Dive Report 29 November

Carrie, a dive-couple, and I had a very nice one hour, twenty-two minute dive at the west bridge today. We entered the seventy-seven degree water under overcast skies and exited under bright blue, somewhat cooler skies. Our purpose was to give the new folks an orientation dive so that when they come to visit from northern Florida, if the tides are right, they can do the dive themselves. So we did some compass work and gave some instruction on how to use the reel and dive flag, but for the most part, just played sightseers. One of our friends experienced what happens when one violates the first rule of "no slack in the line" when using a reel. What better place to have the "wrapped up in one's work" experience than at the Bridge where we can all have a chuckle. We saw a medium-sized southern ray, an intermediate spotted eagle ray, a butter and a barred hamlet (first time I've seen a barred hamlet at the Bridge) and many of the usual suspects. The moon jellies were still there, but not in the large numbers of last week. There is still an occasional minor stingy in the water that is only noticeable for a moment. The vis was between ten and fifteen feet. Close to the beach it was clear; further out and by the channel it was milky. I was in my 5mm wetsuit and upon my exit into the breeze from the northwest was reminded that winter is coming. After all, tomorrow is the last day of November. Get in the water (it's not getting any warmer for a while), Ham

Dive Report 21 November

The jellies (not the kind pictured) were present in force, especially in the top three feet. Vis was about ten feet for our late-afternoon training session south of the east bridge. The water temperature was seventy-nine. As long as we stayed close to the bottom, the moon jellyfish were not a problem. One of my students experienced some minor stings on her face. In all my years of diving the Bridge I have not experienced the presence of jellyfish as we have had this year. Maybe colder water will change the situation. Get in the water (but dodge the jellies), Ham

Dive Report 18 November

I was fooled AGAIN! Every time I think I know what Mother Nature is doing I am shown that I really don't. On my way to the Jupiter Dive Center to meet my students, I stopped by the Hobe Sound beach to see what the vis might be. There was nothing but greenish brown water for two hundred yards off the beach. My conclusion was that the water coming into the Lake Worth Lagoon would be equally greenish brown with zero vis. At the Shop I informed my two advanced open water students that I was not optimistic about the diving conditions at the Bridge. Nevertheless, since they are from Palm Beach Gardens we decided it was at least worth a look. Arriving at the Bridge about an hour before the slack high tide we found six to eight feet of vis. Those are actually great conditions for doing advanced open water navigation skills. We dived the east bridge for one hour, nineteen minutes in seventy-seven degree water. Yes, that is two degrees cooler than my last dive at the Bridge a few days ago. Winter is coming! In my 5mm wetsuit and thin hooded vest I was still toasty. My students were in 3mm suits and very comfortable, but they are both Canadians! Wonderfully, there were NO moon jellyfish (or maybe the vis was so short that we didn't see them)! It wasn't "cupcake" diving, but we were under water; that is fine with me any time. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 15 November

The Moonies are back! No, not the Moonies pictured (if you know who they are you are no spring chicken), but rather the moon jellyfish. My advanced open water student and I had ten to fifteen feet of vis in seventy-nine degree water for our one hour, twenty-four minute dive. I would have been comfortable in a 3mm suit, but knowing how fickle the conditions can be, especially after TWO WEEKS of less than ideal conditions, I wore my 5mm and was toasty. (I get more utility from my 5mm suit than any of my others). We saw a good-sized octopus on our swim over to the east bridge and a tiny seahorse on our way back. We swam around the swim area as I am not particularly keen on schlepping my gear across the beach. It takes about fifteen minutes to do that at my frog-kick speed and it is often worth an interesting critter or two. We have seen a northern stargazer on this mini-trek. I was disappointed to see the moon jellies, but we suffered no discomfort from stingies. It is an inconvenience to dodge them, but it is not difficult as long as one is diligent. Getting back in the water after two weeks of non-diving activity was very nice, even with the Moonies. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 31 October

It wasn't much of a dive; sixteen minutes. With record October rainfall and strong winds creating rough seas offshore, I didn't expect good vis. It wasn't good vis, but eight inches was too short to make more than sixteen minutes worthwhile. I wanted my student to experience the feel of being in doubles and we did that; staying longer would have been pointless. It was all we could do to keep track of each other. We went out to a depth of six feet, turned to the west and proceeded about two hundred feet, turned around to the east retracing our route, and exited. Sixteen minutes. The water temperature was seventy-nine. I have a bridge dive scheduled for Thursday, but I am going to postpone it for a week to let the seas calm down and to let the rain water settle. When it clears...Get in the water, Ham