West Palm Beach in July...Need Advice

[lilnik10]

My husband and I are going to be diving in West Palm Beach July 15-19. Right now, we are planning to dive with Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures (although no resverations have been made) and spending at least one day at Blue Heron Bridge. This will be our first "tropical" dive trip; we have primarily dove fresh water locales and North Carolina wrecks. I am looking for advice/suggestions on how to get the most out of our trip. What are the "must sees"? Anywhere we should avoid?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If it were me.. I might try to schedule a trip out of Boynton Inlet, some out of Palm Beach and some out of Jupiter. The distance between those inlets is maybe 30 miles total, but the diving experience and reef composition is surprisingly different....

 

[scubadada]

If it were me.. I might try to schedule a trip out of Boynton Inlet, some out of Palm Beach and some out of Jupiter. The distance between those inlets is maybe 30 miles total, but the diving experience and reef composition is surprisingly different....

That's really a great idea, I'm particularly fond of Boynton Beach and Jupiter

 

[lilnik10]

That's good to know. Are there any dive ops you would recommend?

 

[UforSCUBA?]

Can't go wrong with Capt Sl8r in Jupiter. Great boat, great crew, and the weekend trips leave at 10 am. www.jupiterscubadiving.com

 

[sportxlh]

DumpsterDiver's idea is a good one........... there are lots of good operators in all three locations. Since you already plan on JASA, you can stick with them for WPB (but WPB has many other good dive ops too like Narcosis, Walkers, Scuba Club, Pura Vida, etc. etc.). In Jupiter , I go out with Jupiter Dive Center: thats who I do 50-60% of all my diving with. I've heard Capt Sl8r runs a great boat, but I've not been out with them. I have not been to Boynton in a while but used to use Underwater Explorers. You can also call Force-E and they can set you up on any number of boats especially if you have an idea of what you want to dive (e.g. wreck vs reef, 60 feet vs 90 feet, etc.).

In Jupiter, you are highly likely to see sharks: sharks are in the other locations as well, but in Jupiter you're virutually guaranteed to see them unless an outgoing tide full of gross dirty run-off prevents the boats from going to the good sites know for shark sightings.

In my opinion, the futher south you go the prettier the reefs are. I don't think Jupiter reefs are quite as pretty as WPB (especially the Breakers reef or the Flower Garden sites) or Boynton reefs. Since you dive wrecks in NC regularly, you might want to focus on the local reefs.

In Jupiter and WPB an in-water Dive Master or guide almost always dives with the group and all diving is drift diving. In Boynton, many operators have the divers carry the dive flag line, though I believe Underwater Explorers will usually put a DM in the water as well. Keep that in mind if you don't want to mess with dragging a dive flag.

Many of the dive ops in these areas tend to pick the sites based on marine and visibility conditions and what marine life may or may not be migrating into the area at any particular time of year. Plus they'll make dive location decisions on whether students will be on the boat or not. If there are a lot of OW students scheduled on a boat in WPB, you'll see a lot of ops stick to 60 foot reefs, but those reefs can be beautiful (like the Breakers system). If there are no students, the first dive might be a deeper ledge like Double ledges, Princess Anne wreck or the Mizpah wreck train (80-100 feet).

 

[Abaco24]

Ditto on Capt Slater, He's at Scubaworks.com, here's the link....https://www.facebook.com/CAPTSL8R?fref=ts he parks at "The Square Grouper" which is a great local Tiki Hut Bar with live bands when the dive is finished. Then you can have some Goombay Smashes and get tropical. Feel free to contact me for more local "tours". LOL His dives are all drifts since the Gulf Stream is 5-8 miles off the Jupiter inlet most times. They had a Whale Shark come in last week too. PM me for more questions....Abaco24

 

[uncfnp]

Sportxlh is right on target with his advice. You really can't go wrong with any of the WPB boats. I like Narcosis because they do some of this less common dives that are a little farther from the dock but do the great nearby reefs (like Breakers and Flower Garden) as well. In my experience, they also let experienced divers be a little more independent, especially once they get to know you.

As for dives out of WPB, north, I like Juno's Ledge, Area 51 and Shark Canyon. To the south, Paul's and Horseshoe. Breakers and Flower Garden toward the middle. Last trip we dove the new memorial wreck, Danny. The dive was actually three sites toghther called Royal Park i believe. I really liked it though the Danny is too new to have much sealife. it will be interesting to watch as this new artifical reef evolves.

Since you have dove NC wrecks, I assume you are Nitrox and don't mind deep so diving out of Jupiter should be no problem too. As others have said, it's better known for the sharks.

If you have never done drift, it might be worth reading a little on this style dive. Scuba Club has a good article on drift dives in WPB.
An article describing Scuba Dive in West Palm Beach, FL

Definitely plan on at least one dive at BHB. Looks like you are diving weekdays so both the bridge and boats should be less crowded. You can get everything you may need for the bridge (tanks, wts, dive flag) at Force-e just down the street. They also have tide info and a map. MrChen, a SBer, posted one in a recent thread as well. I'll see if I can find it...

You are going to love drift diving in Florida. We make the drive several times a year. Next trip August for lobsters!

 

[DSW Diver]

I agree with sportxlh West palm and Boynton Beach have better reefs. I use to run a boat out of Boynton Beach and now we run Calypso Dive Charters out of Lake Park Marina. If you want no stress dives and no cattle boats, we offer a 6 pack on a 36 ft dive boat. Yes only 6 divers and a dive master/instructor on each dive. Our Captain Tony Crumrine has over 14 years of experience diving these waters. Please take a peak on our website and Facebook page. http://www.calypsodivecharters.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Calypso-Dive-Charters/339667519452124

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I did WPB last year same time on JASA. Nice operation. Definitely recommend Nitrox, if you are are on air the DM will want you to ascend early due to the depths, that extra 10 minutes is worth the extra money.