Blue Heron Bridge featured in Alert Diver

[scubadada]

BHB is featured in an article in the 3Q22 issue of DAN's Alert Diver

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Greaaaaat. Like it needs to become even more popular.

 

[Pipehorse]

Greaaaaat. Like it needs to become even more popular.

At the moment the popularity exceeds the amount of parking available, so not sure if more popularity would really make it that more crowded, nevertheless I agree with your sentiment.

 

[Jcp2]

The trick that I use is to hire a guide who goes early and parks with all the equipment early and then I park near the dive shop and walk there with my stuff.

 

[drrich2]

Got the issue; haven't read the article yet. The excessive visitation the sites gets raises an interesting question: how difficult would it be to somewhat duplicate it, even on a smaller scale?

I'm not talking about making a new major bridge. I've dove BHB once, and St. Croix's Frederiksted Pier once. Both are famous, and have something big in common...pilings, columns, whatever you want to call them. That's what things grow on. I saw a number of things at BHB that weren't directly on pilings, but the structure draws in animals seeking shelter, prey, etc...

So let's say a city wanted a similar dive area. Pick a somewhat sheltered region right off shore, and put in something functionally similar to the pilings. Might not have to be multiple giant concrete cylinders; just as a bicycle frame works with hollow pipes, perhaps the project would work with something cheaper. I don't know what materials would work best.

So far, when I hear 'artificial reef,' I think of deliberately sunken wrecks (which are very expensive and sunken in much deeper water) or clusters of discarded tires (which didn't work and made a mess, plus hermit crabs are prone to die in them).

I'm not saying a city could completely recreate the BHB experience for divers (and let's be clear, they'd include fishermen; maybe there could be different sections), but how much is feasible?

 

[Jcp2]

Got the issue; haven't read the article yet. The excessive visitation the sites gets raises an interesting question: how difficult would it be to somewhat duplicate it, even on a smaller scale?

I'm not talking about making a new major bridge. I've dove BHB once, and St. Croix's Frederiksted Pier once. Both are famous, and have something big in common...pilings, columns, whatever you want to call them. That's what things grow on. I saw a number of things at BHB that weren't directly on pilings, but the structure draws in animals seeking shelter, prey, etc...

So let's say a city wanted a similar dive area. Pick a somewhat sheltered region right off shore, and put in something functionally similar to the pilings. Might not have to be multiple giant concrete cylinders; just as a bicycle frame works with hollow pipes, perhaps the project would work with something cheaper. I don't know what materials would work best.

So far, when I hear 'artificial reef,' I think of deliberately sunken wrecks (which are very expensive and sunken in much deeper water) or clusters of discarded tires (which didn't work and made a mess, plus hermit crabs are prone to die in them).

I'm not saying a city could completely recreate the BHB experience for divers (and let's be clear, they'd include fishermen; maybe there could be different sections), but how much is feasible?

If the ocean is calm then there is an artificial reef that is just off Singer Island beach on the Atlantic side on the same level as BHB. I’ve not dived there yet but have snorkeled off a kayak and paddle board. A bit less known than BHB but also a shallow shore dive with the proper conditions.

 

[Lorenzoid]

@drrich2 , the artificial reef structure is the easy part. The magic of BHB is due to the tides and geography. My guess is it involves multiple factors, such as flow of nutrient-rich water, protected channel behind barrier island, and who knows what. There's something unique about it.

 

[kaylee_ann]

i've always wanted to go. but i don't want 5,000 other divers surrounding me at all times

 

[Johnoly]

I'm not saying a city could completely recreate the BHB experience for divers ... but how much is feasible?

There actually is a small "Wild Arse Cousin" just like a small BHB. It's called the Cato Bridge in Jupiter/Tequesta.

Been discussed before and I've dove it several times. Great high tide viz, good fish life but limited parking and no showers/bathrooms.

Any other shore dives next to blue heron

.. I'm staying in Palm Bay. So... much closer to Palm Bay is Wabasso Beach(WB) on the north side of Vero Beach. June is a very good month for WB because the winds are usually favorable so the viz is acceptable (YMMV). The WB small reef is about 600ft off shore and the lifeguards can direct you...

scubaboard.com

 

[Rob9876]

So let's say a city wanted a similar dive area. Pick a somewhat sheltered region right off shore, and put in something functionally similar to the pilings. Might not have to be multiple giant concrete cylinders; just as a bicycle frame works with hollow pipes, perhaps the project would work with something cheaper. I don't know what materials would work best.

So far, when I hear 'artificial reef,' I think of deliberately sunken wrecks (which are very expensive and sunken in much deeper water) or clusters of discarded tires (which didn't work and made a mess, plus hermit crabs are prone to die in them).

An interesting question, which also crossed my mind from having dove the Frederiksted Pier and BHB also -- such a great variety of life both places, and I wondered what other man-made sites might do to be more like them.

On the Gulf/Panhandle of Florida, they are really deploying a lot of artificial reefs -- not just wrecks (of which they have a lot) but also circular and pyramid reefs. One of the manufacturers of these reefs has some prices listed on its website, which don't look that bad -- though I doubt that includes the cost of actually hauling those out and deploying them.