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: "September in SE FL, Goliath Grouper", Sep, 2021, by Craig A Wood, PA, US ( Top Contributor 52 reports with 48 Helpful votes). Report 11665 has 2 Helpful votes.
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Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude	N/A	Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I haven't been in SE FL since the end of June, when I had water temperatures as low as 60 degrees, brrrrrrr. I came back down to Boynton Beach on Tuesday afternoon. Everyone in both airports and on the plane are still wearing masks. Everyone at National Car is still wearing masks. Essentially nobody is still wearing masks in Winn Dixie, but I did. Day 1 of diving, Wednesday Sept 15 I did 2 afternoon dives out of Jupiter with JDC on Republic IV. It was a nice day with seas around 2 feet. The first dive was on Capt. Kirle's, water temp 85-6, visibility about 40 feet, moderate north current. This was a pretty bland dive, 1 Hawksbill, the usual reef fish. The second dive was on Tunnels, same water temp, vis, and current. This was a considerably more active dive, several Goliath Grouper, quite a few Reef Sharks, a couple Nurse Sharks, 3 Hawksbills and all the usual reef denizens. A good 1st day. Day 2 of diving, Thursday Sept 16 I did 2 dives with Starfish out of Boynton Beach. It started warm and sunny, clouded up and sprinkled a bit at the SI, sunny again on the way in. Seas were around 2 feet. We had dolphins in our wake on the way out, including a cute baby, only about a third the size of an adult. The first dive was on the Castor. The current was quite brisk. Visibility was around 40 feet, down a bit more at the end of the dive. Water was 84-5 degrees. There were maybe 10 Goliath Grouper on the stern, none on the bow. Too much current to swim off the wreck. There was a little bit of bait, some hunters, and a few barracuda. It was a disappointing Castor dive. The second dive started outside Black Condo (Tumbled Rocks) and crossed over the reef to the inside for the 2nd half. Outside the current was brisk north with a strong west pull, the diving with the flag was tough. The water temp and vis was unchanged. Another pretty unremarkable dive. We had a small Nurse Shark swim circles around us for 25 minutes on the inside. A couple of Green Morays, no turtles, plenty of all the usual reef fish. Day 3 of diving, Friday Sept 17 I did the 3 tanker with JDC today on the Republic IV with Capt. Tom, Sandy, and Ryan. The day was sunny and warm, Seas were glassy and less than a foot. Water temp was 85-6 degrees, visibility was 40-60 feet. The first dive was at Deep Ledge. The current was moderate. Only saw 1 Bull Shark and 4-6 Sandbar Sharks with brief appearances. The 2nd dive was at Tunnels, it delivered again. Several Goliath Grouper, including a cute little one at the 2nd swim through, many passes by Reef Sharks, including a pretty big one, a nice Hawksbill, and all the usual reef fish. The 3rd dive was on the MG-111. There were very many large Goliath Grouper on the north side of the barge, surrounded by dense bait balls, with hunters swooping in. It was a nice dive. Day 4 of diving, Saturday Sept 18 Four dives with Starfish out of Boynton. Capt. Chris all day, Moty in the morning and Ren in the afternoon. I usually dive by myself. I did all 4 dives with my new friend from Houston, Kirk, who I also did one dive with on Thursday. The day was warm and sunny, seas were nearly flat, glassy in the morning. Water temp is steady at 83-85. The visibility was 30-50 feet. First dive outside of Clubhouse with crossover to Gulfstream. There was a brisk north current with a strong west pull that made staying on the outside an effort, Less current on the inside but still with a west pull, requiring continuous kicking to stay on the reef. The second dive was outside of Black Condo (Tumbled Rocks) with a crossover to Briny Breezes. There was a little less current, easier swim. Nothing spectacular a couple of Nurse Sharks, a Hawksbill and a big, old Loggerhead, huge Southern Stingray, Green Morays and all the usual reef fish Third dive was back to the outside of Clubhouse, a little farther south with a crossover to the inside. Current had let up a bit from the morning and it was an easier swim. Last dive was up north on Lynn's and Castle Ledge. The current had gone slack, may have even started a trickle south by the end. Again, nothing special, a couple of Nurse Sharks, a small Hawksbill and all the usual reef residents. A nice, satisfying day of diving with 4 1/2 hours underwater. Day 5 of diving, Sunday Sept 19 Two dives out of Boynton with Starfish, Capt. Chris and mate Ren. Today was a really nice day. Weather was sunny and warm. Seas were less than two, probably less than a foot. First dive was on the Castor. The current was brisk, but less than Thursday. The visibility was better, maybe 60+ feet. The water temp held at 84 degrees. There were about 15 Goliath Grouper on the stern and one very big one on the bow. There was a pretty good amount of bait and hunters. There were large Barracuda hanging around. There were a couple of huge Lionfish in the corridor on the stern port side, I guess no one was hunting. Hanging out with the GG after everyone else was gone was magical. The second dive started on the outside reef at Black Condo and crossed over Breezes. It was a beautiful dive on the Boynton Reef with all the usual suspects Day 6 of diving, Monday Sept 20 Two dives with Capt. Chris and mate Ren on Starfish out of Boynton, The day was sunny and warm, seas around a foot. The visibility was about 50 feet. Big difference was the current, essentially none, trace north to slack. Water temp remained 83-5 degrees. First dive was on beautiful Delray Ledges. I was dropped on a nice big Nurse Shark. Highlights were a nice size Lemon Shark and several free swimming Green Morays. The usual huge schools of Grunts were present. The second dive was outside at Clubhouse with a crossover to Gulfstream. It was nice being able to swim up and down the fingers without being pulled off. Nothing spectacular above the usual reef fish. Day 7 of diving, Tuesday Sept 21 I went out with JDC in the afternoon. I did not realize it was a "Goliath Grouper" trip. If I would have known this, I would probably have skipped the day. The boat was full, maybe 12-14 or so divers. It rained all day, mostly lightly. Seas were about two feet, water temp was 84-85 and vis was about 40-50 feet. There was no current. First dive was on Wreck Trek, second on MG-111. Nothing like having a boat load of divers chasing the Goliath Grouper around with their bright video lights while kicking up all the sand behind them. I generally stayed off by myself and made the best of the situation. Diving is better than not diving. Day 8 of diving, Wednesday Sept 22 This was my last day of diving for this visit. I did 2 dives with Starfish out of Boynton. The weather was sunny and warm, seas were less than 2 feet, visibility was 50-60 feet, water continued at 83-5 degrees. The first dive was on the Castor, my third of this visit. There was a more unusual moderate south current today. This was easily the best of 3 dives. There were up to 20 Goliath Grouper stacked just off the port stern. There were large schools of Horse-Eye Jacks and a big school of Barracuda near the line at the bow. My second dive started outside of Black Condo and crossed over to Briny Breezes. There was a large Goliath Grouper on the outside reef and a Nurse Shark joined me for much of the time crossing the reef. All the usual reef fish were well represented. So 19 dives this visit over the 8 days of diving. I'm very fortunate to have had this opportunity.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Bonaire, Curacao, Turks & Caicos, Roatan, 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	Getting There	Direct flight on American Airlines Philadelphia to Palm Beach, rental car
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, cloudy	Seas	calm, currents, no currents
Water Temp	83-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Operator run times
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	Boats had reasonable size rinse tubs. Crew was very careful with cameras

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Greg Bruce in WA, US at Sep 28, 2021 12:14 EST

Great report, as usual Craig!

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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: "September in SE FL, Goliath Grouper", Sep, 2021,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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):

Subscriber's Comments

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