Lemons Are Here Pt.1

So the word is that the Lemon's are here! Well there I guess as I am currently in Pennsylvania, but not for long. In a few short days my wife and I will be making another trip to the West Palm Beach area of Florida where we venture about every month or so during the winter and once every 2-3 months during the warmer weather. We have family there, but rarely ever go there without at least getting a few dives in. In fact, we both have a complete set of scuba gear down there as traveling light is so much easier.

During our last trip down there, about 3 weeks ago, one of our dive buddies had mentioned that they were starting to see Lemons. I wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but thought it must be something to do with the citrus crop in Florida. I was really excited to find that Lemons had nothing to do with fruit, but were a species of shark that congregate in numbers off the South East Coast of Florida. Apparently for about 6 weeks or so every year the Lemons show up to mate and divers don't miss this opportunity to take a look.

Lemon sharks are great for shark diving, and their behavior during this time of year makes it common to see 20-30 of them in one area. They pose little threat to divers and there have only been 10 reported Lemon shark attacks and none of them have been fatal.

If you are going to be in the area and would like to give it a try, the Lemons usually stick around until March. I have a list of dive operators that run shark dive charters in the area.

I will post Pt.2 when I get back from the dive.

In the mean time, I will share a small video one of my friends sent me when I told him I was going shark diving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-VPJcnNyN4

Hope you both have a great time down in FL. Can't wait to hear/see all about it, including some pics when you get back :)

Thanks Lottie. Glad to see you back online, I feel like it has been a long while.

I am working on the camera/video situation right now. Unfortunately this is not an inexpensive endeavor. I will be sure to have a report on the diving though.

Yep, back online for a short while...

Looking forward to any pics you might get :)

If anyone is interested in joining us, there are 12 spots left on the boat. The boat departs at 9:00am and should return at about 3:30pm or so. There will be 3 dives with lunch provided between the 2nd and 3rd dives. The cost is $80 plus gear rental and cylinders if needed. The date is Friday 2/5/10 (that is THIS FRIDAY) in Jupiter Florida. This is a rare opportunity to get in the water with some very large sharks.

THE WATER IS A WARM 72F!