Dive Report 31 August

Fooled again! Thank goodness! With the rough seas from the last several days I anticipated short vis at the bridge today. I had no students so Carrie and I did a very leisurely two hour, six minute dive in eighty-six degree water with better than TWENTY feet of vis! I really didn't expect the conditions to be so good. On top of it all, there were only a few other divers and we saw them briefly twice. It was pretty much like having the whole place to ourselves. We saw three batfish, two octopuses, a bandtail searobin, a banded jawfish, and the yellowheaded jawfish that has been on the east side of the third set of pilings for several weeks. We looked for the goldspotted eel that we saw a few days ago at the western end of the fishing pier, but we did not find it. We did not find the frogfish or yellow garden eel either. It was, however, yellow stingray day as we saw at least half a dozen in fairly close proximity to each other by the center console boat wreck. A BIG southern ray cruised by us in the shallow water between the sea wall and the first set of pilings. I like to return to the beach in that shallow water because we often see rays there. So despite the pounding surf which I thought would be mixing sand into the water to create a milky mess, we had very good vis in warm water with very few other people in the water. What do I know? The bridge always has a surprise, BUT we have to go to know. We have to "Get in the water", Ham

Dive Report 28 August

What a beautiful day for a bridge dive and a picnic! Carrie, an open water student, and I entered the water at about 10:30 for an 11:15 high tide. Off the beach the vis was close to thirty feet. This was, of course, before 4,562,891 student divers entered the water. (I'm pretty sure of my count; two others had the same number.) I have never seen so many dive flags in the water. With a water temperature of 86 we didn't wear wetsuits; dive skins were adequate for our one hour, twenty minute dive. I would have stayed in the water longer, but I was afraid if I did that there wouldn't have been any hotdogs or hamburgers left at the Jupiter Drift Divers picnic. As it was I got there just in time for a hamburger. (Thank you, Stan, for saving me one!) The picnic was well-attended. Lots of goodies to eat. It was a very pleasant way to spend the middle of the day, great dive and good friends. Our gift from the Bridge was a frogfish! Carrie found it and then pointed it out to a photographer. Once he started to take pictures the line of photographers started. I was third in line as I patiently waited for the two in front of me to complete their portfolios of 5000+ pictures each. It was a good exercise in buoyancy for my student as I instructed him to not touch the bottom while we waited. By the end of the wait the kid not only had good buoyancy, but his trim was pretty good, too. Carrie graciously took the camera before we ran over our three hour nitrogen loading limit and got the attached photo. I love the Bridge! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 24 August

Eighty-two degree water was four degrees cooler than our last dive at the bridge a couple of days ago, but we were still very comfortable in dive skins for our one hour, eleven minute dive. Vis was a little better than last time at twenty feet and better in some places. The water is mixing though as we could see shimmers from time to time and noted slight temperature changes along with vis changes. Nevertheless, the conditions made for a very pleasant dive with our young Discover Scuba participant who took the accompanying picture of the batfish. The octopus photo is mine as I almost always go to the pipe to say hello. We didn't have time to look for the yellow garden eel as I mistakenly told our young diver's parents that we would be out of the water at 9:30; we could have easily gone on for another fifteen or twenty minutes, but I didn't want to keep parents waiting. The Jupiter Drift Divers are sponsoring a picnic after the bridge dive this Saturday. High tide is at 11:15 so we will plan on entering the water at about 10:30. I have an open water student to whom I will be introducing the wonders at the bridge! Then it's on to burgers and dogs! Come meet the folks who participate in this very active dive club. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 20 August

In a dive skin the eighty-six degree water with ten to fifteen feet of vis was very nice. An open water student and I were in the water for one hour, eight minutes for our 6:30pm high tide dive. Carrie had a Discover Scuba student in the water for about the same time. None of us wore wetsuits. There were a few other divers there, but the weekday/late afternoon high tide combo made for easy parking in my favorite spot. The little bandtail searobin displaying all its "plummage" was again in the very same spot off the beach! It's been there for a few days now. Remarkable. I didn't get a chance to look for the yellow garden eel as we got a late start and the sun went behind big clouds around 7:00. I'll be back next week though looking for that little critter. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 19 August

Eighty-six degrees and ten to fifteen feet of vis made for a very pleasant one hour, twenty-six minute dive. We saw only a few snorkelers on our dive. To be at the southern end of the boat channel pilings at slack high tide we did the "Michele route" which starts under the eastern end of the fishing pier and goes west and then south through "the canyon". The late afternoon sunshine made it a gorgeous time to be in the water. I was testing my buoyancy in a 3mm suit and my heavy steel doubles. I would rather have been in a dive skin, but I need to get a feel for the doubles and a wetsuit. I wanted to try my 5mm suit, but that would have been unbearably warm. Carrie took the pictures. She got this nice one of a balloonfish. We saw what we are pretty sure was a yellow garden eel just off the beach southeast of the playground. I am going to try to relocate it for a photograph. Always something new at the bridge. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 17August

