dive flag?

[gkrane]

If you have any questions at all ask Ramon at the dive shop. He was incredibly helpful during our stay and will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[sharky60]

I've never used one on that dive, although I do carry a sausage with me to deploy if I feel it necessary.

It's a very shallow dive ( <25' most of it) and out of the boat lanes as long as you don't go out towards the wall too far.

That doesn't mean an occasional snorkel boat won't wander into the area.

 

[ChrisM]

As far as night diving from shore at BA, I found it important to walk out and start looking into the water by bending over to make sure you are in the little channel. The urchins come out and completely line the sides of it at night. Same process going in. Very easy.

We've always walked in the channel but finally dawned on us to just giant stride off the dock. Easier! Coming in the urchins had spread out and we considered going to the ladder on the dock but they were not in the channel so was came out on shore

 

[ChrisM]

should I bring down my dive flag float to do a couple of shore dives in front of blue angel or not bother and just make sure I stick close to the bottom? If I had to surface out from shore I can use my SMB , what do other shore divers do?

We basically stayed fairly close to the stingray pen, furthest I think we got south was the anchor for the buoy line, and then came back a bit off the pen. Prevailing current is north so we'd go out for 45 minutes or so and slowly drift back for 10 or so, hunting in the sea grass for interesting critters

 

[gkrane]

We've always walked in the channel but finally dawned on us to just giant stride off the dock. Easier! Coming in the urchins had spread out and we considered going to the ladder on the dock but they were not in the channel so was came out on shore

I thought about doing the dock but I didn't really know how deep it was. I've never seen the urchins in the channel even at night. Plenty on the rocks surrounding it. Any reason they seem to avoid it?

 

[ChrisM]

I thought about doing the dock but I didn't really know how deep it was. I've never seen the urchins in the channel even at night. Plenty on the rocks surrounding it. Any reason they seem to avoid it?

Plenty deep for a giant stride, wasn't until we saw other folks doing it that the light bulb went off.

I don't know why the urchins avoid that little channel, during the day they huddle under the rocks on the sides, and at night they are definitely out and looooong spines in the deeper part (as in 7-8 feet), but they weren't in the channel, at least the one night we did. But I have gotten nailed by one of those jumping urchins coming off a night dive there before

 

[ggunn]

I thought about doing the dock but I didn't really know how deep it was. I've never seen the urchins in the channel even at night. Plenty on the rocks surrounding it. Any reason they seem to avoid it?

It's plenty deep enough but the hard part for me is gearing up without a bench to sit on.