South Florida in August

[moparmandjh]

We are going to Florida in early August. Do I need to plan dive charters or try to find some dive buddies on here? This is my first trip anywhere and first time in salt water.
So far we are planning to snorkel with the manatee's Aug 4, spend the night of the 4th in Jupiter, and Key Largo 5-8.
Dave

 

[sportxlh]

You can probably make reservations a little closer to your arrival date. Jupiter and Key Largo have good diving. Key Largo has a nice mix of very shallow dive sites and some deeper ones too. Jupiter will be a little deeper, 65-100 range, and will be drift dives. I go out with Jupiter Dive Center on a regular basis and think the world of them: if you look through a few threads started in the last day or two, you'll see some SB'er like Scuba Works boat as well.

In Key Largo, I go out with Conch Republic Divers often but have been out with Silent World too. For the snorkel in the Crystal River, you can choose American Pro or Bird's Underwater. Though I don't know what the manatee population is like in August: they migrate into the river in the winter to stay warm. I believe most leave in the summer, but there might be year round residents too. I'd call the shops and check to ensure you won't be disappointed.

 

[moparmandjh]

I plan on making reservations around May. I have been talking to American Pro (snorkeled with them years ago when I drove truck), they said no problem in August, they have permanent residents . I am hoping to find some local dive buddies before I get there and do some shore diving too.
Dave

 

[sportxlh]

There's no real shore diving in the Keys (maybe a couple of mucky lagoons that almost nobody dives outside of initial training dives). If you want to shore dive while in FL, make a side trip to Lauderdale by the Sea or Dania, but if you stay in the Keys, you'll be on a charter boat for your diving. Gold Coast Scuba's MeetUp group has a very active beach dive community that dives Dania and Lauderdale by the Sea very regularly and has always welcomed newcomers (you can rent gear at Gold Coast's shop too). You can also beach dive Blue Heron Bridge in WPB during slack high tide: there's a full thread in the Florida section called Blue Heron Trolls with lots of information.

With all that being said, there are some decent snorkel spots in the Keys, like Bahia Honda State Park, but that is quite a bit south of Key Largo. One SB'er posted some really nice video on Youtube of his snorkel trip to the park (I've never tried it, but it looked pretty nice)

Other options for diving not too far from the Crystal River, are Devil's Den, Blue Grotto and the Rainbow River. These fresh water dives are fun to dive once or twice. American Pro does a drift dive on the Rainbow River.

 

[jimw]

I don't know from the 1 nite stay in Jupiter if you plan to dive there, but all the dive op's mentioned are good. Juiter though, is the deep end of the reef here with most dives in the 90-100 ft range. If you don't want to go that deep; go south a bit. Maybe as far as Boynton Beach. A shore dive not to be missed in the West Palm area is the Blue Heron Bridge. It's a great place to get wet as the depths are waay shallow--3 ft to 24 ft maximum. Diving is around high tide on any given day so check at Force E or Pura Vida Dive shops in the immediate area for tide, water temp, and viz reports. Good viz there is 15-20, great viz is 40 or more. We see stuff there we never see on the reef,plus seahorses and frogfish and octos right now!! The other shore dive is Lauderdale By The Sea, just north of Ft Lauderdale; can be a great dive depending on sea conditions. BTW, I lived in Lamar, Joplin, and Springfield and started diving there.

 

[moparmandjh]

Planning a dive in Jupiter (Jupiter Dive Center), and in Key Largo (Silentworld). Would really like to dive Blue Heron but would like to go with someone that is familiar with it. Is there any local dive shops close?

I got certified in joplin! I missed the chance to dive Oronogo, the EPA has closed it down. Mostly dive Beaver Lake, its only 29 miles to the dam.

 

[sportxlh]

Force-E is really close to the BHB: you can rent any gear there (note that you'll need a dive flag if you're not brining your own). I know you can hire a guide through Force-E, but you also might have some luck hooking up with a SB regular closer to the date you are coming to town. Most locals I know aren't planning their dive schedules anywhere close to that far in the future. Diving the bridge (or diving at all) is sort of a last minute decision I make a day or two before I end up diving.

I think you've made some good choices on your Jupiter and Key Largo stops as well. You should enjoy both places.

 

[moparmandjh]

I will look up Force E, thanks!!!!

---------- Post added March 22nd, 2013 at 10:18 PM ----------

Also, my girlfriend is a non diver. Hows the snorkeling at the bridge?

 

[jimw]

I will look up Force E, thanks!!!!

---------- Post added March 22nd, 2013 at 10:18 PM ----------

Also, my girlfriend is a non diver. Hows the snorkeling at the bridge?

Snorkeling can be pretty good if the viz is ok. Last summer the county put in a snorkel trail made of mostly limestone rocks and some created habitats, it is pretty well populated with reef fish and the depth to sand is about 10 ft--depth to the top is 6 ft or so. The bridge pillars can have an amazing amount of life on them too. We dove BHB last week and saw 2 small octopi, an eagle ray, and a jawfish with eggs in it's mouth. In the spring of each year, we seem to see lots of octos and some frogfish..........Let us know when you are coming down and my wife and I will try to dive with you. We are retired so dive mostly during the week.

 

[moparmandjh]

OK thanks! I definitely will!!