Dive Report 20 April

Gorgeous day at the bridge today! A bright, sunny 77 degree air temperature and a 75-77 degree water temperature made for a wonderful one hour, eight minute dive under the big bridge. Friends from NY joined us to see a batfish, an octopus, a spotted eagle ray and all the other regular residents. Vis ranged from thirty to fifteen feet, longer off the beach, shorter close to the channel. Carrie and I were in 5mm suits and were toasty for the entire dive. Our friends, Sabine and Jim were starting to feel a chill in 3mm suits toward the end of the dive. We polished off our visit to the bridge with a picnic in the shade on the intracoastal. Perfect! Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 18 April

It was octopus day at the bridge! We saw seven or eight of them; we lost count. And, they were everywhere! Amazingly, every one of them was out out of its hole and very easy to see and photograph. I was trying my first camera and appreciated the cooperation of the critters. It was great fun taking pictures of several batfish, a southern ray accompanied by a bar jack, french and gray angelfish, and an assortment of the other regular residents. We saw a spotted eagle ray, but being new with the camera I did not get a photo. The ninety-three minute dive went by so quickly with the camera. In a 5mm wetsuit and a 3mm hooded vest, I was toasty. It's the first time I've been in a wetsuit in quite some time; it was nice! Vis ranged from thirty feet down to fifteen feet; it was the weekend with a zillion students. The weather provided a gentle shower now and again, but it was WARM. There was no freezing north wind so getting out of the water was no challenge. If you have been waiting for warmer water, it's definitely getting warmer. The bridge critters are waiting for you. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 8 April

We had a windy, sunny day at the bridge. I don't know if the water being released from Lake Okeechobee reaches down to the Lake Worth lagoon, but the water sure was green indicating a fresh water mix. It shimmered, too, not unlike the shimmer a diver sees at a thermocline. It appears there is a great deal of fresh water in the mix. The vis was about fifteen to twenty feet. The closer we got to the channel, the shorter and greener the vis was. My AOW student and I were able to run our compass courses. It was a good day for compass work; we couldn't see if we were hitting our targets until we were close to them. Clear vis makes hitting compass targets much easier! We were preoccupied with shooting bags and reviewing skills, but we did get to see two spotted eagle rays quite close to us. My student was in a 3mm full suit with a hood. He was comfortable for our one hour, three minute dive. I wore my drysuit even though I could have worn my 5mm with a hooded vest in the seventy-three degree water. My gear was wet from being divemaster earlier in the day and I didn't want to add to the laundry. Offshore at seventy-five feet the water temperature ranges from 66 to 68. Offshore we're seeing many sharks (I saw a lemon shark at Captain Mike's!), goliath groupers, and turtles, both green and loggerheads. If you can handle the water temperature, the marine life is fabulous. Coming soon: night dives at the bridge through the Jupiter Dive Center! I'll keep you posted. Get in the water, Ham

Dive Report 21 March

This is a dive report by proxy because I actually didn't get in the water. I discussed doing a dive with my two open water students and we opted to wait for warmer water and calmer, clearer conditions. They live locally so we did not have to do a "git 'r done" dive as the vacationers here for a week often have to do. With the wind howling out of the southeast (at least it was a warm wind) and a water temperature of sixty-nine, I wasn't anxious to get in the water in what appeared to me to be limited visibility. Michele and Norman braved the elements for about fifty minutes and reported vis between ten feet (after students) to twenty feet (before students). Norman felt comfortable in his 5mm suit, but Michele was cold after the dive in her 5mm suit. There was a big payoff for their effort though, a stargazer completely out of the sand. That is a rare occurance and definitely one to experience. The surface temperature was about eighty degrees. We found an out-of-the-wind pavillion and enjoyed a relaxing picnic on the intracoastal. It's been quite some time since we've picnicked at Phil Foster and it felt good to be getting back into really enjoying the place. What a great way to enjoy the day even if I didn't "get into the water", Ham

Dive Report 19 March

Yes, it sucked an egg. (I have no idea where that phrase comes from, but it seems an appropriate description for the conditions today.) If you were doing something other than diving at the bridge today, you made the right decision. I saw bridge devotee and photographer extraordinaire, Marv Caples (check out his photos on the Jupiter Dive Center website) enter the water and then turn around and get out of the water; I knew my open water student and I were in for a "git'r done" dive as my student is here on holiday and does not have the luxury of waiting for better conditions. We had about four feet of vis in sixty-eight degree water. A couple of yellow stingrays were buried in the sand probably trying to stay warm. I was toasty in my drysuit for our fifty-one minute dive, but my Canadian student was becoming a bit chilled even with two three millimeter wetsuits. He did much better than I could have, but he's Canadian! My experience is that our Canadian cousins have a cold tolerance gene that is a great advantage in conditions as we have had this winter. In the short vis we obviously have to look at the stuff that is very close. That's the only reason I saw a decorator crab that was moving, probably in an attempt like the stingrays, to stay WARM. East winds this weekend might bring some clearer water. The persistent swell from the northeast has really stirred up the bottom. I'm back at the bridge on Sunday. I know the picnic will be good; I hope the diving conditions will be good, too. Get in the water, Ham