Dive Review of Parrot Island Scuba Adventures/Comfort Inn, Ocean View in
The Continental USA/Pompano Beach

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Parrot Island Scuba Adventures/Comfort Inn, Ocean View, Dec, 2009, by Dan Huthwaite, VA, United States ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 5329.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Parrott Island Scuba was recommended to me by a dive shop in Merritt Island, FL. I was in Orlando on business and my wife offered to extend my trip to dive as an early Christmas present. It took roughly 3 hours to drive to Pompano Beach from Orlando but it was an easy drive. The Comfort Inn I stayed at was adequate but not anything memorable. It was old but well maintained and the staff was very helpful. Food in the area was expensive with not a lot of choices although they weren't your usual chain restaurants. Parrott Island operates from the wharf about a mile south of the Comfort Inn. They have no dive shop. Payment is made at an open Tiki hut right next to the boat and they have a small shed where they store tanks, weights and little else. Make sure you bring everything you need because if you need something, they won't have it. To their credit, both the morning and afternoon dives were very lightly attended but we went out anyway. 6 people in the morning, 4 in the afternoon. They had nitrox (32% but they did not have a O2 tester so you had to believe what was on the label). They also ran out of nitrox after the morning dives. The boat was ok. Tank bungees were dog-eared and there was a bit of diesel fumes in the air most of the time. You take care of setting up your own gear on all dives. The DM (actually an instructor) was very nice but offered short briefings and did not stay in the water. You dove your own profile. Most of the diving in this part of FL is drift diving. Someone in each buddy group was issued a flag to tow. At the wrecks where boats tie off, the instructor went over the side to tie off the boat to the wreck. I guess they don't believe in mooring balls. The area has a lot of wrecks, all of them fairly close to shore and they are worth doing. The reefs were so-so, with "razzle dazzle" being more like a dying wasteland than anything else. There are a lot of huge purple barrel sponges on most reefs but not a lot of fish. I didn't see one lobster on four dives. We dove the United Caribbean and RSB-1 wrecks. Both were very nice. UC was in 60 - 75 feet of water, decent viz, and had a lot of fish. Grunts, Porkfish, French Angels, Rock Beauties, Butterfly Fish, Tangs, Spotted Drum, Goatfish and one Green Moray. RSB-1 was between 75 and 110 feet and while the descent was through some pretty murky water, viz improved on the wreck. A very large sea turtle chased us around and followed us up almost all the way to our safety stop. We also noted a very large barracuda moving about the wreck but not too many other fish. The boat was stocked with sodas but no food. There was no tip jar and when i asked they just kind of shrugged it off. (I tipped them anyway and they were very appreciative.) Over all I would say this was an average operation. Not having a shop was rather unusual but the boat captain and instructor were pleasant. There are other operators in the area that offer better service. The buddy I was paired up with on my morning dives was a retired native and he highly recommended Dixie Divers (especially after he found out his 2nd tank only had 1,800 psi in it and Parrott Island doesn't bring spares.) Should I ever return to Pompano I'll probably dive with them.
Websites	Parrot Island Scuba Adventures
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Florida Keys, South Florida Coast, Barbados, Red Sea
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy, no currents
Water Temp	77-78°F / 25-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-40 Ft/ 9-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Return to boat with 500 psi, other than that you could dive your own profile.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Rinse bucket on board but no table.

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Dive Review of Parrot Island Scuba Adventures/Comfort Inn, Ocean View in The Continental USA/Pompano Beach

Parrot Island Scuba Adventures/Comfort Inn, Ocean View, Dec, 2009,

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 Parrot Island Scuba Adventures/Comfort Inn, Ocean View in
The Continental USA/Pompano Beach