RETURN TO WEST PALM BEACH


By Alison Boler

Two years ago we spent an extremely enjoyable Easter week in West Palm Beach diving with Pura Vida Divers. I did a very full report of that trip which you can read here. This year with a summer holiday in Florida in the plans, we were very keen to go back and dive there again.

Palm Beach/West Palm Beach is about an hour north of Miami and runs along the mainland proper and along the barrier islands just off shore linked by bridge. We were staying at the Marriott Ocean Pointe, a condominium complex, on Singer Island which is one of the barrier islands. Pura Vida are also on Singer Island. The island itself is somewhat of a contrast between two worlds. Clearly, for many years it was a sleepy beach community with small roads, holiday and residential bungalows and beach houses. In recent years however the "sea" side of the island (as opposed to the Intercoastal Waterway side) has been developed with condominium resorts which tower over the rather select houses. The beach is huge and sandy with enough waves to make it interesting.

The resort is extremely nice with plenty to do and the condominiums which run from studios up to 2 bedrooms were very comfortable and have everything you could need. We have enjoyed staying there and would definitely go back again. It's perfect for a family, especially if you are not all divers. The non divers can have a great holiday here too.

I'd contacted Dean Shulyer at Pura Vida before we'd left the UK and booked in for 3 days diving with them. He confirmed that they still had the same excellent dive boat and had survived various hurricanes in the intervening two years. On our last visit we had purchased mult dive packages with Pura Vida and due to a day of bad weather and some colds in our party we had left with outstanding dives to be taken. I was impressed with the fact that even after a gap of over two years, these dives were honoured without a quibble. Nice people.

The diving off WPB is all drift diving due to the offshore current which runs at a very pleasant 1/2 knot, maybe up to 1kn, all the time. Pura Vida are extremely skilled at putting you in up current and then picking you up at the end of your dive. Dean is a superb boathandler and even in a moderate chop, you never feel threatened by the boat's approach.

The boat used to be moored in Phil Foster park but that area was totalled by a hurricane in 2004 and they now have a berth in the 13th Street Marina which is about 5 minutes from Singer Island. The daily dives depart at 10 am (very civilised) and you have about 45 minutes interval between dives, generally returning to the dock about 2pm. The boat carries a selection of snacks and fresh fruit plus an ice chest with complimentary cold drinks. There is a head and a shower on board and shampoo and conditioner are supplied. There are two Christmas tree style ladders from the rear platform which make re-entering the boat extremely easy. Pura Vida can supply Nitrox as well as compressed air. A two tank dive day costs between USD 65 and USD 75 depending on whether you commit to a multi day package.

Pura Vida always put a dive master in the water with the party (never more than 8) but you are free to do your own thing within computer and air limits. They like you to come back to the boat with at least 50 Bar in your tank and within an overall time agreed beforehand - generally an hour. It is recommended to carry a delayed SMB to use if you are surfacing away from the dive master so that the boat can more easily see you for the pickup. Most of our dives were in the 45 mins - 55 mins range.


We thoroughly enjoyed our dives again this year. The water was much warmer than it had been in April and we all dived in t shirts other than Daisy (14) who is skinny and feels the cold. She wore her 3mm suit. There is no noticeable thermocline and water temperature was around 30C throughout. Visibility is good but not glass clear - around 30m I would estimate. Reef health is extremely good and there were plenty of fish and other sea creatures to be seen. August is the start of lobster season and most other divers came armed with appropriate lassoos, tickling sticks and bags and were enjoying large catches, often returning with between 5 and 10 lobsters each. It was extremely interesting to watch the different methods of capture being used. I had only ever seen what I would describe as "snatch and grap" methods being used in the UK (no doubt I have just been diving with the wrong people!) but the American divers had it down to a fine art, hence their incredible catch rate. Very impressive!

Dives:

Toy Box/Playpen: These two sites are really close together and are done as a single dive. The toy box is an open barge in about 23m. It is filled with rocks which are home to a large number of sea creatures and there are some very large Grouper (Jewfish), barracuda and tuna around the wreck. We also saw eels and a turtle. After exploring the wreck, you cross the sand for about 5 minutes to the Playpen. This is an area where a huge amount of construction materials have been dumped across a large area of the seabed. These materials range from concrete blocks, to huge pieces of pipeline, cement tubes, tyres etc. You could have loads of dives here and never see it all. In amongst all the building stuff are huge numbers of fish including the largest groupers I have ever seen - absolutely huge. We enjoyed this site so much we asked to come back the next day and dive it again.

Other dives include Teardrop, Fingers, Laguna and Diverama - all really good sites absolutely brimming with fish, sponges, coral and of course, lobsters! In 2004 we saw sharks in April - didn't see any this time but I'm sure they were there. There are many dive sites along this part of the coast - all within about 20-40 minutes and for all ranges of ability.

We really enjoy diving with Pura Vida and would highly recommend them - very nice people, friendly and fun. Hope to definitely go back another time. The diving is really excellent - you will be surprised - much better than many places I have been in the Caribbean, for example.

West Palm Beach is a great area to have a holiday. There is plenty of accommodation of all price ranges and many restaurants. Seafood is in good supply and I can think of few pleasanter ways to spend an evening than in a waterside restaurant sipping cold cocktails and eating fresh shellfish and fish. It can be extremely cheap all the way up if you so choose but, believe me, you can eat really really well for about £12 per head, There are plenty of other activities for non divers - all the normal beach resort sports are there, fantastic shopping in West Palm Beach itself, cinemas, theatre. It's an hour from Miami and South Beach clubbing, 2 hours from Walt Disney World.

We rented our car from a very good company called USA Rent A Car. Based in the UK, they specialise in Florida car hire and do absolutely brilliant deals with Dollar and Alamo which give you an all-in rock bottom price. None of that awful business where you turn up at the airport all jet lagged and then get harangued for various insurances etc that end up costing you more than the car did in the first place! They also have an offer with a GPS company that lets you rent a satnav system for the car loaded with US maps and databases for a very reasonable price of around £39 per week. They courier the system to your UK address just before you depart and you send it back when you return home. We always get one wherever possible when we travel and cannot recommend them highly enough. It takes all the stress out of trying to find an address whether it is a hotel, restaurant, marina, house - whatever and forever banishes those mapreading arguments between yourself and partner which can blight any holiday travel!!!! Well worth every penny - don't leave home without one!


Links:
Pura Vida Divers
US Rentacar
Phil Foster Park
Sawgrass Mills
Yellow Pages
Hertz
Holiday Autos
Palm Beach County Tourist Info
Hotel and Tourist Info and Reviews WPB

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