It was warmer than I thought it would be! Having experienced somewhat cold water for this time of year offshore on Monday, I thought it might be in the seventies at the bridge. I brought my 3mm suit and wore it, and BAKED. The water temperature ranged between 84 and 86. I would have much preferred a dive skin. Nevertheless, my two open water students wore full 3mm suits and we pretty much figured out proper weighting. That is nice to know before a boat dive which we are doing tomorrow. It's much more convenient to play with weight at the bridge. Vis was between 10' and 15', not great, but we still saw a batfish, a pipefish, a sharptail eel, a bandtail searobin, an octopus, and a good-sized southern ray. I don't know if the first day of school in Palm Beach county had anything to do with it, but there were very few people at the bridge for the 3:28 high tide. It was very nice having most of it to ourselves. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 12 August

Twenty of feet of vis in 84 to 86 degree water made it a great day to be at Blue Heron Bridge. I wore a 3mm full suit, but I would have preferred to dive in a dive skin. My 10-year-old open water student and I were very comfortable for our one hour, thirty-five minute dive. I gave her a camera to play with (and to prevent her from using her hands for buoyancy or manuevering) so the photos attached are hers. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 11 August

Yes, from time to time I live at the bridge. What a fun day today. My open water students were very comfortable in the water and we looked everywhere at everything. It's so much fun once students move beyond survival mode. The water was eighty-two degrees. The vis was between fifteen and twenty feet. In 3mm full suits all divers were very comfortable for our one hour, fifteen minute dive. The bright sun made the good vis all the better. Three of our open water students ages 10, 12, and 14, were all over the dive site. The excitement of seeing so much meant lapses in awareness of buddy proximity; Carrie got a good work out keeping the students corralled. As a buoyancy exercise to end the flapping of hands, I gave two of the students a camera to share. One of the students took the picture of the manatee. What an incredible thrill. One of the students also took the octopus picture. I wish I had more cameras to loan. You should see their trim and buoyancy now. Carrie and I feel like grandparents; we get to play with the kids and then return them to their parents. I love it. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 10 August

It was a parking lot trifecta! A weekday, an early-morning high tide, and rain showers combined to leave plenty of space for premium parking! Nice! There was a pretty good chop resulting from a gusty south wind. For instruction it was perfect for simulating offshore conditions. When on the surface, fully inflate your bcd, keep your mask on, your regulator in your mouth, and your back to the sea. A student only has to suck down a little sea water to understand the wisdom of those guidelines. Underwater conditions were very good. We had 15' to 20' of vis (quite a bit better than yesterday) and the water was 82 degrees. Our students, Carrie, and I did a one hour, forty-eight minute dive time. That is the longest dive I have done with students. In 3mm full suits we were all quite comfortable. The students were much more at ease today and really got to see some of the special critters the bridge has to offer. We had a very good time! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 9 August

Better and better! We had a little better vis today, 10' to 15', and 82 degree water. At 7:00 am on a Monday morning there was only one car besides ours in the parking lot. The high tide was at 8:06 am. My open water students arrived late so we actually started the dive at 8:03 after doing our predive safety check. We had to go straight out to the channel to run the skill set, but as is often the case with younger and smaller students, ears would not cooperate. Skill set incomplete, we started back after the ebb had started. The water became increasingly greener and the tidal flow became stronger. My students struggled with the current until we reached the relative calm of the water off the beach. I figure there is nothing like experiential wisdom to understand why we dive the slack high tide, and that it does not wait for us. I didn't have to say a word. Now they know better than they would have from any explanation from me. We'll be back tomorrow morning (well before slack high tide I'll bet). Get in the water (on time!), Ham

Dive Report 7 August

When there is eight feet of vis at least we can know that it could have been worse; it could have been three feet as it was the day before. (I wasn't at the bridge on Friday. An instructor relayed that information to me.) With eight feet of vis the dive was at least doable for open water students who really wanted to move through the course. I was glad to see the radar showing thunderstorms moving through Riviera Beach before I left the house for our 5:30 pm rendezvous because I figured that would clear everybody out of the park and make parking that much easier. A rainy day on the weekend is by far preferred by me, especially when the high tide is in the late afternnoon or early evening. Parking can be a real challenge. Despite the storms there were many people there! They had simply moved their picnics under the bridge! I got a parking spot easily enough, but there were many cars there, many more than expected. The heavily overcast skies and the late (7:00pm) high tide made the vis even shorter than the eight feet it would have been on a sunny day. Toward the end of the dive it was very much becoming a night dive and I had no light. My two open water students had trouble equalizing to the point where I figured it just wasn't going to happen, at least not in the next several hours when the beach would be long closed. By the time we got back to the beach it was much more evening than it was afternoon in terms of light. My students and I were in 3mm full wetsuits having heard about the very cold offshore temperatures and anticipating water colder than the recent 86 degrees we have enjoyed. The water temperature was 82. We were all very comfortable for our 54 minute dive. A highlight of the dive was the little web burrfish, "rare to uncommon Florida" in the Paul Humann book, but not rare to uncommon at the bridge! There is always something special. Get in the (not as cold as I thought it was going to be) water, Ham

Dive Report 3 August

Clear and warm water! We had 40 feet of vis today in 84 degree water. None of us were in wetsuits for our one hour, thirty-minute dive and none of us were cold. A little eel attacked my camera; I'm not sure if it was a spotted eel juvenile or a purple mouth juvenile. A pipefish in the sand was easily seen by my open water student. Several sharptail eels entertained us as they hunted. Parking was no problem and it felt really good to get in the water and out of the summer heat. Get in the water, Ham