An open water referral student, her fiance, and I did a one hour, three-minute dive in seventy-two degree water with five to eight feet of vis. The overcast sky when we entered turned into a serious storm cell that kicked up a one foot chop and drove some hard rain in a stiff breeze. The bouncing dive flag was making the reel do an upside down yoyo thing. In the water the conditions were suitable for what we had to do, but out of the water at the end of the dive, the driving rain was not friendly. Even in the low vis situation we saw three moderately-sized flying gurnards foraging for an early bird special as the high tide was at almost five o'clock. I was very comfortable in my 5mm fullsuit with a 3mm hooded vest. My student in a 3mm suit was comfortable. Very good news is that the health advisory has been lifted. So, without reservation...Get in the water, Ham
Dive Report 28 March
Dive Report 12 and 13 March
Even with the vis in the eight to ten feet range, diving at the bridge was pretty nice. Two sunny days with afternoon temperatures in the seventies made for nice post-dive "deal with the gear" conditions and a post-dive picnic on Saturday. The water temperature is hovering around seventy-three degrees. With a five millimeter suit and a three millimeter hooded vest, Carrie is fairly comfortable. (She took the photo). We put our students in two three millimeter suits and they were fine for our one hour, ten-minute dive. (I'm still dry.) The bacteria advisories are still posted, but others conducting tests have stated that they are getting acceptable levels in the areas we dive around slack high tide. The tests on Peanut Island are showing acceptable levels. I'm still getting in the water, Ham
Dive Report 11 March
It was a beautiful, sunny day at the bridge with a "fresh" breeze from the north. Vis was between ten and fifteen feet. The water temperature was around seventy-one. My open water student was tardy, not understanding that the tide doesn't wait for us. He does now. As a result, we entered the water just a few minutes before slack high tide. I didn't want to take a new diver into the challenge of dealing with an increasingly strong ebb tide so we just stayed off the beach going between the little wrecks. Tobin took the pictures demonstrating that no matter where you go around the Bridge, there are things to see. Thanks, Tobin. We are back there tomorrow. We'll picnic after the dive! I'm getting in the water, Ham
Dive Report 8 March
It's been two weeks since I've been to the bridge. Unfortunately, the bacteria warnings are still in place. We entered the water at more than an hour before the posted slack high tide and left the water before the tide had turned. The visibility was very good at about twenty feet or more. At times it was a bit milky, but for the most part, it was better than usual. With temperatures between seventy-three and seventy-five, my open water student was pretty comfortable for our one hour, fourteen minute dive. I'm still dry. We were rewarded with two seahorses thanks to the young eyes of a friend who accompanied us. The photos were taken by my student who had to have two hands on the camera, no hands for manuevering or buoyancy. One of the seahorses has been in the junk pile on the north side of the fishing pier for quite some time, several weeks if it is the same critter! A shortnose batfish waddled by and two sharptail eels poked around for their mid-morning snack. A medium-sized southern ray foraged off the beach and several yellow stingrays hid in the sand waiting for a meal to swim by. It was a beautiful dive in delightfully warmer water. I will inform you when the bacteria warning has been lifted. Ham
