We need to Help Instructors with acceptable silting locations :-)

[Insta-Gator]

Too many pollywogs in a shallow dish.

We've all done it at one point or another, but Dan's point is well taken...courtesy for other divers.

 

[danvolker]

Dan -
Do you know where most of the classes are coming from? Are they affiliated with the local dive shops? I doubt they're bringing students from too far away. So perhaps a start is some sort of xeroxed one-sheet of "BHB Etiquette" that could be passed out at the local shops? The sheet could be given to all instructors as well as anyone stopping in to inquire about diving at the bridge.

The awareness problem goes beyond just the silting. On my birthday dive back in January, the Video Dude and I came upon a search & rescue class. They had things so mucked up we didn't even see them until we were almost in their midst. We stopped and politely hovered while they stretched a line across our path. As the instructor swam by he flipped me off. On my birthday!!!! :crying2:

Another time we were swimming along doing our own thing and an instructor chased after us. The class had things pretty churned up and he grabbed my arm like I was a wayward student. I gave him my best "Let go of me, you crazy person" look and he swam away. I guess the big VIDEO CAMERA the Video Dude carries didn't tip him off.

Bottom line there are a lot of "sharing" issues as the site becomes more popular.

Thanks for bringing up this important / delicate topic.

jet

Hi Jet,
I think a lot of the classes I have noticed with this issue, were from Tenessee, Ga, Alabama, etc. There is probably a good way to help them via the shops they use for airfills....they would almost have to be using either Force E or Pura Vida.... I think both of these 2 shops would be very happy to put up some informational posters....maybe if we get the right photo-map of the BHB dive areas, and indicate WHERE you park and set up, where you get in to the water, and where you do your sand drills, ( all on the east side), maybe this would be well recieved by the instructors.
Maybe we can think of some things we could do to make this even better on the East side for them, so that they would be crazy not to.
Maybe we could get some kind of "Landing Platform" made out of marine plywood, for classes to set up on..stand on..and crawl on . Ideally, it would have it;s own rope and big float on top of it, where an instructor could "hang" extra weights when they determine many of their students are too heavy !!!!!! Maybe Force E or Pura Vida could come up with a nice Float system like this, for instructors to use for student weight issues--and they could offer the use of them to large classes ( after 10 airfills it is a free rental or something)..

We still need some kind of maps/signs at the entrance to the water area, since some of these out of town shops are showing up with trailers full of their own tanks ( full tanks).

 

[Shcubasteve]

Edit...nevermind

 

[jar546]

I think part of the issue was the amount of people in such a shallow area with no real maneuverability. Throw in the fact that you have new divers and presto! There goes the neighborhood.

BHB is still on my list, however. I think I may want to start a non-regional specific thread on this subject as it happened to us this weekend up my way.

 

[danvolker]

I think part of the issue was the amount of people in such a shallow area with no real maneuverability. Throw in the fact that you have new divers and presto! There goes the neighborhood.

BHB is still on my list, however. I think I may want to start a non-regional specific thread on this subject as it happened to us this weekend up my way.

As I watched this group in the video, what soom became apparent was that few ( if any) were wearing the correct amount of weight. Some were constantly swimming down--either had air in their bc and not skilled enouigh to be aware they needed to dump more air out ( or how to)....and some/most, were much too overweighted, and were not trying to compensate with the BC--they allowed themselves to remain negative, so that they had to continually swim upward, or, they would continually kangaroo into the bottom.....this being the unfortunate "norm".

This observation, if consistent with other classes we see at the BHB, is another indication that a great solution would be a divers down Float ( maybe more inner tube style with a bottom to it) with weight pocket holders for an instructor or DM to add or subtract weight from each diver in need. It would seem to me to be very helpful for a majority of new divers at the park...

 

[Insta-Gator]

A round fender would be tough enough to last and is perfect for tying a line. I like your 'pro-active' approach.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10105&subdeptNum=10432&classNum=10433

 

[dumpsterDiver]

bottom at the inception of a class like this?
We DO have an area BETTER for kneeling drills....Would it be reasonable to request (with signs) that the kneeling and silting take place at the far eastern side of the BHB park, where the current will actually sweep the silt straight under the eastern span of the bridge, and avoid ruining the dive experience for the remaining 98% of the marine park area?

ps.

No Dan, No... Now you want to regulate who dives where?

First you go after marine life collectors, now you want to regulate scuba instructors and their activities?

I saw you there the other weekend there and was going introduce myself, but I decided I would rather dive.

 

[danvolker]

No Dan, No... Now you want to regulate who dives where?

First you go after marine life collectors, now you want to regulate scuba instructors and their activities?

I saw you there the other weekend there and was going introduce myself, but I decided I would rather dive.

DD, this is hardly regulation. The idea as it stands, is to come up with a few ways to make instruction more fun and better for the classes if done on the far east side...the ideas like a float for weights so students can get bouyancy optimized go with this, as does the possibility we could lobby for some marine plywood that can go down over there for a landing platform in 15 feet of water.
I'd even throw in a barrel with fish in it for you and your buddies to shoot or collect from


p.s.
You should have introduced yourself....I would have enjoyed meeting you for real

 

[dumpsterDiver]

DD, this is hardly regulation. The idea as it stands, is to come up with a few ways to make instruction more fun and better for the classes if done on the far east side...the ideas like a float for weights so students can get bouyancy optimized go with this, as does the possibility we could lobby for some marine plywood that can go down over there for a landing platform in 15 feet of water.
I'd even throw in a barrel with fish in it for you and your buddies to shoot or collect from

So it is not a "regulation". First you get some signs made to "educate people", get them to sorta accept the restrictions on their activities because it will be "more fun and better". Then later, you lobby to pass a new ordinance that would simply "validate what everyone is already doing now anyway"... Is that how it might work?

If you want to get a permit to install floating platforms suspened above the bottom (that will hold up to hurricane conditions) I wish you luck.

I don't support additional restrictions on how recreational divers use the site. Even if many of them are using this site to make money on certification of divers.

As for shooting fish there, you KNOW that is illegal

We've established that divers can use knives there, no spearguns, slings or pole spears are legal for taking of fish near the fishing area.