Dive Report 27 August

I was looking at the date of the last post and can't believe that it has been that long since I have been at the Bridge. There may have been a couple of times I dived there without posting. With recent eye surgery (everything is fine now) and visits to family in New York, I have been out of the water for quite some time. Yesterday I accompanied a very pleasant young man for a refresher before he goes offshore on Friday (he was playing hooky). What an intelligent thing to do, the refresher, not hooky, although there is a time and place for it! He has been out of the water for a year and has very few dives so he (and his parents or maybe the other way around) thought the refresher would be prudent. You would be amazed at how often we get people on the boat who at the last minute before the dive make us aware that it has been ten years since they have been in the water. More than once that situation has turned out badly. So it was nice to see people using common sense. The water temperature was eighty-four . I did not wear a wet suit and was very comfortable for our one hour twenty-seven minute dive. "Stingies" in the water are always a concern, but there were only a very few that I felt on my face. Visibility was between fifteen and twenty feet. The fresh water is on the surface, so in the shallower water the vis is shorter. The clearest water was close to the bottom. There is much algae or an algae-like substance on the bottom that wasn't there last spring. I hope that it is a result of the fresh water and that with a return to more saline water when we enter the dry season that it will disappear. There were no moon jelly fish; I have seen them offshore lately so I was anticipating them at the Bridge, but was pleasantly surprised to see their absence. It was nice to be back. The little butter hamlet was a nice "welcomer". Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 20 April

We did not make our planned trip to the Bridge on Friday, but Saturday's rainstorms made our Saturday tide very doable as it somewhat cleared out the parking lot. Those of you who have tried to get a parking spot for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon high tide dive know that the competition is intense. Knowing that we were going on Saturday after our plans for a Friday dive were abandoned, I hoped for a rainy, stormy afternoon, to clear out the picnickers and small boaters. It's selfish; I make no excuse for it. I was pleased when the clouds came with the rain explaining to my friends that we were very lucky, indeed, to be going on a rainy day if it is a Saturday. Of course, we got a convenient parking spot close to the fishing pier. The in-water conditions, however, were not so good with the exception of the water temperature which was seventy-nine. Vis was four to eight feet. We headed out to go under the west bridge, but abandoned that plan when we met three feet of vis. The moderate chop from the north wind stirred up the lagoon. Off the beach the vis was about six to eight feet so we ventured out to the little center-console wreck and the shopping carts. The blue angelfish juvenile was in the shopping carts. Several octopuses were off the beach and cooperative for the camera. So remember, a rainy Saturday or Sunday afternoon can make the Bridge outing easier to do. Water temperatures are rising! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 1 April

The water was a bit warmer today, seventy-five for Carrie and my one hour, twenty-five minute dive under the west bridge. We had a sunny and warm day for the 12:58 high tide, but the water was a little milky so our vis was somewhere around fifteen feet. Both of us were in our five millimeter wetsuits with three millimeter hooded vests. Surprisingly, I was very comfortable. Carrie said she felt a little chilled. Coming out of the water into an eighty degree afternoon was very nice. We saw two batfish, several octopuses, an unidentified hamlet (it might be a hybrid), a banded jawfish, a seahorse, and what might be a juvenile or intermediate sea hare (we really are just guessing) in addition to the regulars. During our dive we saw only three divers although there were quite a few more in the parking lot. It was a beautiful day to be in the water.
Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 28 March

With the water temperature at seventy-two degrees nobody was skinny-dipping. For our one hour dive I was in my drysuit and Carrie was in a five millimeter suit with a three millimeter hooded vest. She said she was not freezing, but rather chilled by the end of the dive. The vis was thirty feet, exceptional for the Bridge. I included the photo of the channel pilings to demonstrate it.  We saw four or five octopuses, four batfishes, seven flying gurnards foraging together, and many of the regulars. There were a few divers there, but we saw them only once or twice on our dive. If you have the gear for cooler water........
Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 16 February

