Jupiter Dive Center Storefront — Attraction in Jupiter

Our first time to dive with JDC and I don't think it will be our last! JDC helped us with a spontaneous trip to see the Goliath Grouper spawning, even recommending hotel and restaurants. Shop is large, well-stocked (Scuba Pro) and operated in an amazingly friendly, safe and relaxed (but efficient) atmosphere. All our dives were drift dives and the current was very strong. We covered 1.3 miles on one of our dives and that was with us making stops! With confidence in the crew, we quickly became comfortable diving our own dives and maximizing our time. 7 dives, 3 days, used their rentals. Masks required on property and on boat. Equipment was perfect. Boat was clean and safe. Crews were amazing. We got lucky with our timing and with picking JDC!

Goliath Specialty - Taking the Goliath specialty wasn't a must-do before going down but Sandy Carlson made the Goliaths WAY more interesting in the water. Nice to ID male/female, several behavior patterns, etc. Goliaths are congregating on the Zion wreck right now for spawning and currents were too strong to go there our first day, which was really disappointing, but we got there the next day and they were mind-blowing!! Probably 50 Goliaths in 2 areas. We waited for other divers to proceed and got to watch behavior from our specialty. We want to go back and see if we can score 2 or more Goliath dives next year.

Jupiter Wreck Trek - Currents were probably too stout for new divers, but we loved it! For Goliaths we stayed on the Zion most of our dive, but wound up on the Esso Bonaire, which was some easy, not really "penetration" into a fun, very visual wreck. Lights really make the colors pop. Since we flew solo on this dive, we were relieved the Captain’s compass setting was dead-on. Having that made us much more confident diving our dive.

Lobster Diving - Wasn't interested in this, but others on the boat were, so we hooked up with their dive and had a blast watching the lobsters get caught, analyzed and often released. Great experience to do this with experienced lobster hunters and wound up with a new interest!

Blue Heron Bridge - We're Master divers with a ton of dives and experiences, but this was a fun, easy and unique dive… we were told #1 shore dive in America! We splurged on a guide (since this was last minute, a guide let us be lazy with prep) and diving with Steve Watkins made it much more informative and enjoyable.

Team - Alex was incredible! Helping reattach lights, lust over new fins and an attitude that never dipped. Hannah was another marvel. I was frazzled due to timing, she was not! Always helpful and calm under pressure. We dove with Troy, Brooks, Alex and Angelo and all were amazing. You never know what you'll get on a dive boat and these guys were all top notch. Our Captains were amazing (oops, names?) and we were especially grateful for day 2 Captain getting us to at least one wreck dive. Lisa and Gerry were the masterminds behind getting our trip to actually work out. They operate a terrific dive shop! We'd actually considered diving different shops each day to get a different experience, but we didn't want to go anywhere else :-)

Misc – JDC recommended the Best Western and things went smoothly and safely. Dive Food – We scored big time with Subway (806 N Old Dixie Hwy, Jupiter, FL 33458) opening at 7a each day (don’t believe Google, glad I called), so breakfast and boat lunches were quick, easy and on the way each day. Restaurants –Great meals at Blue Point (Sandbar Salad!), Food Shack (the creative dishes will shock you when you see it’s a hole in a strip center), Jetty’s (upscale and very relaxed) and Frigates (delicious salad and tacos). Tourism – We really enjoyed the Loggerhead Maritime Center. Other than our easy access to Cozumel, we rarely go to the same place very often, but after cold diving the last 2-3 years, Jupiter was a surprise delight! Warm waters and a fabulous experience....

