Dive Review of Jupiter Dive Center and Starfish Scuba/Private home in
The Continental USA/Jupiter and Boynton Beach, FL

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Jupiter Dive Center and Starfish Scuba/Private home: "Great Memorial Day week in SE Florida", May, 2022, by Craig A Wood, PA, US ( Top Contributor 54 reports with 48 Helpful votes). Report 11928 has 1 Helpful vote.
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Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	So, I have not been in Florida since a few dives in March. I flew down on Tues at mid-morning. The airport in Philadelphia was quite busy, most all businesses open. Only a small minority of people in the airport and on the plane wore masks. I had a perfect flight down to West Palm and my scuba gear came with me. Airport in West Palm was not busy mid-day. National had a poor selection of cars, but made do. Made my one trip to the grocery store, almost nobody with a mask Dive day 1, Wed May 25 I did 4 dives with Jupiter Dive Center, Captains Ryan and Tom, guide/mate Tory and Sam took turns. It was predicted to be 2-3 ft. seas. It was 3-5 with occasional bigger in the morning. We got pounded a bit and there were several sick divers on the boat. The afternoon was down a bit, mostly 2-4, seemed much better. Water was 79-80 degrees, visibility 40-50 feet, mild to moderate north current. We did 4 good dive sites, Captain Kirle's, Loggerhead, Bluffs, and Tunnels. There were many, many Loggerhead Turtles. We saw quite a few Reef Sharks, Goliath Grouper, Nurse Sharks, Green and Spotted Morays. All the usual reef fish were present, some beautiful schools of Horse-Eye Jacks and Spadefish. Dive day 2, Thurs May 26 I planned to do 4 more dives with JDC, the day ended early, very unexpectedly. It was a beautiful sunny day with less wind than yesterday. I went out on Republic VII with Capt. Tim. The seas were only 2-3. Our first dive was at North Juno Ledge. Water temp was 80 degrees, mild to moderate north current, visibility around 50 feet. We saw at least a half dozen Goliath Grouper, several Reef Sharks and Loggerhead Turtles. The usual reef fish were out, another gorgeous large school of Horse-Eye Jacks. At the surface interval, after first appearing well, the guide for the 1st dive became acutely ill with profound fatigue and weakness with numbness and tingling of all four extremities. We took care of him on the way back in and were met with ambulance service. As much as this sounds like decompression sickness, the benign profile would generally not support that, max depth 87 feet, average depth 69 feet, nitrox 36, 52 min total dive time. The rest of the day was cancelled. The captain and mate needed to undergo drug testing following this event. A few days later I obtained some follow up regarding the guide. His diagnosis remained uncertain but he received treatment in the hyperbaric chamber to cover decompression sickness and was doing well. Dive day 3, Fri May 27 I did 2 dives with Starfish out of Boynton Marina, Capt. Chris and Mate Ren. It was a little rougher than predicted, 3-4 ft., short period, choppy and chaotic. Water was warmer than in Jupiter, mostly 81, occasionally 82. Visibility was variable. On the 1st dive on the outside, could see the bottom from the surface, at least 80 ft. The inside reef had visibility of 40-50 ft. 1st dive started outside at Clubhouse, crossed over to Gulfstream. 2nd dive was north, Lynn's and Castle Ledge/Table Tops. Large Lemon Shark, Loggerhead, Nurse Shark and the usual reef fish on the 1st dive. Gorgeous large school of Spadefish on the second dive with a single file line of 6 Smooth Trunkfish following them from behind. All the usual reef fish were present. Dive day 4, Sat May 28 I did 4 very good dives with Starfish out of Boynton Marina. Capt. Chris and Mody in the morning, Ren in the afternoon. The morning started out fantastic, with clear, sunny skies and glassy seas, minimal swells. Our first dive was on the Castor, no current, something like 80 ft. of visibility. There were thermoclines with 76 degrees at 90+ ft. There were about a half dozen Goliath Grouper around, skittish until the other divers left. There were large Barracuda and small schools of Horse-Eye Jacks, It was wonderful to be able to swim freely about the wreck without significant current. Our second dive was a drift from the Bud Bar to the Captain Tony. I volunteered to take the following sweep flag. Both of these artificial reefs have been badly