I have been diving the reefs of West Palm Beach for over two decades and have become accustomed to seeing some of the abundant marine life that calls Palm Beach home. One of the first creatures that comes to mind are sea turtles. They are everywhere it seems! It’s hard to do a dive and not come across countless sea turtle species. And with good reason as Florida is the second nesting site in the WORLD for the loggerhead sea turtles.
It wasn’t until a trip to the coral triangle in Indonesia, the epicenter of marine life, that I really came to appreciate how much Palm Beach has to offer. While I was seeing countless amount of marine life in Indonesia, one particular thing the dive guide mentioned every day struck a cord. He said, “If we are lucky, we might see a turtle today.” By the end of my trip to Indonesia I realized one thing… Indonesia might be the epicenter of marine life, but I think Palm Beach might just have it beat on the sea turtle side.
A close encounter of the sea turtle kind is a daily occurrence in Palm Beach. Today was one such day with this beautiful hawksbill sea turtle cruising along the reef and out into the sandy outer edges. These hawksbills are extremely tolerant of divers and don’t seem to mind that we follow along as we gaze into a moment of life in a sea turtle’s day.
Of course, that is but one small piece of the bigger picture here in Palm Beach. Our reefs as a kaleidoscope of colors with plenty of amazing critters around and in the reef. You can spend a whole dive combing one beautiful spot on the reef and never finish seeing all the amazing macro life that is part of this beautiful reef.
Conditions can run the gamut here as they did today with both a north and south current and visibility from 15-70ft (all in one day!), but rest assured that Palm Beach has some of the best diving in the world. If you haven’t tried diving in Palm Beach yet… What are you waiting for? The sea turtles and all his aquatic friends await!