The octopuses are back! It's interesting how different critters have their certain times at the Bridge. I'm not scientific enough (pretty lazy) to make a species log to find out if critters are there at the same times every year, but maybe it would be fun to start one. Three "refresher" students and I saw two octopuses under the big bridge. There was a polkadotted batfish past the third set of pilings on the south side and there was another batfish under the fishing pier near the big junk pile on the north side of the pier. Close to the boat channel on the south side was a beautiful flying gurnard that did spins with its wings open. I'd never seen that behavior before. Believe it or not I was in a 5mm WETSUIT. (Yes, me in a wetsuit in February. Remarkable.) I did it because it is easier to run around after weights, etc. for students than it is to do that in a drysuit with all the weight I have to carry to sink it. With trepidation I entered the water, but in the seventy-five degree water I was very comfortable for our one hour, twenty-five minute dive. Vis was reduced by 7,054,679 students in the water to about ten to fifteen feet. Without 14,109,358 fins kicking up the bottom the vis would have been twenty feet or better. Oh well. I was a silt-kicker myself at one point. We have all been there. Weekdays are nice if you can dive them. Parking was not difficult for the 12:22 high tide, but arriving there an hour and a half before the high tide I had limited choices. (My students locked their car keys in their car at the Shop. [Please ask the tide to wait for us while we deal with this.] It took AAA a few minutes to get there to help them. I zipped down to the Bridge to get a parking spot while they waited. Everything worked out although for a few minutes it appeared the mother was going to flog her son to whom she had given the keys to put their stuff in the car. Is there anyone out there besides the none-driving public who hasn't locked their keys in their car? Have you ever seen the "professionals" (we know where they went to school) unlock a car in less than ten seconds? It's fascinating and makes me wonder why we bother to lock our cars. I'm wandering. Even with all the drama we had a great dive! I didn't know that Bridge Therapy could help with family turmoil, but at the end of the dive the son's future looked much brighter than it had hours previously at the Shop parking lot. Get in the water (you don't need to need therapy), Ham

Dive Report 13 February

The wind was blowing hard from the south southwest, but underwater at the east bridge it was nice; we had between ten to fifteen feet of vis in seventy-three degree water. Carrie, two other divers, and I went east from the beach along the rock piles looking for the jackknife fish I saw several weeks ago. No luck. We saw a nice flying gurnard, but it would have none of the camera. Many of the usual suspects were under the east bridge with the exception of the snook; we saw none. At slack tide we turned southwest back toward the rock piles to go around the swim area. Just west of the rock pile where I saw the jackknife last time we struck gold - the beautiful jackknife pictured. It was really quite cooperative; I'm just not particularly good with the camera. Nevertheless, it gave me the shot here. A great dive! I was in my drysuit for the one hour, twenty-eight minute dive and very comfortable. Carrie wore her five millimeter suit with a 3mm hooded vest; she was chilled at about the one hour mark. Lunch at the Ale House with friends topped off a fabulous day! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 17 January 2013

Struck gold on my first dive of 2013 at the Bridge. Actually, a jackknife fish is gold and black. Having dived the Bridge hundreds of times, this is the first time I have seen a jackknife fish there. It was on one of the artificial reef piles only three or four piles from the easternmost pile. The jackknife is in the drum family and is a cousin to spotted drums (I have never seen one at the Bridge), highhats (they are plentiful at the bridge), and cubbyu (at the Bridge, but not in numbers close to the highhats). Several years ago there was a pair of jackknife adults on the Spadefish Point site off of Jupiter. I could take people to see them and did so for six months or more. Then one day there was only one. Finally, after only a few weeks neither one could be found at that site. Months later with two other divers trying to get to a reef area from a wreck, while traveling over a sandy (desert) area, there was a small piece of junk around which there were two jackknife fishes! I could not believe it. Of course it was one of those places that I knew I would never find again. Oh well. Last year in a deep crevise on the Scarface site off of Jupiter I saw a jackknife while I was pointing out a goliath grouper to divers. I had a pretty good idea of where it was, but I have not relocated the fish. So it has been quite a dry spell since I have seen a jackknife in our neighborhood, but today was the day! I believe they are the most spectacular of the drum family by far. I get pretty excited about spotted drums, especially juveniles, but a jackknife to me is the holy grail of drums. In short, I had a great dive. The water temperature was seventy-seven; I was very comfortable in my five millimeter suit with hooded vest for my two hour, two minute dive. Vis was about twenty feet. There was also a searobin and a batfish that would have clinched the photo spot for the report except that they lost out to the JACKKNIFE!!! I know my dear friend Mike Phelan is smiling. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 15 December

