Dive Report 31 December

Happy New Year! What a great last day of the year we had today at the bridge. The water temperature was seventy-five and the vis was thirty feet. A sunny day with a high of seventy-six made for pleasant diving. The polkadotted batfish and the juvenile blue angelfish were between the channel pilings and the concrete bridge support. What I believe was a juvenile sharptail eel was poking through the debris in the same area. The octopus was still in its lair and the bandtail searobin was posing for a photographer. My eleven-year-old dive buddy was taking it all in with joy. It's hard to believe our friends and families in the northland are experiencing snow storm after snow storm when we enjoying the weather we have. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 30 December

A friend said it doesn't occur to him that people dive in winter until I visit. OF COURSE WE DIVE IN WINTER! The water was seventy-five degrees and the air temperature was seventy-seven. I have to watch out to not be sun-burned! In my five mm wetsuit with a 3mm hooded vest I don't even begin to be cold after an hour in the water (and I'm a whimp when it comes to cold). Gorgeous day in the water with three Discover Scuba students. I think the eighteen-year-old was just as excited as the eleven-year-old as we saw the polkadot batfish, bandtail searobin, octopus, and spotted eagle ray. What a beautiful way to be introduced to diving! Yes, it is winter, but the diving is fabulous. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 28 December

Great day at the bridge! The vis was only 10' and the water was a cooler 73 degrees, but we had new open water students and old (not to be taken as a reference to their age because they don't act their age - thank goodness!) friends with whom to share the gorgeous day. It was nice to get out of the water into a WARM day. Very nice. The fresh water shower wasn't hard to take at all. The usual critters were there and we got to see a beautiful little seahorse. Bagels with cream cheese and jelly, and coffee and hot cocoa were enjoyed after the dive along with a good deal of very relaxed camaraderie. It was so good to see our northern (anything north of Stuart is northern) friends who drove a long way to start their diving day at the bridge and continue it offshore on the boat in the afternoon. Great way to do it. Again, so good to see everyone. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 26 December

Where were you all? We had a beautiful sunrise dive! The 7:28 high tide was perfect for us entering the water at just about sunrise. The vis was twenty feet and the water temperature was seventy-five. The air temperature was seventy-two! Late December in southern Florida; I love it. Three open water students and a diver doing a refresher did their shallow water dives in great conditions. We saw a polkadot and a shortnose batfish, a big flying gurnard, a bandtail searobin, and a good-sized octopus. It was just a beautiful morning to be in the water. We had the place almost to ourselves. (Figure that.) We will be at the bridge for an 8:44 high tide on Sunday! The forecast looks real good! Bagels, cream cheese and jelly, and coffee. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 22 December

The north wind was blowing making the seventy-two degrees air temperature feel quite a bit cooler under an overcast sky. But that isn't where we dive! The water was seventy-five degrees and we had fifteen to twenty feet of vis. There were many fish at the channel, but the big attraction was the striated frogfish in the sand just off the non-motorized boat launching area. What a treat for our new divers to see a frogfish on their first real dive. It's ALWAYS a treat for me; I could watch the critter a long time. We were comfortable in the water; we didn't want to get out into the gravity and 20mph north wind. The dive was worth it. We'll be at the bridge on Sunday with students for an 8:44 high tide. At about 9:30 we'll have bagels, cream cheese and jelly, and coffee. Feel free to join us. The weather report looks good - WARM! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Video 18 December

Check out the footage of a very rare Striated Frog Fish.....and we are lucky enough to have him in our own back yard.

Dive Report 16 December

Yet again, something I've never seen before at the bridge! An ENORMOUS school of hundreds of horse-eye jacks encircled a school of silversides, and then the feeding frenzy began. This spectacle took place around my student and me right by the sunken sailboat off the beach in six feet of water. The hundreds of jacks were only inches from us. For a time it seemed the silversides knew the jacks would not come in for the attack while we were there. The silversides stayed right next to the sailboat and us. As soon as we left the sailboat the jacks attacked in an absolute frenzy that took them even inside the sailboat leaving the entire sailboat enveloped in a cloud of silt. A big southern ray ventured by to check out all the activity, but by then the jacks had pretty much cleared the area of any silversides. It was over pretty quickly. Even the gulls and a pelican or two were drawn to the activity that churned the water by the sailboat. Incredible! The water temperature was seventy-five. The vis was between twenty and thirty feet. I am so fortunate to live here! (Not at the bridge; you know what I mean.) Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 15 December

Winter brings fast changes! Three students and I had a seventy-five degrees air temperature this morning with a seventy-five degrees water temperature and twenty feet of vis. With the reservations I made yesterday, we had the place to ourselves. A beautiful intermediate spotted eagle ray munched down its morning meal for several minutes right in front of us. The shortnose batfish had its usual disgruntled look, but who knows what that means? Lots of little lobsters peered from the nooks and crannies and the seawall. Getting out of the water today was into a pleasant seventy-eight degrees air temperature with little or no breeze. Quite nice. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 14 December

