The continuing sagas of the Blue Heron Bridge

[Splitlip]

Lynn:

Jim is correct in that it is highly unlikely you'll see every critter on every dive, but there is plenty to see on most dives.

With your being from the left coast, you might find even the common critters more interesting than the the local divers in search of something really special.

I liken diving there to doing the safari ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom. I have done the ride enough with my kid that we've seen the cheetahs, the lions, the merekats, the lions, etc; just not all on the same day. But we always saw elephants, hippos, giraffes and rhinos which always made my daughter happy.

There are those days at the bridge, but they are far and few between

On most days one will "attempt" to find those conditions and be happy with 1/2 hour of the total 2+ hour dive when we do find something.

Many of us regulars carry marking sticks (Popsicle, etc.) so we can mark those areas after we have our photos, and then grab divers in the area to "show" them too... It is seldom "everywhere you turn" and often "everywhere someone shows you"... Often the photos we show online are not seen (even by us). They were smaller than we can really make out. We rely on our ability to stay in a small area and observe small changes in the area to determine what to shoot and later hope it comes out enough to post...

That being stated....
The large stuff happens around us and we hope to have the lens in place to take the shot when it does. Sometimes we get the Eagle Ray shot, Southern Ray (I have actually been slapped in the mask and not gotten the picture), Gunnard, Sea Robin, Frogfish, videos... Just like caves, the more you dive an area, the more you see...

 

[diverdad87]

Hey guys.

I was diving BHB the day after Christmas for the first time. Great place! A couple questions though...

I know the sunken boat is on the east side. Can some one give a little more direction to it over then "on the east span"? Same for the shopping carts.

One concern I had was wondering off into the channel. Other then popping up every 50ft, is there a landmark or waypoint to keep a eye out for to help stay oriented?

Thanks for any help!

 

[danvolker]

Oh, I understand that every dive is a treasure hunt . . . but the best thing about diving someplace new is that even the USUAL things a site has to offer may be exciting and different for the visitor! But I do hope I get to hook up with someone local, who can help point out things we might well have missed. I'm especially excited about the variety of nudis in the photos.

Hi Lynne,
My wife Sandra is looking forward to taking you around the BHB. Sandra is very big into macro photography, and is at the bridge several days each week.

 

[TSandM]

Oh, Dan, that's wonderful! And maybe I'll get to say hello to some of the other folks on this thread there, too!

 

[Reef_Haven]

YouTube - Palm Beach Freediving, Blue Heron Bridge

The wind was blowing 35 kts today, so we hit the bridge, My (12 yr old) boy got to try out his Christmas present.. a HERO HD,,,,

Thanks for posting the video. Did you get the flat lense housing, or was this with the original curved lense?

 

[Splitlip]

Hey guys.

I was diving BHB the day after Christmas for the first time. Great place! A couple questions though...

I know the sunken boat is on the east side. Can some one give a little more direction to it over then "on the east span"? Same for the shopping carts.

One concern I had was wondering off into the channel. Other then popping up every 50ft, is there a landmark or waypoint to keep a eye out for to help stay oriented?

Thanks for any help!

PM with an email address and I'll send you a map.

I cant't seem to load it here.

 

[Scuba_Dad]

Hey guys.

I was diving BHB the day after Christmas for the first time. Great place! A couple questions though...

I know the sunken boat is on the east side. Can some one give a little more direction to it over then "on the east span"? Same for the shopping carts.

One concern I had was wondering off into the channel. Other then popping up every 50ft, is there a landmark or waypoint to keep a eye out for to help stay oriented?

Thanks for any help!

Go out to SCUBA Obsession Main Page and click on "Blue Heron Bridge Map". One of my DM students, TomC, did it as his mapping project. He's a surveyor, so he went overboard with it. Excellent map of the bridge.

Al

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Go out to SCUBA Obsession Main Page and click on "Blue Heron Bridge Map". One of my DM students, TomC, did it as his mapping project. He's a surveyor, so he went overboard with it. Excellent map of the bridge.

Al

Very nice! Thanks for the links.

Shopping carts. Look for the boat "SUMAR" there is a buoy near it. The buoy is to the mirror boat, and the shopping carts are about 15 feet east.

Very interesting about the shopping carts. Since Hermit Crab is doing her science project on it, I have been photographing them every time we dive BHB. It's been a fun experience to see some of the regulars, and every dive has yielded at least one new fish, often not to be seen but that one time. Cool.

 

[diverdad87]

Very nice! Thanks for the links.

Shopping carts. Look for the boat "SUMAR" there is a buoy near it. The buoy is to the mirror boat, and the shopping carts are about 15 feet east.

Very interesting about the shopping carts. Since Hermit Crab is doing her science project on it, I have been photographing them every time we dive BHB. It's been a fun experience to see some of the regulars, and every dive has yielded at least one new fish, often not to be seen but that one time. Cool.

Thanks for the help. The "SUMAR" boat, is it one of the sunken boats??? I guess if I hit all the boats and just looks East I should see it.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Yes and no.

The SUMAR is anchored and has its name in big bold letters on the back. It did sink a month or so ago, but it has been raised. It used to have so much growth on the underside, lobsters lived there.