This close-range photo of my student tells the story, very short vis. It was never more than four or five feet. We were doing an Advanced Open Water navigation dive so the short vis did not stop us; the compass was more important than usual. We really could not see much. After doing the skill work just south of the east bridge we ventured under the bridge into the shortest vis I have experienced there. A couple of snook ran into us otherwise we would not have seen them. We swam under the bridge, turned around, and swam out from under the bridge. There was not much reason to be there. The water temperature was seventy-five at its coldest although much of the time my computer indicated the temperature at seventy-seven. Despite the short vis we still did a one hour, twenty-five minute dive. I was very comfortable in my five millimeter suit and hooded vest. If you really need to get in the water, it is doable. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 4 December

I love diving at the Bridge on a weekday morning; we own it! Parking is not a problem (I refuse to use the word "issue"). Vis was fifteen to twenty feet off the beach, but in certain areas it fell off to eight to ten feet. For the most part, the vis was very good. The water temperature was seventy-eight so in my five millimeter suit I was comfortable for our one hour, twenty-nine minute dive. The little seahorse by the seawall was still there. Flying gurnards and searobins are in the neighborhood right now. With a bright, sunny day it was a fantastic day to be at the bridge. Conditions are very good! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 2 December

We had a beautiful, sunny day at the Bridge with much better than expected vis. What a change from Friday! After Friday's milky eight feet I expected pretty much the same. What a pleasant surprise to have twenty-plus feet off the beach. Under the west bridge out by the boat channel the vis was quite a bit shorter with distances varying between eight and ten feet. It was probably a function of many student divers as is usually the case on a weekend. Nevertheless, a student and I saw two batfish, a flying gurnard, a small spotted eagle ray, a southern ray, and the convention of sheepshead which seem to be everywhere. (They remind me of Milton Berle). The water temperature was seventy-seven, but I never felt chilled during our one hour, three minute dive. The bright sun definitely plays a role in temperature perception for me. Parking was not a problem even for a Sunday morning high tide. The great vis was quite a gift and shows we never know until we go. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 30 November

When the diver I was supposed to guide did not show up at the Bridge it was "Ham Mason's Day Off"! I entered the water at 8:45 for a 9:08 high tide, but I still got an hour and fifteen minute dive. The water temperature was seventy-seven; in my 5mm suit with a light hooded vest I was comfortable. Visibility varied from eight to ten feet with the water being milky everywhere. There were several flying gurnards scavenging about, none of whom were cooperative for the camera. They would spread their wings a little, but they did not want their picture taken. Oh well. Underwater photographer I am not so I looked for something that does not move much. A diver pointed out two seahorses to me which I would not have seen without her help. They were just off the beach by the seawall under the west bridge. On my way back along the beach in five feet of water I found another seahorse on my own! You can see why; it is a black seahorse against white sand. The other two that were pointed out to me were in grassy stuff and well hidden. There were reports from other divers of seahorse observations so apparently something is going on with them. Go see them! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Reprot 16 November

At least the water was not freezing; it was seventy-nine degrees. In my five millimeter suit I was toasty for the sixty-three minute dive south of the east bridge. And the parking was easy for our Friday 9:54 high tide dive. And the air temperature was mild. And my student was only twenty minutes late. Could have been worse.  (I'm thinking. I'm thinking. There has to be some more good stuff.) BUT......vis was six feet. That was doable for my advanced open water student who was doing compass and bag/finger spool skills. As we were preparing to inflate the bags from depth we almost ran into another student and instructor who were doing the same thing. We did not see them until they were... SIX feet away. Whoops. Excuse us; we'll just move over here. I brought the camera; I did not take any pictures. We saw some curious bar jacks who were entertained by our signal marker and finger spool exercises. A few yellow stingrays were hiding in the sand hoping we would not disturb them as we passed over them. After slack high tide the flotsam in the water was pretty thick. The high tide was one of the highest I have seen there completely surrounding the lifeguard station with 6" to 12" of water. It is November in south Florida.  Get in the water  (just do it), Ham

