Palm Beach Dive Sites

SHALLOW REEFS

1. Snapper Reef — This beautiful 25ft. deep reef is known for the abundance of snapper and many juvenile tropical fish.

2. Ballentine's Reef — This unique 25ft. deep reef is made up of three holes of 30ft. to 40ft. in diameter. A 2ft. to 3ft. ledge lines the perimeter of the holes. There is a lot of marine life!

3. Cable Crossing — An excellent 25ft. deep reef. Communication cables cross the reef at the north and south end. Large numbers of tropical species can be found here and other unique creatures such as guitarfish (aka guitar shark) and sharp—tail eels. This spot is commonly used for open water training dives as well. It's not just a great first dive but a spot to be enjoyed anytime.

4. Pink House — This 15ft. deep reef is a great place to spend time snorkeling while off gassing between dives. It frequently has large nurse sharks and schooling fish.

These sites are used primarily for training dives. We do not visit them on a regular basis unless we are teaching. If you charter a boat privately, you can of course dive these sites any time. They are smaller reef sites, so we cannot visit them with large groups of people, although we do snorkel them on our surface intervals regularly.

60-FOOT REEFS

1. The Breakers Reef — We feel this is the prettiest reef in the Palm Beach area. It gets its name from its location, which is directly offshore of the famous Breakers Hotel. It has a 4 to 8 foot ledge covered in barrel sponges and soft corals, graced with a statue of King Neptune at the north end of the reef. Besides the turtles, rays, eels, sharks and large schools of tropical fish, you can see spotted eagle rays, and countless invertebrates. Every hole, every crack is filled with something amazing. This is a dive you can do over and over and never see the same thing twice. Photographers will have endless subjects, whether shooting wide angle or macro.

2. The Trench — This reef has a 12ft. wide trench cut through the reef east to west. This allows all kinds of animals a place in which to hide and escape the current. Located at the very south end of the Breakers Reef, you can drift out of the Trench and onto the reef to finish the dive. This is one of our favorite night dive spots. You can see several different types of lobsters; crabs and turtles like to sleep under its large ledge.

3. The Flower Garden — A gorgeous area with scattered patch reefs on the inside and a honeycombed reef on the outside, with plenty of area for the numerous species that live here to hide. Part of the reef is referred to as the "fish bowl". It has so many fish in this area that you can't see the reef. Like the Breakers Reef, you can see just about anything here, including the rarer things like flying gurnards and batfish. This is a great place for pictures!

4. Turtle Mound — This 12ft. high ledge runs east and west with reef ledges on the south and west sides. On the west side sleeping and feeding turtles, large stingrays and cobia can almost always be found. This reef can be dived alone if the currents are not too strong, but generally you will get to this reef from the north end of the Breakers Reef, it's just a short swim across the sand and well worth it! Bring your camera.

5. Tear Drop and Ron's Rock — Another beautiful 45—60 foot reef, this area is well known for turtles, lobsters and tropical fish. It does not have as much relief as some of the others until you get to the north end, where you find Ron's Rock. This is a section of the reef that is completely separate from the main section. We've even seen hammerhead sharks here!

6. Janine's Ravine — This reef is very impressive, and shouldn't be missed. This is a favorite shallow reef dive, because it is always loaded with marine life. Honeycomb holes make a wonderful lobster spot.

7. Playpen — An artificial reef just south of the inlet made of large concrete culverts and concrete telephone poles. Large schools of barracuda are always present. Occasionally Jewish and spotted eagle rays can be seen here.

8. 60' Rock piles — Just south of the inlet lay the oldest artificial reef, which was formed when the Palm Beach Inlet was made. This site is known for its large variety of marine life and shells. It is also a favorite for lobster hunters.

9. Bath & Tennis — A long reef line with 6 ft of relief and beautiful southern Stingrays, tropical fish and lots of lobsters. This reef, along with the Breakers and the Flower Garden is one of our guests' favorites. It has a nice easy edge to follow and you just never know what you might see and you are never disappointed.

10. Paul's Reef — A local favorite, this beautiful 8 ft tall ledge running SE to NW is decorated with lots of colorful soft corals, barrel sponges and rock crevices. The north end of this reef will make you feel like your diving in the Bahamas . Loaded with turtles, eels, southern stingrays, spotted eagle rays and even sharks, you will not be disappointed!

80-FOOT REEFS

1. The Fingers — This reef has beautiful rocky ledges that are shaped like fingers. It is located on the outside of The Breakers Reef. The ledges get bigger the further north you dive ranging 50 to 80 feet. It's a favorite among loggerhead turtles and nurse sharks.

2. Larson's Valley — A white sandy road with a ledge on the right and a reef of the left side. An abundance of turtles, nurse sharks and lobsters can be found here. It is usually dives with Yellowtail reef since they basically run into each other.

3. Yellowtail Reef — Within 10 minutes of the inlet, the beautiful 5ft. ledge was named after the abundance of Yellowtail Snapper which are found everywhere on the ledge. Another great place for turtles and nurse sharks and lobsters too.

4. Awesome Alley — This beautiful reef line, located close to the inlet, has lots of coves, gullies and brightly colored sponges. During turtle mating and nesting season you can see as many as a dozen turtles on one dive! Moray eels, lobsters and many other creatures live on this reef. It is a great dive when the current is strong because it is very long and easy to follow. Spearman's Barge is located at the north end of the ledge in 65 feet.

