The real issue is the Gulf Stream. I've worked a ROV at 3000 feet
off Canaveral and the ship was making turns for over 6 knots headed south,
just to stay above the work site. The currents are much closer to the beach
south of here. If you look at the map, Jupiter is a sort of point sticking out
from the eastern seaboard. Underwater it is deep and rocky, with precipitous
ledges. That shoves the main current way out, relatively speaking. I'm here to
tell you, it is definitely an issue down south of us. Diving off Palm Beach
can be quite an adventure, going hand over hand down an anchor line and
streaming out like flags in a high wind.
Even here in Ft. Pierce, the summer currents can be fierce. We did a lot
of research on the Occulina Reefs (now protected from the peons). They are in
the western edge of the stream, and we often had to vent 1/4 to 1/2 mile south
in order to make bottom on target in 265 feet of water.
Vance