Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures

Very nice people. I came into Palm beach on a boat and somehow left my mask and snorkel at home. They were willing to rent a mask and snorkel to me, so that I could visit Peanut Island. Thanks again!

I always tell people to go to Jim Abernethy’s for scuba certification and diving. Their shark encouters to the Bahamas and whale sharks in Mexico are also top notch with all my expectations exceeded! I have always received incredibly great service and care from the entire crew. You won’t be disappointed with this operation!

Dove again with this fantastic group, as expected I had a wonderful time with great staff and fellow divers. Will be back in June, see you soon!

They were alright but I dont think i will go back to them. It was my first time diving in this area and i think I was the only diver from out of town. I felt like a stepchild on a family trip. I would have appreciated the dive master giving more description of the dive sites, especially since I was the only non-​local. It seemed everyone else on board knew the sites, but I did not know the first dive site, Danny, was a memorial until afterwards when the captain informed me. And I am used to diving by myself and either buddy’ed up with another diver or the guide. There was no buddy system on my dive and I lost everyone but one guy on the first dive. It seemed he sort of took over helping me more than the guide the rest of the trip. (Thanks Clive.)
Also, when I made my reservation, I informed the shop I forgot my dive computer. Could I rent one? I was told there would be one on my regulator or one on the boat I could use. I mentioned this to the dive master EJ. But there was none on board. In my past experience, the dive master has stayed close to divers without computers. But I barely saw him most of the dives (visibility was not great.) So when I lost the divers, I had to go up early since I did not know where I was nor how long I was down for. This was also a problem on my 2^nd dive because I had to go up earlier than everyone (I think I was only non-​nitox diver) and I counted to 60 5 times for my safety stop by myself.
I’ve been told before I have been spoiled by diving some of the best places in the world. It might be true and I had high hopes for the Palm Beach area. I declined the afternoon dive because I was unimpressed with the morning dive and not sure I will bother coming back for more.

The crews ere fantastic. There r snacks, all kinds of drinks, and pineapple at the end of the boat trip. I was vomiting the whole time cuz it’s my first, but the whole crew was so nice and it’s still a wonderful trip. Jim himself is a very talented photographer. U should choose them whenever u can. They are the best!

Scuba diving in palm beach don’t get better then Jim Abernathy scuba Diving his boats captains and crew are tops. Just Another day in paradise Thanks again to the crew. Joe

I would give them ten stars if I could. Jim Abernathy’s Tiger /​Hammerhead trip was hands-​down the most amazing dive trip of my life. I want to go back again ASAP. AMAZING close-​up shark action! But be warned — this is a trip for advanced divers who can be totally responsible for their own safety and not for the faint of heart! Definitely not for new divers. You need to be completely responsible for your own dive profile and be prepared to get very close to some really large sharks. If that sounds like fun to you — then go! The staff at the dive shop and the boat crew (George, Sean, Amanda, Jared) are amazing and Jim is amazing. His detailed photography tips were invaluable. THANKS AGAIN FOR AN AMAZING TRIP!

Always excellent and superb service. Huge advocate for our military hero’s.
Thank you for your excellence.

SHUT THIS PLACE DOWN — This place is DANGEROUS. My wife had just been certified and had maybe 4 or 5 dives under her belt, and none since being certified. I had not dived in 13 years. We explained our inexperience over the phone when making our reservation and requested to be in a beginners group for a «Refresher Course». We called twice in advance making sure that this is how we would be handled as getting a refresher was our SOLE reason for taking a lesson. (The reason we were looking to relearn the basics was because we were about to head out for our honeymoon to The Keys and wanted to dive together). When we arrived to the dive shop I once again checked making sure that we were taking some type of a Refresher Course. The half hearted, «yeah, sure.» I received should have tipped me off. Me and my wife, VERY INEXPERIENCED divers were put on a boat with 12 experienced Nitrox divers and no other beginners. The crew yelled, «Prep your gear!» There was a flurry of activity and people began jumping off the boat. I felt scared and uncared for, because I was. My wife was so nervous. I asked an instructor for help, who rushed through the prep, then yelled «Let’s go!» Before I knew it, we jumped off the back of the boat and people descended so quickly I lost them in the depths. Just bubbles floating back up. I didn’t even remember how to clear my ears. I frantically pointed at my ears that were about to explode, the via charades, my wife showed me how to clear them. We descended to around 50 feet, my heart was pounding, my goggles were completely fogged and I was ripping through oxygen. Then my wife blacked out. The instructor was not paying attention to her so I signaled to check in with her. She did not respond. I signaled again. No response. I swam directly to her and grabbed her by the arms and looked straight in to her mask. She was ghost white and her eyes were rolling in to the back of her head as she sank. I grabbed her by the arm and swam directly to the guide. I shook him violently by the arm and thrust her in front of him. He looked at her then held on to her and completely inflated his CBD, blowing through all check points and immediately rocketing to the two of them to the surface, so I followed suit. We got to the top and I, not the instructor, tore off my wife’s mask and regulator, to which she immediately began vomiting. I tilted her head to the side so that she didn’t choke or drown. We waited for the boat to pick us up. We loaded my wife on the boat… and then guess what? They wanted to continue diving with the rest of the group as normal. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. My wife lay in my lap crying and vomiting, in front of everyone, for 30 minutes till I demanded that the boat be turned around. We were dropped off on a random pier and waited and the boat left. 20 minutes later a car came and picked us up. In our quick ride back, we were recited text book legal jargon saying that it was not the dive shop’s fault, and they were not to blame whatsoever. We were unsanctimoniously dumped in the parking lot and then they drove away. I helped my wife in to the car and held her as she cried for 15 minutes. Once home, and while she was in a bath, I called every doctor I know about how to monitor the side effects of blowing through check points and what happens if she (and me) still have too much nitrogen in our blood. And what was worse, we flew 18 hours later, for the very honeymoon we were refreshing for. The scuba shop offered NOTHING other than legal defense that they were not to blame. These people are psychotic and should be shut down. Needless to say, I cancelled all SCUBA reservations on our honeymoon.
I am adding the section below to respond to the letter attached by Abernethy -
Abernethy can choose to believe me or not, but every single word I wrote in my review is true. I understand that what they wrote in their response in their PROTOCOL, the standard they are AIMING FOR, what they are SUPPOSED to do in a particular situation, however, when me and my wife joined them, that is NOT AT ALL what actually happened. Again, every word I wrote is true.
And yes, I do have a lot of negative reviews on my account, and that is because I have a personal commitment to report all shady business practices, like Abernethy. Unprofessional and dangerous behavior like theirs absolutely deserves to be reported.

