Hoosiers are ready for Lauderdale By The Sea

[Jendra]

My dive buddy and myself plan to make a couple dives at LBTS on Tuesday, April 3rd in the afternoon. We would like to stay and do a twilight/night dive too.
I met up with a few SB members the last time I was there and would love to meet up with members again!

Anyone care to join us???

This will be my dive buddies first time diving in the ocean...It will definitely be a memorable day!!

 

[iluvtheocean]

i would if i could but have to work during the day -- never done a night dive yet. LTBS is great, have dove there before - Datura Avenue is a short swim to the reef.

 

[cudachaser]

Hmmm sounds nice...Where are you staying? I would most likely stay across from the old Holiday Inn

 

[scubaops]

my girl and i will be there tomorrow and sunday to dive but we have to be back at work monday.

 

[bilsant]

alas, I'll be diving LBTS all weekend but have to work Tuesday. Swellinfo is predicting awesome conditions for the next week, so you should have a wonderful dive.

For a twilight dive, try swimming straight out until you're about 60 yards past the end of the pier. Look down to spot the reef line. If the current's right, work north along the reef past the pier and back....I think that's the prettiest part of LBTS. If you start seeing fishing line on the bottom, you've gotten a wee bit too close to the pier...don't be surprised by anything you see...we've run into turtles, manta, guitarfish, and a goliath there in 15 feet of water over the past year.

Check in with Gold Coast Scuba on Commercial Blvd. to see if the meetup group has any planned dives that day...you might meet some buddies there.

 

[idive2]

The second reef is a ways out for a divers first time on the dive. While the inside edge of that second
reef is very nice even now if night diving I would most likely poke around on the first reef. The first reef
comes in before the end of the pier. Maybe 2/3's or 3/4's the length of the pier. If you're very comfortable with
your diving and the conditions then MAYBE the second reef for a night dive. You could try the second reef on
a day dive first and get an idea of the distance.

 

[mntlblok]

alas, I'll be diving LBTS all weekend but have to work Tuesday. Swellinfo is predicting awesome conditions for the next week, so you should have a wonderful dive.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Surf Forecast and Surf Report Can't believe I'd never heard of this til now. Does it tend to be pretty accurate? TIA

Kevin

 

[Jendra]

Great information everyone!!! Thank you so much.
Is the water still in the 70s?

---------- Post added at 01:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 PM ----------

Hmmm sounds nice...Where are you staying? I would most likely stay across from the old Holiday Inn

Actually we haven't booked a hotel yet. We will be in Ft Myers area this weekend and we were not sure if we were leaving Monday night or Tuesday morning for Ft Lauderdale... So we figured we would find something once we got there.
We will be heading to Boynton Beach for a boat dive on Wednesday so if we can not find anything in Ft Lauderdale, we can try to find something as we head that direction.

 

[bilsant]

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Surf Forecast and Surf Report Can't believe I'd never heard of this til now. Does it tend to be pretty accurate? TIA

Kevin

Hey Kevin,

I'd rate them as pretty good, though sometimes they're slow to update info and sometimes will shift back and forth in their predictions over a matter of hours....I've never gone with their forecast for calm surf but found the conditions blown out when I arrive, but I've called dives on their forecast for heavy surf only to find out things were flat and gentle as can be.

I really know nothing about who runs Swellinfo, but when I get frustrated with them, I envision them as a couple of gnarly little surfer dudes who have been hitting the beer bong before trying to catch come curls.

Short answer is yes they're pretty good, but I double-check their forecasts against Windfinder.com or Magicseaweed.com, and then look at the LBTS Windjammer Beachcam.

Jendra, if you end up in Boynton and have the time, check the BHB Bridge Trolls thread and see about diving there too!

 

[idive2]

I had one dive last week where I had 78F but more often than not it has been 77F on the wate temp. A
little bit of a chill at about 60 minutes on a bridge dive but not uncomfortable. I'm diving a 3mm full and a 3mm
beanie. My 3mm full and 1.5mm hooded vest kept me comfy even at 74-75F. I would definitely say a beanie is going
to help for the longer dives until water hits 78 or 79F.