Excellent operation!!! It is very clear that Jim and his crew are all very passionate about marine life conservation and ocean conservation, and they run their operation with focus on SAFETY. I have reviewed the negative reviews here, and not one of them was consistent with my experience in Jan 2025...the details provided in those negative reviews show that the reviewers fail to take any blame for their own reckless mistakes, so please don't give them any consideration read more

Unforgettable experience hanging out with the magnificent Grey Whales in Guerrero Negro Mexico!!

I have been diving since 1976 and Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures is by far the best dive operation I have ever experienced.

Can't say enough good things about either the operation, the crew or the location. This place is a labour of love for the owner, Jim Abernethy, and it truly shows. Not only did my wife and I get some incredible experiences (hammerheads, tiger sharks, dolphins) but we learned a whole bunch too. I came expecting to be impressed, but we were blown away. This is all said even though the trip we were on suffered from very poor weather conditions (we lost 4 days). Jim and his crew went out of their way to give us the best possible experience, even taking us birding when we couldn't dive! Seriously, if you're thinking about going shark diving, go with the operation that really pioneered it, and truly cares about the sharks. read more

As a Professional Marine Photographer, I couldn't have gotten a more exciting result from a sharkdive liveaboard experience! Every day, wall to wall animals & great guidance....And then, there was the food! Boom!!! www.martywolff.com The Best ! read more

Did a short 3 night 2 day Tiger Beach trip for Lemon and Tiger sharks. Saw and photographed to our heart's content. Absolutely first rate experienced and safe crew. Many thanks to Colin, Corey, Jeff, Jason, Ryan and Jim. If you're looking for a first rate experience and encounter vs a luxury trip, don't hesitate to book through them. They're fantastic! read more

This was by far my favorite trip I have been on! This was the perfect honeymoon for my husband and I! It was full of adventures and excitement. We were able to check so many things off our bucket list in one trip. We went diving with bull sharks, great hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks, reef sharks, lemon sharks and nurse sharks. Jim and Michael helped us feel comfortable in the water swimming with some of the most amazing creatures ever! We were thoroughly trained and briefed on how to accomplish all this safely and in a way that we were able to get up close and personal with the sharks. It was mind blowing the connection that Michael and Jim had with the sharks. We were even able to swim with atlantic spinner dolphins. Such as magical trip. Michael somehow managed to make the most amazing meals all while giving us a fantastic experience under the water. We made so many great friends and connections on this trip. We cannot say enough when it comes to Jim. He is so passionate about the animals and went above and beyond to make our trip one we will never forget. read more

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 2nd 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. read more

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 2nd 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. read more

My week on the MV Shearwater passed much too quickly! The no-frills boat is small is size but HUGE on adventure!! The crew (Colin, Mike, Carly, & Jess) provided us with outstanding and incomparable service, information, snacks, and meals. I was a bit apprehensive going on such a small vessel and taking the last bunk in the V-berth, but the experience turned out to be very positive, educational, exhilarating, satisfying, and absolutely unforgettable! Two months later, I remain motivated to support shark conservation and return annually to sail with the fine folks at Abernethy's Scuba Adventures. I live in Hawaii, but I long for Florida diving & hospitality! Hope to sea you all again very soon! read more

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

In 50 years of Diving.. Just could not have had too much more fun!.. The Captains and Crew where the most Thoughtful, Kind , .. I have Ever been with. The way they run the operation is SOOOOO Perfect, They did a Fantastic job bringing in the Sharks and Handling them, and were Very Safe and Clear about how the dive was going to go. The Food was out of control Spectacular ... Beautiful Goodies All thur the day , and 3 Big Squares meal as much as you wanted!.. The crew So helpful getting on and off the boat!- UNLIMITED DIVING!!- I HIGHLY Recommend them . FIRST CLASS OPERATION!- Seriously- Lieghann Fischer read more

I enjoyed my Spring Break trip with Jim and his crew. Our group was full of inexperienced divers and for the entire week they helped us out greatly, even with seasickness. They assisted with equipment if you were unable to put it on yourself or were having trouble because of twisting of the BC or the bungie was tight on the tank. Throughout the many dives we went on for the week, the dive master, either Jim or Conner, would continuously check if everyone was okay and to check their buoyancy, air, and no deco times. I am proud to have gone through this shop for my first salt water dives and successfully saw turtles, sharks, barracudas, groupers, and lion fish. I will be coming back hopefully in the near future! read more