Not a great first experience with this dive company. Waters were calm this day. We had a group of 16 divers. My dive buddy and I were not seated together so we didn't get a good opportunity to do a proper pre-dive buddy check. That's diving 101. For the first dive the boat gets into location, deckhand yells "dive! dive! dive!" and we jump in, all 16 of us. I was one of the last in the water because it takes a few moments for 16 people (8 each side of the boat) to jump in. By the time I entered the water the first divers had already descended 25-30 feet. Visibility was 40-50 feet so the first divers were a little faint in my view at that point. So we descend to 85 feet. Divemaster immediately signals to everybody to ascend back to surface. No safety stop, just straight back to surface. At the surface DM tells us we missed the reef. and the plan to to get back on the boat and go back to reef. According to my dive computer I used 608psi from my tank on that botched dive. Another diver used over 800psi and asked staff if they had another tank onboard. No extra tanks. So we lost about 20-25% of our bottom time due to this error (captain's error maybe?) Only had 12 mins surface interval before jumping in the water again. For the second dive (first full dive) my bottom time was limited to about 18 mins before my computer was signaling to ascend. With safety stop my total dive time was only 22 mins. Disappointing. 1:10 surface interval. Third dive (Second full dive) was much better and we saw some cool fish and reef structures. Goliath groupers, a couple of sharks, two sea turtles. This group had mixed air mixes. Some with air, some with Nitrox. I feel the the group was too large for the DM to watch closely and had two (possibly a third) less-experienced divers that went into Deco. They were using rental equipment from Jupiter Dive Center. Granted, it is the divers responsibility to know the computer and have a safe dive. However, when you are renting equipment to less-experienced divers that may not be familiar with that computer, DM should keep a closer watch over them and bottom time so their inexperience doesn't turn into a dangerous or deadly situation. I believe most dive charters run all air or all nitrox dives so you don't have divers with significantly different bottom times. We were in 70-80 feet of water so your bottom time with air was 25 mins. Nitrox divers had 45 mins. That's a big difference and a nearly impossible job for one DM to watch over 16 people with different gas mixes. In the end, I felt this was an unnecessary risk. Just to reiterate, I'm not pinning this all on the company. I know it's the responsibility of the diver to know the equipment, computer, and to dive in a safe manner. However, as a dive charter company, when you agree to take a diver out on your boat, you bear much of the responsibility to oversee a safe operation for ALL divers under your watch. I don't feel that was done on this particular day. Missing the reef on the first dive was an excusable error, but this company has been in business for a very long time has plenty of experience and should know when and where to drop divers based on currents, wind, etc. Plus it was a calm day. In the end it ended up costing every diver a shortened experience. For these reasons I won't be using this dive...

I wanted to take a moment to comment on the professionalism and customer-centric focus of JDC. I am in the shop for one reason or another at least 1-2 times per week, usually to fill my tanks. Gerry, Lisa, Sam, Adam and the rest of the staff are always there to assist with whatever scuba issue I may have. They have the components I need, and when they don't they aren't bitter or upset if I go somewhere else. This place is the definition of a "local dive shop" - their captains are experienced and their sales department is honest. I invite all divers to go there when they're in Jupiter and see for themselves the top notch level of service they provide.

To prove I'm an actual human being I'll list my limited criticisms - the owner is a tough guy and can handle it. Note that these comments do not detract from the 5 star rating they deserve:

1. The per-trip boat cost is exorbitant - extremely higher than surrounding shops. I have a 12-trip card at a shop 5 minutes away at a price about $40 less per JDC dive. In transparency, I have not approached Gerry on trip card prices, so he may offer something similar or better priced than the competetor.
2. They perform hot fills at this shop. Neighboring shops, including one in a very bad area (the hood) do tank fills in ice cold water. About 20% of my fills from JDC have not had 3442 psi and instead are closer to 3000 psi. In an attempt to fill quickly they have also ruptured one of my burst disks due to the thermal gradient (only had to pay $7 to fix). Since I am pretty good on air consumption this isn't too big of an issue, but like most divers I value when a tank has a full fill in it after paying good money. Gerry prices his fills very competitively on the fill card, however, so when I get a partial fill I'm not that upset. He's a good guy. Pro Tip: Ask for Sam - he fills the tanks slow and ensures they are full. Sam is a top-notch employee and deserves a raise.
3. This is a no-bullshi* shop, which depending on your circumstance can be a good or a bad thing. My family is from the northeast, so I am used to this attitude and can handle it. Sometimes when the shop is busy their courteousness may be slightly less than what you'll encounter with the surrounding shops. That being said, I view the shop as one to visit for more advanced and self-reliant divers, and I understand they are in a dog-eat-dog business, so when this occurs I don't take it personally. I finish my business, move on, and visit them again when they're needed.
4. They are a Scubapro platinum shop, which can be good and bad. Anything Scubapro I wouldn't dream of shopping anywhere else, and their level of expertise with the Scubapro line is undisputed. For other branded items, however, sometimes it can be difficult to purchase and locate through JDC.

I look forward to continuing business with JDC as I advance my diving education, and wish them success and continued operations in our community. They are staple for North Palm Beach County divers and hope they are here for many...