Lessons learned from Phil Foster...

[nolatom]

meaning from "his" park in Palm Beach where we shore dive below the highway bridge at high tide:

"High tide" may not mean its slack water yet--today it was still flooding north for a good bit after the published high

In current, be overweighted, especially for a shallow dive like this. Being near, or on, the bottom is a good thing, saves you a lot of finning.

Use your hands, with knife in one and shears in the other, to dig in and hold position in the current or to pull and glide. This is a mostly sandy or gravelly bottom, so it's practical and conserves air and energy. Avoid the marine growth and pretty stuff when you do this.

Check your compass. I usually know where the next set of pilings are, except when I don't ..

Stop for a while and just look at the fish. They're usually quite busy. It's serene to just watch. If you stay still, they come right up close.

Longie wetsuit better than shorty if you're going to commune with the bottom. even on a scorching afternoon, it's not too hot.

The 60 tank you have to rent 'cause the shop is out of 80s, is plenty. 65 minutes and still a good bit left.

Can you tell I enjoyed this dive?? And the price was right.

 

[kombiguy]

Being near, or on, the bottom is a good thing, saves you a lot of finning.

Use your hands, with knife in one and shears in the other, to dig in and hold position in the current or to pull and glide. This is a mostly sandy or gravelly bottom, so it's practical and conserves air and energy. Avoid the marine growth and pretty stuff when you do this.

No, being on the bottom is never a good thing. Neither is digging into the bottom with tools. You may not be killing the "pretty" life, but there's plenty of bottom dwellers you're killing.

 

[adurso]

As said above, particularly at the BHB, digging into the bottom will kill things.

 

[nolatom]

I stand corrected. Won't do it again.

 

[The Chairman]

It's a fun dive. I also noted that the flow had not nearly abated at high tide. Five minutes later though, and it was gone.

I echo the sentiment to stay off the bottom. Work on timing and finning technique.

I find it distressing to still see classes kneeling in the sand. That's not Scuba.

 

[uncfnp]

I stand corrected. Won't do it again.

A good example why digging in is not a good idea.


Edit. A youtube video, not mine.

 

[finewayne]

A good example why digging in is not a good idea.


Edit. A youtube video, not mine.

this explains it all

 

[The Chairman]

this explains it all

The stargazer is a pretty quick fish. The real critters at stack are the slow ones that live beneath the sand, like the sea biscuit. They usually only come out at night or when it's dark. Unlike the stargazer, if you put any weight on the sand, you'll simply crush a sea biscuit without ever knowing you did.