Dive Report 21 October

The water at the Bridge was quite green from all the fresh water runoff from whatever sources reducing the vis to about ten feet. The water temperature was a very pleasant eighty-two degrees for our one hour, sixteen minute dive. Three advanced open water students and I practiced blowing surface markers with finger spools and compass work. An intermediate spotted eagle ray flew by us, but the vis was short and I was too slow for a picture. The accompanying photo I believe is a juvenile scrawled cowfish. Carrie and I could not find a picture of one, but we see many adults at the bridge so that is my best guess. Parking was not a problem as I arrived three hours before the slack high tide. I was entertained by a swimmer being swept by the current around the seawall under the west bridge. There was no danger; it was so far ahead of the high tide that all he had to do was to stand up to get back around. A boater also drove his boat, filled with guests, right into the snorkeling area where boats are prohibited by large white buoys, RIGHT IN FRONT OF NOT ONE, BUT TWO COAST GUARD BOATS!!! There are fools and there are damn fools. The Coast Guard captain was very patient with the "skipper" of the errant boat. Incredible. It reminded me of the time last year when a "skipper" steered his forty feet plus sailboat through a dozen dive flags rather than through the BOAT CHANNEL! That "skipper" was finally fined. That's not all. I watched four divers enter the very brown, tannic water three hours before the slack high tide only to be swept from the eastern edge of the swim area well past the western side in minutes, only to finally ascend and decide that the current was too fast and the vis was too short to do a dive. That "dive" must have been an "experience-builder" for the four. I think they learned a great deal. It's all good. Nobody was hurt. Best of all, I was quite entertained.  There is plenty to see at the Bridge, below and ABOVE the water!

Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 29 September

I'll do a Saturday dive at the Bridge if it is an early morning high tide and today we hit the jackpot! The high tide was at 8:23 so my advanced open water student and I were there at around 7:00. It was a gorgeous drive from Hobe Sound starting with the almost full moon hiding in and out of the clouds to the west. Numerous lightning storms moving onshore illuminated the drive to Singer Island. Once at Phil Foster the sun was coming up and the rain had stopped, but most importantly, there was plenty of parking. That is the benefit of the early-morning high tide on Saturdays and Sundays. The vis was better than twenty feet, the best I have seen in quite some time. The water temperature was eighty-two so I was very comfortable in my 3mm for our one hour, seventeen minute dive. During our skill exercises just south of the east bridge we saw the biggest spotted eagle ray I have ever seen at the bridge. My student and I were at the surface just having completed a spool and bag exercise when the eagle ray glided below us. Spectacular! In the same neighborhood we found a grumpy-looking batfish who let me take one good picture before losing patience with me. Kind of grumpy. Under the east bridge we saw two flying gurnards, one of which cooperated for a photo with the little bar jack who was interested in anything the gurnard might stir up from the sand. There is still some green water after the tide turns and there were some jellyfish, but neither detracted from what was just an absolutely great dive at the bridge. I didn't want to leave. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 16 September

"It ain't easy being green." At least it isn't easy diving in green water. The fresh water run-off from Isaac and the recent almost-daily thunder showers have given the water at the bridge a strong green color with vis of less than ten feet. Normally I avoid weekend dives at the bridge, but since today's high tide was at 9:02 I knew parking would not be a problem (the word "issue" is overused!).
My four advanced open water students were willing to get up early so we braved the low vis and attacked our skill set which involved compass and bag work using finger spools. The vis was good enough for what we needed to do, but when we started to venture under the east bridge to look around it was so dark that I decided to abandon the under-bridge exploration and return to somewhat brighter water south of the bridge. The water temperatue was eighty-two which was very nice for our one hour, thirty-one minute dive. In a three millimeter suit I was very comfortable. If the "newbies" kicked up the bottom, it was the perfect day to do so; nobody would be able to tell the difference! Get in the water (even if it's green), Ham