Took a trip to Florida with my boyfriend to visit my parents. They booked this dive boat for us. Amanda and Kyle were the Dive Masters. Being from California the dive masters here just do the dive briefing and make sure you enter and exit safely. So I wasn’t expecting much. Kyle came up to me just after we left the dock and asked me what I wanted to see. I told him sea turtles and a Grouper. We never got to the trenches due to the ripping current but I got to see both that day. I saw more turtles then I ever imagined and multiple groupers I know he couldn’t plan what we saw because it’s sea life but by him asking it showed he cared. He was very friendly and entertaining the whole day. Amanda was too. Glad they worked on the boat that day. The boat is nothing special, here in California the boats are massive. So it was hard getting used to the tight spaces. But I will be back, I hope we get the same dive masters. Thanks for an amazing day of diving.

I dove with Scuba Adventures over Labor Day weekend. They did have a full boat on Sunday afternoon, the divemasters and crew were helpful and patient as they answered questions about the dive sites and helped divers with gear and getting in and out of water. The staff, boat Captain Oliver, and divemasters Joe, Jason, Connor, Susan were great. I also am grateful to the gals in the office, Tori, Melissa and Fran. I recommend Abernethy’s Scuba adventures for diving in the Riviera Beach area of South Florida.

So we did West Palm on a whim. We were diving the springs when the weather turned bad and we wanted to head south. Paul at Seminole Scuba in Lake Mary turned us on to Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures and we were delighted. They got us on a boat short notice for two great dives. The dive master and captain were excellent and the dives went exactly like they mapped it out. The boat was comfortable and pretty well equipped for a morning 2 tank dive. A good dive shop. Good local advice.

Had the itch for some diving while in palm beach and these guys had last minute space for me on the boat. I was stoked to get on the water despite pending storms later that day.
Hit up breakers and rons reef. Breakers was cool but rons reef wasn’t much. I’d prefer we had visited a wreck on our 2^nd dive but overall conditions were good and viz acceptable.
Saw loggerhead turtles which was cool. Jawfish, eels, barracuda, etc.
Friendly outfit with rental gear and a comfortable boat. Boat and tank fees are reasonable but gear rental is overpriced IMO. They didn’t crowd the boat — 6 divers. There were some divers in our group that kept grabbing on coral, dragging their gauges and hoses, and generally being rude to both ocean life and fellow divers. I expect dive masters to say something to these types — they didn’t. That was disappointing so they lose a star for that.

Did two days worth of two-​tank dives with Scuba Adventures over spring break. The experience started in their super clean shop where I waited on pins and needles the first day because there was a tornado watch in a nearby county. We ended up going out after the crew went and scouted the conditions out on the water. Saw nurse sharks, hawksbill and leatherback turtles, dolphins, spiny lobster, eels, and lots of fishies, big and small. Coolest fish was some kind of cow/​boxfish with bright blue spots. Water temp was 68 (brrr!) and vis was about 20′. Second day was MUCH better conditions. Water temp was 73 with 60′ vis. Dive sites: Bath & Tennis reef, and Flower Gardens reef. Saw 12′ nurse shark (1 of 3), HUGE green moray, spotted eagle ray, spiny lobster, pipefish, queen angels, goliath grouper, loggerhead turtle, tons of gorgonians, barrel sponges, giant tube sponges, spiny urchin, christmas tree worms, nudibranch, staghorn coral, vase sponge, sea fans, sea whips, giant brain coral, and lots of fishies.
The crew lineup only had a few changes from day 1 to day 2. They were all very professional and safe, but also lots of fun and created a wonderful experience. Truly a great group to dive with. Highly recommended.