5. Jolly Jack's — This reef has a nice defined 10—15 foot ledge on the East side that runs North — South. Under the ledge you can find nurse sharks and turtles sleeping. At least one Goliath Grouper calls this reef home. The reef is home to numerous species of fish such as large Parrotfish and there are plenty of invertebrates. Lobster can be found in the cracks and crevices. On the West side there are patch reefs covered with colorful yellow grunts. A very pretty dive site, great for u/w photos and video!

DEEPER REEFS

1. Lost Shaft — A 90ft. deep ledge, close to the inlet, with large ledges and lots of relief sometimes running as high as 14ft. Large nurse sharks are usually seen here.

2. Juno Ledge — This large 15 to 20ft. ledge is in 65 — 90 feet of water. Large rocks and cave formations can be seen in addition to numerous large fish and an occasional shark off in the sand. Not only are there large schools of spade fish and other tropical fish, but a couple of goliath groupers and large moray eels live here as well. This is a local favorite and for good reason.

3. The Chimney — This reef line is one of the few ledges that starts as a huge ledge and then gets smaller as you go north. A 15 ft ledge, in 110ft of water makes this is one of our favorites. This dive is considered an advance dive and only if the current is not too strong because it's not very long.

4. The Playground — An artificial reef made up of 1500 tons of concrete, was sunk intentionally for fisherman, however, divers frequent the spot. With a depth of 130 feet, it's a great place to see large fish and sharks. This is considered an advanced dive.

5. Double Ledges — Beautiful twin ledges that lie south of the inlet in 70—90 ft. of water. These sites should not be missed, as the amount of marine life on them is unbelievable! A friendly hawksbill turtle named Madeleine can usually be seen swimming up to divers to say hello!

6. Shark Canyon — This is one of our favorite sites. The layout of this site makes for a very interesting and exciting dive. Home to resident Caribbean Reef and Nurse sharks, it's definitely a favorite among guest! It is an inshore double ledge system with the deeper ledge in about 87 feet and the top ledge rising to 65 feet, with a plateau between them in 74 feet.
Schools of spadefish, jacks and many other colorful tropical fish cover the reef. Loggerhead, Green and Hawksbill turtles, as well as the very rare Leatherback turtle have all been spotted here. There are Goliath Groupers, moray eels and stingrays just to name a few others. This site is about 25 minutes north of the inlet

WRECKS

1. Governor's River Walk Reef — In 55 — 90' of water, just south of the Palm Beach inlet. This is Palm Beach County 's newest wreck site. Sunk in February and March of 2002 and one in early 2004, these 4 wrecks were part of a US Customs Drug bust. All 4 wrecks used to be used for drug running in the Miami River , now they lie at the bottom of the ocean as a start for new life. Already teaming with fish, the coral growth has started. It won't be long before they're covered with marine life.
The names of the wrecks are the Shasha Boekanier, Gilbert Sea and the St. Jacques.

2. Mizpah — This is definitely one of the best wrecks in Florida . She was sunk in 1968 and lies in 90ft. of water, just 10 minutes North of the inlet. The Mizpah is a 185ft. Greek luxury liner with 3 levels to explore and 3ft. of soft corals covering the ship, from bow to stern.

3. The PC1170 — This patrol craft is split into two pieces below the Mispah's bow. The PC1170 is 160ft. in length. Scuttled in 1968 by the Palm Beach County artificial reef committee.

4. Palm Beach Triangle — This site has 3 wrecks, the Eidsvaag Freighter (aka the Owens), the Phillips Barge and the Rolls Royce. Beside the wrecks themselves, the marine life is amazing. They've been known to house some of the areas friendliest green moray eels. Sharks and other large fish such as Goliath Grouper can also be seen. This site is just 10 minutes south of the inlet.

5. The Amaryllis — The Amaryllis is 450ft. long and lies in 80ft of water. Only its hull and bottom deck remain; the other decks were removed in order to pull the ship off the beach where it was found after a hurricane.

6. The Corridor — A 1700 ft drift dive encompassing the Mizpah, PC1174, Amaryllis , China Barge, Brazilian Docks and rock rubble connecting them all together. It's an excellent site with lots of fish life and even goliath groupers. Definitely one of our favorite wreck dives due to the large amount of coral and colorful sponge growth. You'll never be disappointed with this exciting dive.

7. The Spiny Oyster Barge — This large barge lies in 110 ft. of water about 20 minutes north of the inlet. It is a photographers dream because of the beautiful corals that cover the entire wreck. There are several pictures featuring this barge in the Pieces Book - The Divers Guide to Southeast Florida by S&S Cummins.

8. The Princess Anne — Sunk in the early 1990's, this 340 ft. car ferry used to carry 800 people and some 200 automobiles across the Chesapeake Bay . The top of the wreck rises to about 70 feet with the propeller in about 100 feet. You can see schools of barracuda's and jacks, large Goliath Groupers, and the occasional bull or hammerhead shark.

9. Spearman's Barge — Located on top of Awesome Alley (aka Mid—reef), on a section we call First Gully, this barge is covered with life. It sits in about 68 feet of water, the top rising to about 60 feet. Home to a resident hawksbill turtle and visited by loggerhead turtles, it has schools of silversides and copper sweepers inside and lots of brightly colored grunts and snappers covering the outside. It is also not uncommon to find a nice green moray eel living there as well. A great dive for photographers.