World Class Diving 12 November

I have to share an offshore dive experience! The whale shark pictured with this report was not seen under the Blue Heron Blvd. Bridge. We saw it yesterday a short distance east of Scarface close to the Captain Don's dive site. After our dive on Scarface as Capt. Mike drove the Republic IV down sea, he spotted a fin out of the water and a BIG shadow underneath it. He immediately called the divers' attention to it and told us to get suited up quickly. Driving the boat close to the unidentified shadow Capt. Mike soon discovered that it was a whale shark and positioned the boat to get us in the water. We jumped in and saw a twenty-one or twenty-two feet-long whale shark just casually cruising. With little effort it soon swam out of sight, but Capt. Mike maneuvered the boat to corral the whale shark to pass right underneath us! What a sight to behold! RIGHT UNDERNEATH US! WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE! Diving off Jupiter is truly world-class diving. Thanks, Capt. Mike for such incredible skill! I've never seen a group of happier,or more stunned divers.

Announcements: Saturday is the bridge brunch. We have bagels, cream cheese, jelly, etc. I will be there at 8:00 for a 9:36 high tide. We plan on entering the water at 9:10. It should be a warm, gorgeous day. There is a two-tank night dive Saturday, too. I'm on it. Water temperature yesterday offshore was seventy-nine on the bottom and eighty-one at the safety stop. Also, the shop has high-quality rental gear for sale, and a fabulous year's end deal on new,top-of-the-line, 2008 model wetsuits. We hope to see you Saturday. Get in the water (who knows what you will see!), Ham

Dive Report 8 November

A five WOW dive for me! A striated frogfish! We have seen them before, but it has been quite a while for me. It was right off the beach under the big bridge in the sand. At first it appeared to be a ball of sea grass, but a more careful look paid off. Spotted eagle rays yesterday (a fellow instructor saw them again today) and a frogfish and the big octopus in his usual lair today. I love diving the bridge! The vis was between eight and ten feet. There is still much green water especially after slack. The water temperature was seventy-nine. Remember that next Saturday we have a bridge brunch. I'll be at the bridge at 8:15 for the 9:36 high tide. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 7 November

A little improvement from yesterday - eight feet of vis. It's remarkable how much difference two or three feet of vis makes at the bridge. We had a nice dive. Many fish. Water temperature was seventy-seven. We were the only divers there. On the way back from the channel I thought to myself that it had been a while since I had seen any eagle rays and how nice it would be for my student from Maryland to see one, even in short vis. By the little off-beach wrecks we were given two beautiful spotted eagle ray intermediates or young adults. Gorgeous! Figure that one out! Get into the water, Ham

Dive Report 6 November

It wasn't as thick as split pea soup; it was more like chicken noodle. We could see four or five feet. Yesterday we tried to do a dive, but one to two feet of vis just isn't worth it. Today the vis was twice as far as it was yesterday! Our open water students were confident and comfortable enough in the short vis so we did the dive in almost physical contact with each other to maintain the buddy team. The students did very well staying close by and actually saw some of the local critters (up close of course). The real kicker though was the water temperature - seventy-five! I saw on the morning weather report yesterday that the water temperature at the Fort Pierce buoy was seventy-two. In anticipation of colder water (hoping it wasn't), I brought my 5mm wetsuit and a 3mm hooded vest. I was toasty warm. I don't pretend to understand Mother Nature, but it seems this persistent north wind has given us short vis and cold water. Wow, it can change quickly. We have some east wind coming the next few days so maybe it will bring us some warmer water and longer vis. I'm at the bridge on Saturday for a 3:50 high tide. I'll let you know what we find. I suppose winter is inevitable. Get in the water (with your thicker wetsuit), Ham

Dive Report 2 November

FINALLY!! We had wonderful vis today. What a long wait it has been. With a bright, sunny sky we had twenty-five to thirty feet of vis before slack high tide. The water temperature was eighty degrees for our bottom time of one hour, nine minutes. The critters of the bridge did not disappoint us as we saw two spotted batfish, a gorgeous bandtail searobin, and an intermediate bluespotted cornetfish about eighteen inches long. We frequently see the adult bluespotted cornetfish offshore, usually in pairs, but to see junior right off the beach was a special treat.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: First, the next bridge brunch is Saturday, November 15 for a 9:36 high tide. I'll be at the bridge by 8:15. We'll have bagels, cream cheese and jelly, and hot chocolate for after the dive. For those who want a full day of diving, you will have plenty of time to make the afternoon boat, or do the night dives scheduled for that evening (I'm on that boat). Second, in December we are planning a bridge picnic for Sunday, December 7 for a 3:01 high tide. Again, we'll be there about an hour before the high tide and have hamburgers, hotdogs, and other goodies for a post-dive picnic. Finally, the Jupiter Dive Center is bringing in new rental gear so the rental gear that is being rotated out is for sale at bargain prices. The regulators are fully reconditioned and warranteed for one year. BCDs of various sizes ranging from XXS to XXL are available. This equipment is only months old. (I still have and use my ORIGINAL Scubapro BCD). If you are on a tight budget and want a great value in dive gear, take advantage of being able to puchase this Scubapro gear. This opportunity makes the fantastic diving in our area very affordable. We hope to see you at the brunch and the picnic! Get in the water, Ham