Dive Report 20 April

Gorgeous day at the bridge today! A bright, sunny 77 degree air temperature and a 75-77 degree water temperature made for a wonderful one hour, eight minute dive under the big bridge. Friends from NY joined us to see a batfish, an octopus, a spotted eagle ray and all the other regular residents. Vis ranged from thirty to fifteen feet, longer off the beach, shorter close to the channel. Carrie and I were in 5mm suits and were toasty for the entire dive. Our friends, Sabine and Jim were starting to feel a chill in 3mm suits toward the end of the dive. We polished off our visit to the bridge with a picnic in the shade on the intracoastal. Perfect! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 18 April

It was octopus day at the bridge! We saw seven or eight of them; we lost count. And, they were everywhere! Amazingly, every one of them was out out of its hole and very easy to see and photograph. I was trying my first camera and appreciated the cooperation of the critters. It was great fun taking pictures of several batfish, a southern ray accompanied by a bar jack, french and gray angelfish, and an assortment of the other regular residents. We saw a spotted eagle ray, but being new with the camera I did not get a photo. The ninety-three minute dive went by so quickly with the camera. In a 5mm wetsuit and a 3mm hooded vest, I was toasty. It's the first time I've been in a wetsuit in quite some time; it was nice! Vis ranged from thirty feet down to fifteen feet; it was the weekend with a zillion students. The weather provided a gentle shower now and again, but it was WARM. There was no freezing north wind so getting out of the water was no challenge. If you have been waiting for warmer water, it's definitely getting warmer. The bridge critters are waiting for you. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 8 April

We had a windy, sunny day at the bridge. I don't know if the water being released from Lake Okeechobee reaches down to the Lake Worth lagoon, but the water sure was green indicating a fresh water mix. It shimmered, too, not unlike the shimmer a diver sees at a thermocline. It appears there is a great deal of fresh water in the mix. The vis was about fifteen to twenty feet. The closer we got to the channel, the shorter and greener the vis was. My AOW student and I were able to run our compass courses. It was a good day for compass work; we couldn't see if we were hitting our targets until we were close to them. Clear vis makes hitting compass targets much easier! We were preoccupied with shooting bags and reviewing skills, but we did get to see two spotted eagle rays quite close to us. My student was in a 3mm full suit with a hood. He was comfortable for our one hour, three minute dive. I wore my drysuit even though I could have worn my 5mm with a hooded vest in the seventy-three degree water. My gear was wet from being divemaster earlier in the day and I didn't want to add to the laundry. Offshore at seventy-five feet the water temperature ranges from 66 to 68. Offshore we're seeing many sharks (I saw a lemon shark at Captain Mike's!), goliath groupers, and turtles, both green and loggerheads. If you can handle the water temperature, the marine life is fabulous. Coming soon: night dives at the bridge through the Jupiter Dive Center! I'll keep you posted. Get in the water, Ham