Florida Diving Recommendations

Hi - I'll be in Palm Beach alone with a car and have 5 days (Sept 23-27) to dive Florida. Any recommendations for areas/operators for this time of the year? I don't mind driving. I'm considering a day over at Crystal River for manatees.

thanks for any help.

Just my 2 cents:

I would highly recommend Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures (www.scuba-adventures.com or 888-901-3483) in Riviera Beach. Great diving, excellent dive guides, and very photography friendly. While there, I would also definitely check out Blue Heron Blvd Bridge which is "next door" to their operation. It's a beach dive but must be done from about 1/2 hour before to 1/2 hour after high tide. To check the tides go to www.saltwatertides.com and check under "Port of Palm Beach" in the Florida Atlantic section. If possible get Jim Abernethy, Laz Ruda, or one of the other dive guides to go with you as they are great critter finders. You can find seahorses, frogfish, sea robins, star gazers, batfish, and lots of other great stuff. Laz is especially good at finding great macro life!!!

As far as Crystal River goes, September is too early to have lots of manatees as the Gulf of Mexico is really warm right now (87 degrees). The manatees show up in Crystal River in great numbers once the Gulf gets colder than the springs (72 degrees). That having been said, you should check with one of the operators and see how the manatee population is doing. I would recommend Birds Underwater (www.birdsunderwater.com) though there are a number of other good operators as well.

Have a great trip!

Doug

Hi - I'll be in Palm Beach alone with a car and have 5 days (Sept 23-27) to dive Florida. Any recommendations for areas/operators for this time of the year? I don't mind driving. I'm considering a day over at Crystal River for manatees.

 

thanks for any help.

Personally, I enjoyed my beach dive at deerfield beach. Largest Puffer I'd ever seen and a very cool black and yellow angel I hadn't seen before. Dived with a group called idivestarfish.com The dive was about a mile off-shore from Deerfield. The reefs were nicer than I thought they'd be. Largest Barrel Sponges I've ever seen. Lots of life, nurse sharks, rays, and eels. Water clarity was marginal clouded with small sea life.

The keys are about 2.5 hours South and you have some good diving done in Key Largo. All are boat dives. French Reef, Molasses Reef, Christ of the Abyss. All are nice in their own way. I was just down there at the end of July and had a westerly wind which totally destroyed the visibility.

thanks Doug and Gary! I'll see if I can get a guide thru JASA for the Blue Heron Bridge.

I live in Orlando, and I am headed down to Jupiter (20 mins North of WPB) on the 22nd to do a three tank day dive with Jupiter Dive Center. They do a deep dive to the 'Hole in the Wall which is supposed to have some big animals to see.

jupiterdivecenter.com

"Hole in the Wall" is a good dive. It's deep, though. The top of the ledge is about 110 fsw and the swim through (the actual "Hole") will get you down to about 145 fsw. Most people dive it on EAN 27. This time of year there should be a goliath grouper aggregation. I've attached a photo taken by Walt Stearns a month or so ago at another aggregation site in Jupiter. (Walt -- hope you don't mind me sharing your photo!)

Jupiter is a great site for large turtles, sharks, and rays. If you have the time, the three tank Friday trip with Jupiter Dive Center would be a good time. Wish I could join you guys!!!

Doug

I live in Orlando, and I am headed down to Jupiter (20 mins North of WPB) on the 22nd to do a three tank day dive with Jupiter Dive Center. They do a deep dive to the 'Hole in the Wall which is supposed to have some big animals to see.

jupiterdivecenter.com