vista park?

[r&wc]

i am planning on trying the vista park shore dive just south of oakland park blvd, has anyone done this one? whad ya think of it?

it s been a while since me and my wife have done any beach diving so im looking for an easy one to get back into it, according to the little white book this seems to be one of the simples ones in the ft lauderdale area, the book says its only 75 yards to the reef.

any ideas wouldl be appreciated

 

[DebbyDiver]

Yes, that is a really nice dive, I used to take students to it all the time.

I just wonder if the viz is going to suck this weekend.

 

[r&wc]

i would assume that the viz is going to suck anywhere this weekend but i havent been diving in a few weeks, if its not a house project its the weather so unless there are six foot sees i will be in the water some where

is there any other location you would recomend over this one for a refresher beach dive?

is there anything other than the height of the waves that i need to look out for when planning my dive? asside from the obvious things like a lightning storm rolling in as im gettin suited up:no

 

[DebbyDiver]

Lots and lots of info about local beach diving on the stickies at the top of this forum.

So far as safety, it sounds as though you need to pay an instructor to take you through a refresher course. A beach dive is NOT for the inexperienced diver!

 

[r&wc]

i am not an inexperienced diver, my reference to lack of experience pertains specifically to shore diving. i do not need a refresher, my last dive was three weeks ago and almost every weekend with good weather prior to that. i understand that beach diving is not for beginners and i have done a handfull on my own succesfully, i am just trying to make sure that my dives continue to be succesfull and that i am as informed as possible, hence the questions.

The irony of life is that those who know things know because they are humble enough to ask as oppossed to those who beleive they know too much to ask will never know anything.

i do not consider my self a beginner nor lacking any basic scuba skills, of course i can always improve upon what i know. i am just trying not fall into the "i know what im doing" trap and end up in a situatin im not prepared for when i could have simply asked someone a few questions.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Wow, that is an extremely long response for "you didn't read my question correctly."

 

[abucscuba]

visa park
cons..
2 hour parking meters ...
3 steps down from parking lot to the sand.

when i went out saw just sea fans .. but did not realy go that far out .. current and weather was bad .


I would recomend lhbts ... just a mile or so to the north ... just south of the peir

4 hour parking and no steps...
and a much nicer reef closer to shore ...

 

[r&wc]

ive done lbts before, i agree very nice reef for being so close to shore, although looks like the weather might ruin my dive this weekend, ill have to play it by ear

 

[TLS]

I've dove Vista dozens of times and love it. There are actually 2 parking lots. The south lot is limited to 2 hours, but the north lot has 3 hr meters. Vista is fairly flat and not so interesting until you get about 12 minutes out.. then when you start to see schools of blue tangs, you can enjoy the reef area both north and south. If you're good on air or have a big tank, I would highly recommend continuing directly eastward. From the shore, it's about a 20 minute kick, but very well worth it. Last year we found an occasional lobster or 2 around. This year they seem to be running deeper on the 60 ft reef.

 

[Divergirl4U]

Hey I am going to have to try these shore dives .... thanks guys
Kim P