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Dive Review of Pura Vida Divers in
The Continental USA/West Palm Beach, FL

Pura Vida Divers, Aug, 2007,

by Roger Roth, Ohio, USA (Contributor Contributor 16 reports with 8 Helpful votes). Report 3527.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 1 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Every dive in West Palm Beach is a drift dive and our currents averaged being moderate for the 5 days of diving we did. Most of the time it was possible to duck behind a coral head or into a trench to get out of the current. The divemaster went ahead of the group and carried a float tethered to a line. When divers stopped to look or get pictures, the divemaster was usually good at stopping and waiting so as to not rush the group.

Because of the currents, the reefs were healthy. Angelfish, filefish and puffers were mostly much larger than I'm used to seeing, as well as the 8-10' nurse shark we found sleeping in the sand. We passed a number of schools of squid that were very photogenic and one divemaster not only found a big red frogfish, he also pointed out a yellowhead jawfish with eggs in his mouth. The most memorable fish in this area is the giant Goliath Groupers that are very abundant around most of the wrecks we dived as well as in some undercuts on the reefs. These fish easily averaged 8' in length.

The biggest problem we had was with the diesel fumes that were everywhere around the boat, even when it was going full speed. We eventually found a way to use towels to block some of the fumes coming through the side gunnels, finally making it more comfortable getting to and from the divesites.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Fiji, PNG, Indonesia, Red Sea, Cozumel, Bahamas, Exumas, Caymans, Barbados, Antigua, CA Channel Islands, etc...
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 84-85°F / 29-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions This is drift diving for experienced divers and a safety sausage was required.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments I had no problems with the crew handling my camera gear and there were places cameras could be stored safely between dives. There was a rinse tank onboard, however it was smaller that I would have liked to see and best accomodated the smaller still cameras.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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