Dive Report 18 June

On a clear day...... Wow! Forty to fifty feet of vis at the bridge. We could see the shadows of a set of pilings from another set of pilings; they are one hundred feet apart. In my three millimeter wetsuit (no hooded vest) I was almost too warm; I may wear just a skin next time. The water temperature was eighty-four. [Water temperature offshore today was eighty-one on the bottom.] Heather, a fellow instructor who also lives under the bridge as I do, said she had seen three frogfish under the fishing pier. There were only a couple of people on the pier, and we don't interfere with their fishing if we are directly under the pier, so a student and I searched for the frogfish. We found one on the northern side about halfway out the pier. It was a gorgeous striated frogfish. My student and I were thrilled. The late afternoon sun gives the bridge fantastic lighting so we could see well out into the boat channel WITHOUT GOING INTO IT. (We see some divers doing that from time to time. Not a good idea. Stupid comes to mind.) Anyway, if the park allowed "buff diving" (some people do that believe it or not - with scuba gear!) now would be the time to do it if that is how one likes to dive; it's warm enough! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 15 June

Another ho-hum two frogfish, a big flying gurnard, a shortnose batfish, a sharptail eel, a big southern ray, a seahorse, and zillions of baitfish dive at the bridge. We had partly cloudy skies with some thunderstorms to our south, but they didn't affect us except to maybe reduce park attendance to even fewer people for a weekday. The vis was between ten to fifteen feet, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer as the fresh water mixed with the ocean water. The water temperature was a very comfortable eighty-two. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 13 June

For those of you who have been waiting for water in the eighties, IT'S HERE. Not those EIGHTIES, eighty degrees! We had a water temperature of eighty-two degrees in ten to fifteen feet of vis. An advanced open water student and I reviewed open water skills, compass work, and reel and bag practice. In doing so, we saw a batfish and an octopus among the many other critters. Carrie saw a striated frogfish just north of the "canyon," (just like the picture in Humann's book!) Mike Phelan saw a southern ray and an eagle ray. The toughest part of the dive was getting out a little after noon into the aromas of grilling burgers, hot dogs, chicken, etc. I wished I had brought more than my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple. Oh well. We'll try to do a bridge brunch in July. The Jupiter Drift Divers have a bridge picnic planned for August 9. They are meeting there at 10:00am for the diving with the picnic to follow. Consider joining this very active dive club that features a dive of the month and other activities with a fun group of people. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 10 June

I'm a day late, but here is what we had on Wednesday. REAL GREEN water. It was perfect for what my junior advanced open water student and I had to do, compass work. With the vis only six or eight feet our compass work had to be pretty close to hit the sailboat wreck which is 230 degrees from the beach close to the swimming area. We hit it! The water was a little clearer out by the channel where we did our bag and reel practice as well as alternate air source ascents. A striated frogfish was at the north end of the canyon. We watched it try to catch its lunch using its lure. The sailfish blennies entertained us as well. (Reports from offshore were that the vis at Tunnels was five feet or so. At Area 51 today, Thursday, June 11, we had sixty to seventy feet of vis. At Scarface we had fifty to sixty feet.) What a difference twenty-four hours can make! We don't know unless we go. Water temperature at the bridge and offshore today was seventy-nine. Get in the water, Ham.

Dive Reports 7 and 8 June

What a difference twenty-four hours and (who knows how many inches of rain!) can make. On Sunday we had fifteen feet to twenty feet of vis in a beautiful early morning dive. We were in the water by 8:15 for an 8:36 high tide. An open water student (who used less air than I!) had a one hour, sixteen minute dive time. Guys, women make the best dive buddies; it's like having an extra tank of air that somebody else carries for you. We saw a large striated frogfish! The water temperature was seventy-nine. Today, Monday, the water was green from the start. I wondered when the fresh water from the rain was going to show up and today was definitely the day. Our vis was mostly about ten feet. It was actually a bit better out by the channel where a goliath grouper was hanging between the channel pilings by the last solid bridge support, an area Carrie calls "the canyon". It was about four feet long, probably the same one that was in the pilings closer to the beach a few days ago. Today we also got to see a seahorse. More often than not we are seeing seahorses attached to sea urchins. When you cruise over what seem to be countless sea urchins look at them carefully for seahorses. The water temperature today was also seventy-nine even through the shimmering mix of fresh and salt water. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 3 June

Wow! Another two frogfish day! Both were the little white ones with the lure. One of them was actively using its lure, I assume, to attract some supper. We are seeing frogfish on almost every dive right now. I don't know what is happening, but we are also seeing courtship behavior in several of the other species, especially the eyed flounder. Fascinating to watch. The water temperature was seventy-nine, a little cooler than it has been. Our vis was about twenty feet which is actually a little better than what we have had lately. A seahorse just off the beach and a little octopus topped off a great seventy-three minute dive. Get in the water, Ham