DRIFT DIVING AT ITS BEST
Reef Diving in Florida
Palm Beach County offers miles of coral reef ecosystems with hundreds of species of marine life for you to explore, observe, and photograph. By far, its’ the best reef diving in Florida! Here’s a sampling:
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Juno Ledge
Known for its dramatic profile, Juno Ledge offers divers a glimpse at schooling gamefish, goliath grouper, moray eels, and soft corals associated with Palm Beach County’s deeper reefs. This ledge starts at 68-feet on top of the reef, and extends 20-feet down to the sand to a depth of 92-feet.
Northwest Double Ledges
Frequently referred to as ‘Shark Dive’, Northwest Double Ledges routinely offers divers an opportunity to drift with reef and nurse sharks as well as the occasional bull, tiger, or hammerhead. With a spectacular set of twin ledges, you will typically encounter gamefish, massive tropicals, turtles, and soft coral in the deep undercuts and extensive crevices on this 87-foot dive. After ‘viewing’ sharks in the amphitheater, you will drift north along the upper ledge amongst the massive erosion.
Jolly Jacks
Often referred to as ‘My Favorite Dive’, Jolly Jacks is a favorite among our divers and staff. With extremely deep undercuts and massive erosion, you will find a diverse abundance of tropicals as well as sea turtles, moray eels, and rays on this 82-foot dive. Beginning gradually, it transcends into a 12-foot ledge until it starts to slope northwest.
North Double Ledges
Offering divers a diverse array of possible big animal encounters and definite tropical fish, you will enjoy drifting along this set of double ledges at a depth of 87-feet in the sand. The lower ledge typically offers the largest abundance of marine life with a well-defined profile as the massive erosion transcends into the sand below.
South Double Ledges
Typically a great site for divers looking for the elusive spiny lobster, you will drift this phenomenal coral reef with massive tropical fish and frequently sighted gamefish. Diving South Double Ledges, you are able to follow either the lower or upper ledge as it curves northeast at depths ranging from 68 to 87-feet.
Cable Crossing
With a shallow profile of 16 to 22-feet, Cable Crossing is often a spot for introductory dives and snorkeling during your surface interval. A relatively short coral reef located immediately south of the Breaker’s Hotel, there is always the opportunity to encounter manta rays, sea turtles, and nurse sharks as well as tropical fish cruising the shallow waters.
Breaker’s Reef
This spectacular coral reef ecosystem offers divers miles of continuos ledges, undercuts, crevices, and patch reefs to explore at depths ranging from 42 to 60-feet. Located directly offshore of the Breaker’s Hotel and continuing south, you will drift effortlessly past hundreds of species of marine life including soft and hard corals, angelfish, parrotfish, rays, eels, sea turtles, and loads of macro life if you can spot it amongst the dense coral backdrop. Definitely bring your Fish Identification slates and books for these dives! The dive sites listed below are selected portions of the greater Breaker’s Reef.
Lopadas
Located on the offshore side of the north end of Breaker’s Reef, you will find yourself mesmerized as you explore the deep undercuts and crevices on this 72-foot dive. With long fingers extending east, you will likely encounter moray eels, rays, sea turtles, spiny lobster, barracuda, and loads of tropical fish.
North and South Turtle Mounds
On the inshore side of Breaker’s Reef, there are two isolated coral mounds with depths of 42-feet on top to 62-feet in the sand that surrounds these mounds. With a mild drift, you can make a jump from the north end of Breaker’s Reef to these mounds, which are a hotspot for grouper, hogfish, sea turtles, spiny lobster, moray eels, and rays along the 15-foot ledge.
The Statue
As you approach the north section of Breaker’s Reef, you will be overwhelmed by the tropical fish that congregate along the end of Breaker’s Reef. You also have the opportunity to say that you visited King Neptune on your dive. In the late 1970’s, a local dive organization placed an 8-foot statue of King Neptune in the sand at the end of the reef. With two sea turtles resting by his side, he has watched divers pass his reefs for decades. Recently, the continuous drift of the Gulf Stream laid him into the sand, where he now rests at a depth of 59-feet.
Fourth Windows
With a beautiful ledge and fingers that protrude inshore, you will find masses of tropical fish, sea turtles, moray eels, and nurse sharks. With depths of 45 to 59-feet, you will explore deep undercuts as you approach the northern portion of Breaker’s Reef as it wraps northwest. Along Fourth Windows, you will come across a heavily encrusted communications cable. If you listen closely, you will be able to hear the ocean.
Elevator Shaft
A well-defined and relatively straight ledge at a depth of 45 to 57-feet, you will encounter moray eels, grouper, spiny lobster, and, of course, an abundance of soft and hard corals as well as loads of tropical fish. Another communications cables lies across the reef on Elevator Shaft and immediately following is massive undercut where you will typically find a sea turtle, nurse shark, or moray eel resting.
Dive-O-Rama
Known for its massive sponges and coral forest, Dive-O-Rama offers divers unforgettable coral backdrops. With marine life swaying with the current, this is an excellent site for macro life including frogfish, flamingo tongues, and cleaning shrimp. Although challenging to find, with a little patience you can discover the perfect photo opportunity. Depths range from 46 to 58-feet.
Moray Alley
Often referred to as “The Trench”, this is a phenomenal dive site with a deep cut running east-west towards the northern portion. Cut into the reef decades ago, the trench is preceded by three communications cables lying east-west. Twelve-feet wide, you are typically able to slip into the trench and travel east as the current moves overhead. Moray Alley, at a depth of 47 to 58-feet, was named after divers frequently encountered resident moray eels including green, spotted, purplemouth, and goldentail eels.
South Flower Gardens
At a depth of 42 to 54-feet, you will discover immense forests of swaying corals as you drift South Flower Gardens. It is often difficult to distinguish between the corals and the tropical fish as you watch thousands swaying amongst the dense soft and hard corals. Typically, an excellent for divers searching for the elusive spiny lobster as well as underwater photographers in search of large aggregations of marine life.
Teardrop
An incredible dive site at a depth of 43 to 56-feet. At the southern portion of Teardrop, you will find 3 to 4-foot of profile with outstanding patch reef inshore. The northern portion of this site, the ledge gets more prolific and curves towards Ron’s Rock, a section of massive erosion at the northern most point of this site. This is site is a nursery for tropical fish with frequent sightings of juveniles. At Ron’s Rock, there is always the possibility to observe a barracuda, sea turtle, or grouper enjoying the hospitality of a cleaning station. From Ron’s Rock, you will make a ‘leap of faith’ across the sand towards the southern most portion of South Flower Gardens.
Bath and Tennis
South of Breaker’s Reef, you will find Bath and Tennis proves itself as a playground for divers. Whit depths ranging from 42 to 53-feet, you will discover masses of marine life within the crevices of this site. This site was named after its offshore location. It is directly offshore of the Bath and Tennis Club of Palm Beach.
Paul’s Reef
A favorite among our divers and staff, Paul’s Reef offers incredible diversity regardless of your interest. You find soft and hard corals, massive sponges, macro life, brilliant tropical fish including midnight parrotfish, spiny lobster, big animals, and rays. At the northern portion of this dive site, you will find a series of jumps as the ledge curves inshore. At a depth of 45 to 56-feet, this is an outstanding site to explore.
