Palm Beach Freedivers is the only active freediving and spearfishing club in the Palm Beach County. We advocate freedive safety, and welcome new members.
Club meets every third Thursday of the month
_ Florida Freedivers
905 US Highway 1
Lake Park, FL 33403
(561) 848-0678
New members and visitors welcome!
NEXT MEETING: Thursday February 16 _ 7pm
Saturday October 1st, in Jupiter FL
Club tournament (Nationals Qualifier #2) saw 14 competitors on 4 boats, 60ft visibility and very mild current. Stringers were pretty impressive, and some quality fish were harvested. As always, FishBQ followed and everyone enjoyed fresh catch.
Congratulations to winner Yury, runner up Scott, and 3rd place finisher Jim!
2011 Annual Kingfish Open Shootout
sponsored by
Kingfish Shootout was awesome!
20 competitors, calm seas, tons of prizes, and excellent food! Congratulations to Steve on monster 33 lb King!
New Members Wanted!
Club is seeking new members, if you are local and into freediving and/or spearfishing, come to one of our meetings, meet the members, talk about our sport and learn about safety and comraderie club has to offer.
Membership fees are very modest at $35/year.
Members
Currently our club has about 40 members
Sponsors
We are proud to be sponsored by:
Florida Freedivers
Mako Spearguns
Spearboard.com
RealSea Camo Wetsuits
Thank you for your support!!!!
New Members
Current Members
PBFD Tournaments
Club tournaments allow for fun and friendly competition between members. Scoring system is in place and points are tallied for the Nationals team slots. Palm Beach Freedivers was 2009 Nationals Champions, and we also had a 2nd place finisher in 2010 Nationals!
Club Record Application Form, click to download!
Big fish and Good Times!
Random photos of spearfishing catch:
Upcoming safety courses (click link):
http://extranet.freedivinginstructors.com/app/public/courseslist.php?idinstructor=18
Cost $314 for club members, $349 for non-club members
Both prices are all inclusive.
Please contact Errol Putigna at eputigna_yahoo.com
Freedive Safety
Palm Beach Freedivers emphasis on SAFETY is paramount.
All members are encouraged to take freedive safety class and learn about their limitations. Several accidents have been prevented by proper member training, and club is striving to keep our record free of SWB-related injuries.
One up, one down! Every time
Club members get discounts on classes offered by Freediving Instructors International!
For more information contact:
FII Freediving Instructor - Errol Putigna (561-371-4078) - eputigna_yahoo.com
PBFD 2012 Event Schedule coming soon...
* January Meeting - January 20
* February Meeting & Elections - February 17
Club Qualifier Tournament (2011 series, #4) - February 19
* March Meeting - March 17
* April Meeting - April 21
Charity Fish Shoot - April 23
* May Meeting - May 19
Annual Kingfish Tournament - May 21
The Blue Wild Expo - May 28-29
* June Meeting - June 16
Line diving practice - June 4
Dive Trip (Upper Keys, scouting for Nationals) - June 18
* July Meeting - July 21
Club Qualifier Tournament _BBO (2012 series, #1) - July 22-24
* August Meeting - August 18
2011 Nationals (Tavernier, FL) - August 3-4 (spearfishingnationals.com)
* September Meeting - September 15
Club Qualifier Tournament (2012 series, #2) - POSTPONED - OCT 1st
* October Meeting - October 20
Annual Polespear Tournament - October 22 - POSTPONED - DEC 14th
* November Meeting - November 17
Club Qualifier Tournament (2012 series, #3) - November 19
* December Holiday Party - December 10
Southern Shootout (Longfins) TBD
Here are few useful links that will help you determine the weather
and ocean conditions before going offshore, as well as links to latest
Florida FWC (Fish & Wildlife Commission) Saltwater fishing regulations.
WEATHER
NOAA Marine forecast
BuoyWeather Marine 2-day forecast
WindGuru Marine forecast
WeatherUnderground Palm Beach County Radar
WEBCAMS
Palm Beach Inlet camera
Boynton Beach Inlet camera
Jupiter Inlet camera
Links will open in
new browser window
Boca Raton Inlet camera
TIDES
Palm Beach Inlet tide table
Boynton Beach Inlet tide table
Jupiter Inlet tide table
Boca Raton Inlet tide table
REGULATIONS
FWC Saltwater Regulations
FWC Fish Identification
Palm Beach Freedivers presents:
Location: Burt Reynolds Park, Jupiter FL
Date: May 21st 2011 from 7:30am-2pm
Cost: $40 per diver
Freediving only!
