Traveling to US from India, would like to dive with Sharks in Florida

[imkeshav]

Hi Guys,


I will be working in Gainesville, Florida during first 3 weeks on November. This is the first time coming to Florida, so I'm a newbie. I'm an PADI AOW certified, but wife can only do DSDs. Please point me to any resources online where I can learn more.


I will have time for a 4 day vacation including Sat,Sun.
Can I dive with sharks in Florida? Looks like Bahamas is the place for sharks. But would like to do it in Florida to save costs.
Where can I find the best dive spots in Florida? It looked like "the keys" is the best place. Can I get there in a bus from Gainesville?
How is the diving in and around Miami?
I have never done a wreck dive and love drift dives. So hoping to include that in one trip as well. But it looks like these would happen at other places than "the keys"
Lastly, What would be the closest place to Gainesville to a decent dive (good viz). If possible, I will do a few dives over a weekend. I heard Jacksonville may have diving, but not sure how the dive sites are.

Thanks for your Help
Keshav

 

[mermaid0sea]

I have done a few dives on the East Cost, the keys and even a shark dive in an aquarium. Your best bet is to look through the different regional forums... I think from my limited experience I was able to do drift diving in West Palm beach area and Ft. Lauderdale for wreck dives, also got some shore dives in at the Blue Heron Bridge. In Nov it might be a tad chilly but you might try it. I am sure other people can chime in, but you might consider renting a car if you can, busses could add up. I don't know much about diving in Jacksonville so maybe others could comment.

 

[imkeshav]

Can you point out some of the regional forums. most appear to be dive clubs

 

[Rhone Man]

I am not aware of any dedicated shark dives in Florida (certainly not near Gainsville), but you can see sharks on any dive if you are lucky.

You are right in that Bahamas is a pretty safe bet for shark diving. If you are really sure this is what you want to do, I would make the short flight to Nassau and hook up with Stuart Cove or a similar operator.

 

[imkeshav]

Thanks for the inputs guys.

The most important thing I want to get out of this US trip is to See some BIG fish like Mantas, sharks, goliath groupers etc and I will have 4 days to spare (maybe another weekend as well). So in your opinion, which should I pick for the best dives - Bahamas or Florida (the Keys?). I also never done a wreck dive, but I could pass that for sighting some big fish. I also love a good drift dive.

I was suggested a 2 day cruise to Bahamas, but I would prefer an affordable live-aboard.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Hi imkeshav

Although people dive all over the state, the best ocean diving and clearest water is in South Florida and the Keys.

For big animals, your best bet is the Palm Beach/Jupiter area. That is the one area where you can reliably see goliath groupers on the deeper wrecks and reefs (90') and it is also fantastic drift diving along both the deeper and shallower (45-60') reefs. You might also see turtles as they are regularly sighted on the reefs. It is also one of the better areas for sharks, there are several reefs where caribbean reef sharks are regularly sighted, mainly because spearfishermen also go to these reefs and the sharks come around when divers show up even without spearfishers.

There is an operator who runs "shark dives" but these are active feeding/chumming dives conducted as open ocean drift dives, with the divers often mixed up in the bait and chum. It is highly dangerous so I will not recommend it. The regular shark spots are plenty good enough.

So, Palm Beach and Jupiter for drifts, mid to deep reefs, wrecks, and big animals all combined.

The Keys have, by far, the most beautiful shallow reefs with a huge abundance of colorful fish life. I would not miss the Keys (Key Largo in particular). Key Largo also has a couple of very large wrecks (Spiegel Grove and Duanne and Eagle) that are deeper dives. Not just AOW, but some experience is preferred for those wrecks (not the reefs).

Very little diving in the Keys is done as drift diving.

So, for four days of diving (assuming you can travel the day before and after), I would suggest you get a rental car and do the following:

2 days on Key Largo. This might get you 4 dives per day on the reefs and wrecks. You want to basically dive Pennekamp park and the immediate area, and the outer reefs are best (Molasses, Elbow, French, Carysfort reefs). If the weather is choppy there are plenty of good inner reefs as well in calmer water. The wrecks you would want to hit are the Spiegel Grove and Duanne.

2 days in West Palm/Jupiter. The wrecks with best big fish life tend to be the Zion Train (also called wreck trek) and the Mizpah (also called the corridor), and the MG 111. Best deeper reefs are called the Juno Ledges, with Monkey Ledge and Spadefish point being really spectacular. Best shallow reefs are Tunnels, Shark Canyon and Breakers. Best places for sharks are Shark Canyon and Tunnels.

For operators: In Jupiter: Scubaworks and Jupiter Dive Center
In West Palm Beach: Jim Abernethy Scuba Adventures; Pura Vida Divers

In Key Largo area: Conch Republic Divers (they are one of the few Keys ops that do drift dives); Quiesence Dive Center (Key Largo, small 6 passenger boats, no cattle boats); Silent World.

The one uncertainty is weather. By November, we can be getting windy cold fronts that can make the ocean rough and boat entries difficult. If that is happening when you are here, the Keys are a much better choice than West Palm, because the Keys have reefs that are more sheltered from the waves but Palm Beach does not. If you book Palm Beach, be sure you cancel is the weather kicks up, or, better, just wait until you are ready and then book. You can always find spaces somewhere.

If a dedicated "shark dive" is your highest priority, then the best choice, as noted in a post above, is to go to nassau and dive with Stuart Cove's dive shop. That will be expensive, but it is far more reliable in terms of shark sightings because it is a long-established feeding dive.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

If you're stationed in Gainesville, then your best bet is the Jupiter and Palm Beach area for the sharks and bigger animals. Shark Canyon is near Jupiter Dive Center and a few other boats further south go there too.

 

[mermaid0sea]

I saw two sharks on my first and only drift dive in palm beach! I saw one shark on my key largo trip this past weekend and turtles and rays.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk 4

 

[acteg]

Another vote for Jupiter

 

[luscioman]

You have either Jupiter or possibly Capt Slates creature feature

Captain Slate's world famous Creature Feature