Blue Heron Bridge Dive Buddy for 6/21

[Bacchus_fl]

Hello All,

I am new to this board and to scuba diving in general for that matter. I live in central Florida and will be making a trip down to West Palm Beach this weekend for my birthday. Unfortunately my dive partner had to back out so I don't have anybody to dive the bridge with. I know it is an easy dive but because I've never been there and I'm not a seasoned diver I would prefer to go with somebody else or a group. So I wanted to see if anybody out there is planning to dive blue heron on Saturday during the afternoon high tide around 3-4pm. If so I'd love to tag along if you don't mind. I'm not a needy diver and will stay out of the way but would just like the security of being with somebody who know the area and could help me if there was trouble for any reason. Please let me know!

I would also be interested to hear any tips about the bridge dive if I do end up going it alone.

Thanks in advance!
Jason

 

[annasea]

Yikes, 63 reads and not a single reply. Hopefully, you've got some PMs.

If you don't get any responses here, maybe try contacting the nearby dive shops, Force-E or Pura Vida for tips on diving the bridge. I know Pura Vida offers guides, but they're rather pricey, IMO.

BTW, welcome to SB, Jason.

 

[MrChen]

Contact Scuba_Jenny?

Jason, there's a thread with like 600 pages dedicated to BHB. Post there and/or try sending a message to Jenny. I'd join you, but I have to be with my kids on the weekend while my wife works.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Contact Scuba_Jenny?

Jason, there's a thread with like 600 pages dedicated to BHB. Post there and/or try sending a message to Jenny. I'd join you, but I have to be with my kids on the weekend while my wife works.

thank You Annasea and Mrchen. I didn't get these responses until now so I will need to check my notifications.

i never heard back from anybody but as you mentioned I may have posted in the wrong area and should have written on the BHB forum.

i ended up braving it alone and while I would always prefer to have a partner for safety reasons the dive was very simple. There were also a ton of other divers around so if I really needed something There was help available.

I am glad I did because The dive itself was AMAZING! I can't believe how much I saw in such a small area. Will be going back regularly!

I also went on a 2 tank boat dive with PuraVida. Also great dives but for some reason the vis was only about 30'. On the second dive I was following along with an instructor and his student when the student had buoyancy issues. While the instructor was tending to him I noticed that I had lost sight of everybody else. Thinking they would be done in a minute I just hung out waiting for them. Then they ascended unexpectedly and were out of sight in no time. Now I was 60' deep and alone and already drifted past the reef waiting for them. I didn't want to call it because I still had about 15min of bottom time left so I tried swimming back towards where I believed the reef to be but the current was too strong and I decided to ascend as well.

Point of the story is that I need to find some more scuba friends so I don't have to go it alone . My wife is certified but one of us has to watch my 4yr old.

Thanks again for your responses!
jason

 

[MrChen]

Jason, I'm always looking for reliable dive buddies. The ones that show up when they say they will . Send me a PM. Tomorrow (Wed) I'm going out with Stuart Scuba out of Stuart at 6pm (very excited!) and Thursday is a BHB night dive sponsored by Force-E. You are welcome to join me on either or both dives.

There's also the Vero Beach Scuba Club, they have a nice facebook group page. They welcome all to the page and offer some bennies if you pay the $10/year fee. I've met my best dive buddies through the BHB Troll forum, some (like Scuba Mom (DiveDivaDM) & Dad (Jimw) and Tim (DJTimmy)) which have had a profound influence on me as a newer diver. If you see Sheeper, he's one of the guys running the Vero Beach Scuba Club. I dove with him up in Vero and it was a pleasure meeting him.

Anyways, send me a PM if you interested in hooking up for a dive. I've got a few more planned in the coming weeks.

 

[Bubblehead628]

Jason where in Central Fl are you located? I'm in the Daytona Beach area and we have a large active dive club here. My wife and I dive BHB often and would be happy to have you join us.

Doug

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Hey Doug, I'm located in debary. I live on the St. John's so Daytona area is not far from me at all. Actually got my open water from Michele at the discover diving center in port orange. Please send me a any info on the local dive club.

mrchen, thank you for being so open. I would LOVE to join you for the dives this week but unfortunately I live too far away to make many day trips on such short notice. (About 6-7 hrs round trip to BHB). However I would like to get more involved with people like yourself and group so that I can be an active diver and learn from those more experienced than myself.

Also so you mentioned vero beach which is now part of my sales territory so I will be there once a month if not more so I would be interested in any diving in the area. I will send you a pm now.

Thanks again! I can't wait to get to know more people and learn from them so that I can become and active ( and safe) diver.

 

[Andy Lazar]

I'm in Ocala and go to WPB and the BHB often. Send me a facebook friend and we'll try to work something out.

 

[Bubblehead628]

Hey Jason,

The Daytona Beach Dive Club is affiliated with Spruce Creek Scuba in Port Orange 386-676-1727 They meet at the Golden Corral in Port Orange @ 7:00 PM every second Monday, the next one is July 14th. You may be interested in the Volusia County Artificial Reefs Research Dive Team (all volunteers) which meets every 4th Thursday @ 7:30 PM in the South Daytona Police Department training room The Artificial Reefs of Volusia County, Florida

Doug