RULES
1. Contest to be held at Burt Reynolds Park in Jupiter, May 21, 2011. A captains meeting and safety briefing will be held at 7:30 AM, please have your waivers signed and entry fee paid prior to the captains meeting. Depart from the staging area by 8:00 AM and boats must be within sight of the staging area no later than 2:00 PM. All persons (contestants, drivers, passengers, etc) on any boat must sign a liability waiver.
2. Divers must agree to compete in buddy teams of at least two divers and agree to dive in a safe manner by maintaining a reasonably close distance from the active diver to be able to provide rescue if necessary. Any contestant observed to be solo freediving will be disqualified.
3. This is a stricly freediving event. No scuba gear is to be used. A pony bottle is allowed on board in case of emergency or to recover lost gear. Any fish landed with the use of a pony bottle is not allowed to be entered.
4. Use of chum and flashers is allowed. Trolling and fishing gear are strictly forbidden.
5. A contestant may spear a Kingfish with a backup speargun if necessary to land the fish, however, if two divers spear the same fish, that fish is not allowed to be entered into the tournament.
6. Each contestant may enter one Kingfish for weigh in and that fish must have been speared by that contestant. Sharing or trading of fish is strictly forbidden. Contestants are allowed to spear other species of fish during the contest, but may only enter one Kingfish for weigh in.
7. It is the contestant's responsibility to observe all fishing regulations, including but not limited to licenses, size and bag limits, restricted areas, etc.
8. Fish must be kept in good condition on ice and may not be mutilated.
9. The rules are deliberately kept to a minimum. If in doubt, ask the contest director. Contestants may be disqualified at the discretion of the contest director for any reason, including but not limited to unsportsmanlike behavior or violation of the rules, either expressed or implied.
10. Decision of the weighmaster is final with regard to fish entered into the tournament. Decision of the contest director is final in all matters.
Liability Waiver Form! Click this link, print and bring with you to the Captains Meeting!
2011 Annual Polespear tournament
Location: Phil Foster Park, Riviera Beach FL
Date: Jan 28th 2012 from 7:30am-2pm
Freediving only! Polespear or Sling only!
The Palm Beach Freedivers Club advocates safe freediving and this is a fun style tournament, so please dive safely and have fun. We expect that everyone will be diving with a safety (buddy). If diving by standard freediving safety protocol is not for you, then please don't participate. If you want to know more about safe freediving practices, then please ask.
The rules are simple and the fish list is "anything legal and edible." The decision of the weighmaster is final in this regard. Please be sensible in what you take. One fish per type only. That means, one Margate (not one black margate and one white margate), one snapper, one grouper, etc. PLEASE do not bring in frogfish, puffers and whoknowswhatitis fish. Seriously, we may have to enforce the edibility clause and watch you choke it down with some wasabi and soy if you want to weigh it in. Spadefish, porgies, mackerel, 'cuda...are good to go and were the fish du jour last year. Oh, and the take must be by freediving with either polespear or hawaiian sling - only.
Prizes:
The first place winner will walk home with bragging rights as the best polespear/slinger in the known universe (or at least within Palm Beach County ) and this awesome trophy <<<<<<<<<<<<
This tournament is sponsored by Foldspear and we have been generously provided with two foldspears and an assortment of other items as prizes. The prizes will be awarded by drawing among all contest participants so everyone who participates has an equal chance at a prize. We will keep picking numbers until we are out of prizes.
There will be a picnic style lunch provided after the tournament for the participants and guests.
Palm Beach Freedivers
Palm Beach County FL USA
contact email:
palmbeachfreedivers_gmail.com
Palm Beach Freedivers is an association of divers with a passion for breath hold freediving. Primarily we are spearfishers, but not exclusively; some may be dedicated to freediving competition or underwater photography. We gather regularly to share tribal knowledge and experiences of the sport among our fellow members. We encourage ecologically responsible harvest from the sea to feed our families; doing so on a single breath of air takes skill and determination. By sharing knowledge among the group, we aim to heighten awareness of safe diving while striving to accomplish varied personal goals and increase our enjoyment of the sport. We engage in sportsmanlike competition with the aim of improving our abilities in a friendly yet competitive atmosphere and for the purpose of selecting divers to represent the club in national spearfishing competitions.