Dive Report 30 August

Hurricane Isaac's rainfall dumped plenty of fresh water on south Florida and that runoff reduced vis at the bridge to eight feet. Four divers doing a refresher were on a schedule so we did the dive more to get comfortable in the water again rather than look at fish and critters. From time to time the vis was less than eight feet. The water temperature was eighty-two, a little cooler than the eighty-four to eighty-six that it has been. I wore a rash guard and a thin hooded vest for our fifty-four minute dive and was quite comfortable. We saw a southern ray, a yellow stingray, french, gray, blue, and queen angelfish. For conditions that I thought would be marginal, we actually had a successful dive.
Get in the water (even if it's a little green), Ham

Dive Report 19 August

The barge and tug were removed from the site where rocks are being placed to create habitat. I don't know if that is for the weekend only or the work is finished. There are several rock piles that will, we hope, be habitat for fish and critters as the little wrecks that were removed used to be. We will see. Vis was better than twenty feet and the water temperature was eighty-four. I was comfortable in a rash guard for our one hour, forty-one minute dive. The high tide was at 10:11 so because it was a Sunday morning, I arrived at 7:30 with a cup of coffee only to meet friends who were thinking the same thing. We sat at a picnic table enjoying our coffee welcoming the morning with our cars parked in the premium spaces close to the beach. On the weekends parking is the challenge so an early arrival is a strategy shared by bridge regulars. Usually I avoid the bridge if the weekend high tide is later in the day, but Sunday's 10:11 high tide was early enough to beat the picnickers. My advanced open water student and I practiced skills to the south of the east bridge. On our way to it we saw yellow garden eels which are labeled as uncommon in Florida. After our bag and reel practice we saw an octopus, a batfish, and a small flying gurnard. It was another great day at the bridge; being there with friends made it all the sweeter. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 15 August

Two advanced open water students and I did a "sunrise" dive today as their schedule allowed few options. The slack high tide almost coincided with the sunrise. We waited for light, but we could have a done a night dive specialty. Anyway, there was definitely an advantage to the very early high tide; the work being done to build habitat off of the beach had not started and killed the vis. We enjoyed twenty feet of vis in eighty-two degree water. I thought it would be warmer so I wore only a rash guard and a thin hooded vest. At the end of our one hour, seventeen minute dive I was actually starting to feel a chill. As we returned from our dive under the big bridge the starting of the engines of the tug attached to the barge was quite loud. I surfaced to see what was happening to be sure that we were well clear of the tug and barge. They are just off the beach putting large stones on the bottom to create the new habitat. We moved east in shallow water to the little center console wreck to do skill work, but the activity on the barge reduced the vis to very short very quickly. I assume the work will go on for several days or longer during normal working hours so that anyone considering a dive under the big bridge might run into the short vis problem. Obviously, being anywhere near the barge and tug is extremely dangerous. Options are to dive under the east bridge for a while or dive on the weekends when the work might not be happening. In any case, be aware that the habitat-building operation is going on and it is definitely something to avoid. Get in the water (probably under the little bridge), Ham

Dive Report 7 August

It's been a month since I last dived the bridge. It was a beautiful, sunny WEEKday (with parking spaces) to get back into the water under the big bridge. A Discover Scuba student, her aunt, and I enjoyed eighty-eight degree water and twenty feet of vis (before we went through). By the end of the dive my student was actually keeping her feet up pretty well; it just took a while for her to get the hang of buoyancy and trim. For her first time in SCUBA gear she did really well. I was wearing a rash guard and a hooded vest (to protect my head from the sun). With the water as warm as it is I'm glad I wasn't wearing a wetsuit. For a weekday, there were quite a few divers enjoying the great conditions. You can't blame them. I'm glad I was there! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 6 July

Carrie, two refresher students, and I enjoyed twenty-plus feet of vis and eighty-four degree water. I thought about wearing a skin, but opted for my 3mm; I comfortably could have worn the skin. Thousands of bait fish surrounded us at many points of the dive. We saw two batfish and two flying gurnards, one of which had only one "wing". There were  quite a few people there for a Friday, but parking was not a problem for the eleven o'clock high tide. It's a great time to Get in the water, Ham