West Palm diving

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Bennie Gibson - 12 Jul 2005 22:10 GMT

I'm looking for some input from those that have recent (last 1-2
years) experience diving the West Palm Beach area. My wife and I are
moderately experienced divers (10+ years of once a year, last 18
months diving the East Cost of Malaysia twice a month) but we don't
get many opportunities to dive now that we're back in the U.S. So,
we're hoping to get some input based on others experiences. We're
willing to pay a bit more to avoid a 'cattle boat' but we also
understand that 'smaller does not always equal better'. So, any input
or experiences you'd like to share?

Thanks,
Bennie Gibson

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Al Wells - 12 Jul 2005 23:14 GMT

> I'm looking for some input from those that have recent (last 1-2
> years) experience diving the West Palm Beach area. My wife and I are
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> understand that 'smaller does not always equal better'. So, any input
> or experiences you'd like to share?

You will be much happier in Boynton Beach, just a little farther south.
A few minutes farther south is Pompano beach and my favorite, Miss
Conduct http://missconduct.tripod.com/ From Boynton, I've been very
happy with Splashdown http://www.splashdowndivers.com/

Anything Lee Bell, Mike Gray, Bullshark or Curtis says is good too.

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mike gray - 13 Jul 2005 14:48 GMT

>>I'm looking for some input from those that have recent (last 1-2
>>years) experience diving the West Palm Beach area. My wife and I are
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> Conduct http://missconduct.tripod.com/ From Boynton, I've been very
> happy with Splashdown http://www.splashdowndivers.com/

Agreed. There are several good boats in the Boynton and Pompano
area, and the best are the same price as the worst.

Local boats lack some of the "amenities" of tourist boats - hump
yer own gear, dive in groups of two, no divemaster in the water
with you. Of course, the locals are friendly and you will have
no problem getting some local knowledge or even tagging along
with someone more familiar with the reefs.

Going from north to south, my favorites are:

Lantana - Starfish Enterprise, www.idivestarfish.com

Boynton - Splashdown; Explorer (6 pack); Deeper/Little Deeper

Boca - Diversity

Pompano - Seahorse; Miss Conduct

enjoy

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Curtis - 14 Jul 2005 03:25 GMT

> So, any input or experiences you'd like to share?

Mike G, Lee B and Popeye have never "put" me on a less than above
average boat, always enjoyed their choices.
Al's mentions I'd bet money on being good too.

Splashdown Divers & the Deepers good choices for Boynton.

For WPB, only one tried recently was Narcosis, would say they're OK for
"moderately experienced". Larger boat, more divers, ran a few dollars
cheaper, crew friendly and seemed to know the reefs, but more structured
than I usually seek.

Curtis

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Lee Bell - 14 Jul 2005 13:20 GMT

> Mike G, Lee B and Popeye have never "put" me on a less than above
> average boat, always enjoyed their choices.

Only because we like you.

> Al's mentions I'd bet money on being good too.

Safe bet.

> Splashdown Divers & the Deepers good choices for Boynton.

Mike and BS are using somebody else these days. I'm still using Lynn.

> For WPB, only one tried recently was Narcosis, would say they're OK for
> "moderately experienced". Larger boat, more divers, ran a few dollars
> cheaper, crew friendly and seemed to know the reefs, but more structured
> than I usually seek.

In West Palm, Doug introduced me to the Minnow, a boat with a unique and
particularly effective dive platform (it's slightly below the water and has
no ladder). It seemed to be a good boat with a good captain the one time we
used them. I also like Jim Abernethy. He tends to run cattle boats, but he
does them better than most.

Lee

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Douglas W. - 14 Jul 2005 18:36 GMT

> In West Palm, Doug introduced me to the Minnow, a boat with a unique and
> particularly effective dive platform (it's slightly below the water and has
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Lee

I dove them in May, they've moved to the Rivera Beach Marina.

http://www.ssminnowcharters.com/

--
An American friend of mine - living in Canada - says that in the US, greed
is acceptable but envy is a sin. In Canada it is just the opposite. I would
suggest that envy is our national sport. And no one inspires more envy in us
than our southern neighbor. It is a shame, because any legitimate gripes we
may have about America get lost in a sea of childish wolf-crying.

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Bennie Gibson - 21 Jul 2005 21:01 GMT

Thanks to all who replied - good input. We're calling some of the
folks mentioned plus some I remember from my last trip years ago -
sort of a final 'phone qualification' to see if which of the
operations sound like they may not match our interests / approach to
diving.

Will post a trip report upon return.

Thanks again...

>I'm looking for some input from those that have recent (last 1-2
>years) experience diving the West Palm Beach area. My wife and I are
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>Thanks,
>Bennie Gibson

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