You don't know unless you go! (I don't know to whom to credit that phrase. I think the Association of Underwater Explorers might use it, or the Global Underwater Explorers. Anyway, I apologize for not correctly identifying the source.) It was certainly the situation at the bridge today. With the wind blowing hard in excess of 25 mph from the north and then the east for about two days I thought the shallow water outside the inlet would be mirky. I had my doubts about what the vis would be at the bridge today. Divers asked if I still planned on going and I had to resort to the credo, "You don't know..." So we went. Worst case scenario - we don't have to wash gear, we have coffee, cream cheese and jelly, and we get to chat with friends on a relatively warm morning. Best case scenario - we dive, and then do all of the above. What a surprise to have fifteen feet of vis and seventy-three degree water! (The water offshore Friday was a cold sixty-four degrees upwelling [Very rare; I haven't experienced one in two years. Lucky me.] So I reveled in the bath-like conditions today for a one hour, twenty-eight minutes dive time. We saw two bandtail searobins, an enormous southern ray eating, a stunning juvenile blue angelfish, and "Grumpy", the shortnose batfish, apparently sneaking up on a blennie. The strong east wind brought in quite a few moon jellyfish as it often does, but they were easily avoided. All in all, a great morning at the bridge shared with good friends. I love it here! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 8 December

Winter is coming! Seventy-three degree water temperature at the bridge today. The two degree difference from yesterday was noticeable pretty quickly, but with a 5mm suit and a 3mm vest with a 5mm hood, I was comfortable for the one hour, thirteen minute dive time. Our refresher student got to see a BIG southern ray on the way to the new wreck (cold water did not bother him), two beautiful shortnose batfish, a medium-sized bandtail searobin, and a couple of striped burrfish that looked cold. The vis was quite a bit shorter than it was yesterday, too, about 10' to 15'. Nevertheless, it is always a wonderful dive if we know how to look. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 7 December

Another day of fabulous vis at the bridge! An open water student and I experienced 20'-30' of vis depending on where we were. It was actually a little shorter out by the channel as might be expected on a Sunday with much boat traffic. The Intracoastal had a good chop going and even some white caps out in the open area north of the bridge from a north wind that brought a noticeable chill. The water was still seventy-five; with a 5mm wetsuit and a 3mm hooded vest I was toasty warm. The octopus was still between the second and third set of pilings. We saw one of the little spotted eagle rays between the beach and the first set of pilings. At the stern of the second wreck off the beach was a large bandtail searobin combing the sand for a meal. The diving was great even if we did not want to get out into that cold north wind. Bring a coat! Get into the water, Ham

Dive Report 5 December

Fabulous vis! 30' or better! A student and I had a great dive in wonderful vis. Navigation from the beach to the new wreck was easy as we could see it at quite some distance. At the channel we could see through the pilings well out into the channel. A big octopus between the second and third set of pilings entertained several divers with color changes. A bandtail searobin and a web burrfish were off the beach on our return. The water temperature was seventy-five on a bright, sunny day. Get in the water, Ham

Sunday December 7 Schedule Change

Bridge Divers: Due to schedule back-ups and schedule conflicts we are going to postpone the picnic part of the Sunday, December 7 bridge dive. I will still be at the bridge with students that day, but my responsibilities to them preclude the post-dive picnic. The following Sunday, December 14, I will be at the bridge with students for a 9:21 high tide. If you should choose to dive the bridge that day, we'll have coffee, bagels, cream cheese and jelly. Hope to see you one of those times. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 1 December

Absolutely fabulous dive at the bridge today! An Advanced Open Water student and I first visited the newest wreck where there had to be six to eight lobsters of varying sizes. From there we headed north to back under the bridge where there was a medium-sized flying gurnard picking about in the sand. At the channel there were the usual suspects of intermediate atlantic spadefish and parrots of several species. On the way back east we saw a BIG octopus half-way out of its hole going through its repertoire of colors. Wonderful light show! At the third set of pilings away from the beach two intermediate spotted eagle rays were searching in the sand. And now for the grand finale! A MANATEE came up to us just around the corner from the beach and slowly went 270 degrees around us, perhaps as curious about us as we were delighted to see it! Wow! What an incredible dive! I felt obligated to inform my student that not all of the bridge dives are like this. Water temperature was seventy-five. The vis was 15' to 20'. Our bottom was one hour, twenty minutes.

Announcement: I plan on having hotdogs and hamburgers with macaroni salad after the Sunday dive. High tide is at 3:01. We'll be at the park by at least 2:00 and enter the water at 2:30. Please let me know if you plan on coming so I have enough food. (masonhh@hotmail.com) Hope to see you there. Get in the water, Ham