beaten by the hurricanes. Other than usual reef fish, nothing to be seen, a lone Goliath Grouper on the Tony. Personally, I would skip these two dives. The current had picked up, the water temp was 78 degrees and visibility was down to 50 feet. Our first dive in the afternoon was at Delray Ledges. The current was moderate and the water temp was warmer, 81-82. There was a large amount of red algae on the reef, a lot of it drifting in the water column. There were the usual incredible schools of Grunts, not much more. The wind and swells had increased during the day, ended up being 2-3. It became cloudy and we had a few light showers. The last dive started outside at Clubhouse and ended inside at the beautiful Black Condo. The current was very brisk on the outside, less so on the inside. Saw a large Lemon Shark on the outside as well as 3 Loggerhead Turtles. On the inside the usual reef fish were well represented. Saw another couple of Loggerhead Turtles. One swam all the way up to my face before veering away. As many times as this has happened, I'm sure not sure to think about this kind of encounter. Day 5 of diving, Sunday May 29 I did 4 dives with Jupiter Dive Center. First two dives with Capt. Tom, Tory and Sam. Scarface was 80 degrees. Visibility about 50 ft. A couple of Loggerhead, a couple of Reef and Nurse Sharks, and the usual reef fish. Tunnels was 77 degrees. The reef was nearly completely covered by red algae. The usual reef fish were absent, only one Loggerhead and a Reef Shark. The third dive was on Spadefish Point with Capt. Tom, Sam and Maddox. The reef was in better shape. Several Loggerhead, Reef Sharks, Goliath Grouper and the usual reef fish. The last dive was at Loggerhead, a good name. We saw about 15 Loggerhead, several Reef Sharks, several Goliath Grouper, and all the usual reef fish. Afternoon water temp was 79-80, visibility about 50 ft. We came up into a thunderstorm, seas much bigger, thunder, lightning, and some rain. Day 6 of diving, Monday May 30, Memorial Day Lightning, thunder and rain this morning. Lightened up a bit when I arrived at Jupiter Dive Center for my two dives this morning. Went out on Republic IV with Captains Ryan and Tom, guide Brian, and mate Maddox. The ride out saw more lightning and showers, then pretty much stopped for the rest of the morning, clouds with intermittent bursts of sun. Seas were mostly 2-3, short period. We did two very good dives at Bluffs and then, Capt. Kirle's. Water temp 80-81 degrees, good visibility of about 60-80 ft., mild to moderate north current. We saw many Loggerhead Turtles, several Goliath Grouper and Reef Sharks, and all the usual reef fish. Capt. Kirle's was particularly loaded with life. Very nice dives. Day 7 of diving, Tuesday May 31, last day I did two dives with Starfish out of Boynton, Capt. Chris and Mody. It was a beautiful sunny day, seas around 2 feet. The water was 81-2 degrees, mild north current, visibility 70-80 ft. on the outside, 40-50 ft. on the inside. First dive was outside of Clubhouse with a crossover to Gulfstream/Black Condo. Second dive was outside of Briny Breezes with crossover to Briny Breezes/Jerry's No Name. Very relaxing day of diving, nothing special, all the usual reef fish and reef life. A very good week of diving. Got in 19 of 22 planned dives in Jupiter and Boynton Beach and a little over 18 hours of dive time. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Bonaire, Curacao, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, Key Largo, SE Florida (Boynton Beach, Jupiter, West Palm...), Maui, Oahu, Cape Ann, San Diego, Costa Rica, Panama, Cocos Island, Red Sea, Galapagos, Revillagigedos, Malpelo
Closest Airport	Palm Beach International, West Palm	Getting There	Direct flight from Philadelphia on American Airlines
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	79-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Jupiter 45 min bottom time. Boynton loose 60 min dive time.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Both operators have good rinse tanks. Crews are very careful with cameras

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Jupiter Dive Center and Starfish Scuba/Private home in The Continental USA/Jupiter and Boynton Beach, FL

Jupiter Dive Center and Starfish Scuba/Private home: "Great Memorial Day week in SE Florida", May, 2022,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Jupiter Dive Center and Starfish Scuba/Private home in
The Continental USA/Jupiter and Boynton Beach, FL