I went diving with this company in May 2016. My sister and I had just completed our scuba certification the month before in the Cayman Islands, and we were excited to get back in the water! We booked with this company solely because of the amount of positive reviews. When we arrived at the boat, we did notice that a lot of the divers were experienced locals. We, on the other hand, are beginners from New York. We also do not have our own dive computer. I did see another reviewer that mentioned the same thing. I made a point to tell the dive masters and captain that we were new to diving and were nervous. Our first dive was with EJ. Once again, I told him that I was nervous and would like to make sure he stuck with my sister and I. The dive went great. He stayed with us the entire time, pointing out fish and even taking photos of us. After my dive, I noticed that my depth gauge was not working. He assured me that it would be alright because a dive master would always be with me. No longer nervous for our second dive, we began to prepare with our next dive master (can't remember his name- much younger man). Just to be sure, I told him we wanted to stick with him the entire dive. When I jumped in the water, I lost a fin. It took me a minute to find the fin and get situated. As I began to descend, I noticed that my group and dive master were much further down than me. The visibility was not great and this was a drift dive. When I reached the bottom, my entire group was gone along with the dive master. I calmly looked all around me, but I did not see anyone. However, I did see three people from my boat. It was a father, his girlfriend, and son. The previous dive they did their own thing and explored by themselves; it seemed they were going to be doing the same thing. Not wanting to be alone, I swam over to them and tried to ask if they knew where the group was; they did not know. I began to follow them praying that I would run into my group, my sister, or my dive master. It was a horrible feeling being down there. I did not have my buddy or dive master, and now I was there with a broken depth gauge and no dive watch. After some time, the father and girlfriend were low on air. They signed that they were going up, and I was to stay with the son. Shortly after we began to ascend, I realized that the son did not have a dive watch either. When we got to the boat, his father was lying on the floor with an oxygen mask on. They feared he had decompression sickness. I could not believe this was how unorganized the company was. They started for shore, and I asked the captain if they were waiting for my sister to come up. They were not. I was HORRIFIED by the entire situation, and the staff was trying so hard to make light of the situation. I told one of the experienced divers on the boat what happened to me down there, and she was very upset. She has been diving with them many times and was a rescue diver. Her husband was also good friends with the staff. She said that should have never happened! When we finally did reach shore, (after the diver was taken away by an ambulance) I met up with my sister who was taken back by another boat. She was really worried about me as well and asked what happened. I told her I could not find anyone and could not believe the dive master would leave me. She told me that EJ told her I went up right away! He didn't even know I was down there!! He overheard this and I saw his face; he had no idea. I honestly felt like the entire trip was extremely dangerous. We left the boat crying. I am not even sure I want to go diving again. After having an incredible time diving in the Cayman Islands, I was so excited to have discovered a new hobby. This company has really put me off. We are not looking for anything other than to warn other divers of the scary situation we were put in. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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! read more

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!! read 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! read more

What an amazing adventure!! It's a whole new world opening up when you're shark diving! The peacefulness and beauty absolutely took my breath away!! Jim and his crew catered to all my needs- even dietary! I felt extremely prepared and ready for all the right safe diving practices and enjoyed the company of all the guests as we shared video and stories over our delicious meals!! Simply awesome!!! read more

My wife and I did the Isla Mujeres Whale Shark trip in July 2014. Perfectly organized, hosted, and expectations exceed. If you want to do this trip and they are full, book for the following year read more

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! read more

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. read more

I just returned from a trip to Tiger Beach and Bimini. One couldn't ask for a better crew. Very professional, very helpful, attending and friendly. I have been on many liveaboards around the world over the years and most of them are truly very good. Jim Abernethy's Shearwater crew was outstanding. Captain, Colin Crawford very knowledgeable. He also helped me with my broken second stage. Additionally zooming gear on my camera housing broke and he somehow managed to fix it. No idea what he did but it works and I could keep taking pictures. Shawn is a Gourmet cook. First class dining every day. All meals always delicious. V.G. extremely helpful, always. Working very hard. Stan always working hard on deck. Great experience and I will certainly recommend Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures to every diver. Well worth every dollar spent. read more

Did a 6 night 5 day shark diving trip in the Bahamas. Amazing dives with tigers, lemons, bulls, nurse, and great hammerhead sharks. Great crew and food. Very knowledgeable on sharks, and very safety oriented. If you like sharks, this is the trip for you. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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! read more