type lionfish spear, because the lionfish were everywhere. We asked him to show us how to use it, and we all pretty much we forgot about any nervousness, taking turns offing those Prolific Pacific Parasites. I would like to hire Sam again for more training, next time we go.

 

[Steve_C]

@Steve_C
Pennekamp vs. Jules for simply a "lets get used to this again dive", which would you pick?

Definitely Jules. There is dock/board walk along the side you enter. Literally gear up and walk down into the water. No worry about silt rocks sand in gear etc. They have tanks and weights. Out in the middle of it there is an underwater habitat which is functioning. Can even spend the night if you want. So you can swim around that if you want. So stuff to see. It is used for training dives.

It is separated by a large curtain at one end which separates it from the open channel. Fish and water can move around the sides. Peek around the edge and you sometimes see some more interesting fish. Divers are not supposed to go out that way though.

Jules' Undersea Lodge at Key Largo Undersea Park

 

[boulderjohn]

I have been in the area for about 6 weeks now. I have gotten a few days of diving in. I dived out of Pompano Beach this past Monday morning. The boat captain canceled the afternoon dive because of the conditions. They had almost canceled the morning dive, but decided to go anyway. They regretted it. It was pretty rough. That was the last anyone has been diving in the area because of the winds. It might let up enough for people to go out tomorrow. Things look better for the beginning of next week. I have not counted the number of good dive days in February so far, but I would guess it would be 7-8.

This is very unusual. I have been here when all of February was beautiful. This year has been pretty much the opposite.

For the last couple years, the last week of February has been near ideal, the first week of March has been solid small craft advisories, and the week after that was close to ideal again.

How lucky do you feel?