Dive Report 30 October

Fabulous vis at the bridge in 78-79 degree water! Carrie, Bill (our open water student), Walt (a certified diver who drove from Pennsylvania to dive only to be faced with boats at the dock because of rough seas) and I had a dive in thirty feet of vis which had to be better than that in places. That is even despite the big school of mullets stirring up the bottom and the 4,780, 312 students from every dive shop within 230,000 miles. It was still great vis! I think the tidal flow was pretty steady and that may have helped. Anyway, we saw the squid discovered by Bill (helpful dive hint # 46-b: dive with young people who can still see). It hovered cooperatively until it had had enough of me and then changed colors and did its little space rocket impersonation. "Grumpy" the batfish posed for every photographer there, quietly awaiting the next paparazzi in line as a movie star would. Photograhers were lined up like aircraft in holding patterns. Pretty funny to see the command of this batfish. A beautiful juvenile of the boxfishes family has us wondering which one it is. A bandtail searobin posed patiently for the camera just south of the third set of pilings. We even saw a small spotted eagle ray during our pre-dive snorkeling exercise in the swimming area! I confess that when I heard Marv Caples mention the previous day's water temperature (79), I turned to my trusty old 5mm. I know what you northerners and mid-westerners and west-coasters are thinking, but I don't care. I was toasty warm. Others in 3mm fullsuits were a mixed lot with some being cool at the end and others being quite content. We were almost two hours early for the 2:44 high tide so parking wasn't a problem even though it was a Saturday afternoon high tide. I wonder if my drysuit seals have been powdered. Get in the water (NOW, winter is coming!), Ham

Dive Report 24 October

Beautiful, sunnny day at the bridge! Even though it was a Sunday, the 9:46 high tide was before the picnickers arrive so the parking wasn't too much of a problem. Of course, every dive shop within 50 miles (or more) was there, but there is plenty of space (except out at the channel at slack high tide). The vis was actually a little shorter than it was for the night dive the night before. And that is BEFORE all the students entered the water kicking up the bottom just as you and I did when we started. Anyone following me in the early days of my diving probably thought a herd of buffalo had just passed through. Carrie concurs noting that trim is not much of a concern when survival is overloading all the other circuits. Anyway, an AOW student doing compass work (and working on TRIM) and I saw a blackwing searobin and a batfish among all the other critters in 81 degree water. The vis was ten to fifteen feet (not around the aforementioned students). In a 3mm wetsuit and thin hooded vest I was very comfortable for our one hour, twenty minute dive. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 23 October

NIGHT DIVE! The beach officially closes at sunset, but the Jupiter Dive Center has a permit that allows designated divers to use the beach until 10pm (way past my bedtime). Veronica of the Jupiter Drift Divers chose Saturday night to do a club dive through the JDC. She could not have made a better choice. It was hitting the trifecta: Saturday night (sleep in on Sunday), 9:11pm high tide (perfect timing), and a full moon (lots of light)! Tobin and I entered the water a little after 8:00. It was quite dark by then. Off the beach not far from the swimming area we poked around the little center console wreck and then worked our way over to the upside-down wreck. The tidal current in that area is weak so divers can enter the water well before slack high tide and not have to fight a current. There were a zillion little lobsters especially on the upside-down wreck. Navigation was easy as the vis was fabulous. On our way to the boat channel Tobin found a gorgeous octopus out hunting. Others in the dive club saw several stargazers. An enormous southern ray startled me a bit as it flew almost directly over me out of the dark. It was a great outing for the Jupiter Drift Divers, a very active club of great people. I was very comfortable in a 3mm fullsuit in 81 degree water for our one hour, twenty-eight minute dive. It was very much worth staying up past my bedtime! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 14 October

We still had thirty feet of vis today in 82 degree water. The skies were overcast with an occasional drizzle, but that helped the parking situation, no problem getting a parking place. Blue runners were feeding under the fishing pier in a frenzy of activity. A large southern ray swung by to investigate. The bandtail searobin was at the corner just off the seawall where we have seen them frequently. Carrie and I were in 3mm suits and were very comfortable for the one hour, twenty minute dive. Tobin, in a dive skin, was cool after a little more than an hour. My open water student, without exposure suit, was comfortable until he got out of the water. Then he felt cold as the skies were still overcast. It was a very nice, relaxing dive with a great deal of action. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 11 October

Great vis at the bridge today! It had to be in excess of thirty feet. The water temperature was eighty-two and I felt overdressed in a 3mm fullsuit for our one hour, twenty-two minute dive. We saw a flying gurnard, spotted eagle rays, and Carrie saw the little northern stargazer and got its picture. What a difference a few days can make. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 9 October

It was pretty green, but well worth the effort to make the dive. Tobin discovered the beautiful frogfish out pretty close to the boat channel in about 9' of water. He was carrying the camera and took the accompanying shots. There were a couple of mantis shrimp and a blackwing searobin. (I am taking the opportunity while I'm writing about fish to apologize for mistakenly identifying the striped burrfish as a web burrfish in earlier blogs. I'm learning.) The camera is a great tool for learning fish and critter identification as its memory is significantly better than mine. Anyway, Carrie, my open water student and I wore 3mm wetsuits for our one hour, twenty-four minute dive and were very comfortable in the 81 degree water. Tobin's computer read 78 degrees at the boat channel. I think he was in a dive skin for his hour and a half dive. The vis was around eight to ten feet. Considering the very rough seas of the last several days, I was amazed that the vis was as good as it was. The incredible fish and critters are there regardless of the vis. If the vis is short, bring your magnifying glass and look at the little stuff up close. Always something to see at the bridge. Get in the water, Ham