Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

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I believe that it was actually rental apartments at one point.
I'm not sure it was rental apartments. I believe for a long period of it was a mom & pop type motel, not catering to divers in particular. I recall it being for sale for a long time at least a year. Unfortunately the parking is not ideal, and I get the feeling its a bare basics kind of place. I recall the place being sold and the new "Open Water Resorts" sign going up, about a year ago. I have yet to see the parking lot along Blue Heron Boulevard filled to capacity. Just from casual observation there does not seem to be a lot activity there. They call themselves a resort and have a nice website but I don't see anything about renting gear, and/or doing tank fills. Granted, Pura Vida and Force E are close but it would be ideal if they rented gear and did tank fills. Just speculation on my part, but I am guessing it would take a sizable investment to be able to do so. Or perhaps it is a zoning issue that disallows them to act as "scuba shop" as well as a "resort".

In terms of staying there and using there dock/beach area for diving the BHB area it is not ideal because of its north east location and the prevailing currents. If an individual wants to start their dive an hour before high tide then they have to fight the incoming current to do any part of BHB other than the section north of the east span bridge. They can wait until tide slacks and work there way south or southwest to the snorkel trail, but it just isn't ideal. Also they do wait for slack tide to move south and west, if they want to get back to their entry point for an exit they have to fight the outgoing current of deteriorated visibility. If they happen to have a DPV it changes the ball game considerably, making it easy to access any place including the west span. Probably what would be the best strategy is do the northeast section, wait for slack tide to south section or snorkel trail, exit at on southeast section of beach at the park, and walk back to the resort by crossing the street and walking across the east span.

Same applies for doing night dives, no limit on when they can enter the water for a night dive, but it presents the same issue of returning. Given the park is closed at night, I doubt the Sheriff's department patrols the southeast section of beach. So even for a night dive using the southeast section of beach in the park might be a good alternative for an exit point.

So if an individual hasn't stayed there before and they haven't done BHB before, everything I have written above might come as a bit of shock to someone who thinks they are going to walk out the backdoor and dive BHB without encumberance.
 
They say on the website that they are opening a cafe and have a beer/wine license. Pool, garden, beach rooms as low as $125-175/night. They state they have 18 bungalows. I would love to see some reviews, including the diving from there. I would be surprised if they offered equipment rental, tank fills, tanks.
 
Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 0700 for an 0801 high tide. The park was uncrowded, as uncrowded as a very rainy day. Entered the water on the westside at 0720. Visibility was 40ft and sea temp was 86f. Did a REEF fish count 75 species in 60 minutes. Resident school of Scaled Sardines and Redear Sardines were in place at the westside entrance. Found a Peanut Worm (exact species unknown) and filmed it early in the dive. I have seen these twice before on early morning dives. I believe they are nocturnal and bury themselves in the sand during the day. Sometimes they are still out and about early in the morning. I filmed a pair of Sailfin Blennies today, the same as I took stills of last week. The male seemed rather agitated, in the clip you can see why, the female has taken over his wormhole and he wants it back. Found a seahorse in an algae patch, took an image and backed off. As I was observing something else a pair of divers went swimming towards the seahorse. I watched to see if they would find it, or pass it right buy. Both of them swam right over it and missed it, I didn't bother clueing them into its presence. Lastly it seemed like Bluethroat Pikeblennies were everywhere this morning. Usually on the REEF fish counts I mark F (few), between 2-10 individuals. Today I marked M (many) for between 11-100 individuals, I counted 18 today. Respectively, Black Grouper, Juvenile Spiny Lobster (i think), Lined Seahorse, video of Peanut Worm, video of Sailfin Blennies, and video of Bluethroat Pikeblennies.

08-11-22 Black Grouper.jpeg
08-11-22 Juvenile Spiny Lobster.jpeg
08-11-22 Seahorse.jpeg



 
Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 0710 for an 0845 hightide. The park was not crowded, though there were more people than yesterday. Entered the water on the westside at 0728. Visibility was 45ft, sea temp 85f, and current was stronger than usual (perhaps because of the full moon). Did a REEF fish count 73 species in 60 minutes. I might have observed a Dwarf Shy Blenny today but it darted away before I could photograph it. Quoting Humann's fourth edition, "The genus Starksia includes numerous small, shy, secretive blennies seldom sighted by divers. Recently DNA analyses determined that many previously described species are actually multiple similar-appearing species, each living within a limited geographical range. At the time of writing (2014) 25 species have been described in the genus and more are expected to be added. The group may eventually become the largest genera of fishes in the Tropical Western Atlantic." I love the irony of the largest genera of fishes in the the Tropical Western Atlantic, rarely being observed by divers! Water looked nice and blue today so I did so wide angle shots, notice the distortion on the iphone camera at max wide angle. Respectively, Pier Stanchions facing north, north end of channel barrier facing south, Red Lionfish (located at rubble pile under pier), and pair of Southern Puffers.

08-12-22 Bridge Stantion .jpeg
08-12-22 Channel Barrier.jpeg
08-12-22 Lionfish.jpeg
08-12-22 Southern Puffers.jpeg
 
... I love the irony of the largest genera of fishes in the the Tropical Western Atlantic, rarely being observed by divers! ....

I have fished & dove a lot of the same spots. I know from frequent experience that I catch certain types of fish regularly in certain areas, but when I dive there, I only see different fish. This is as true when free diving as it is when using noisy old open-circuit SCUBA. There are plenty of fish that hide from divers quite effectively. Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean that they are not there.

I see most of my Blennies when scraping boat bottoms. Once their cover has been removed, they are often forced out in the open, left confused, & more easily seen.
 
Did a night dive last night. High tide 8:50 pm. Best described as a pleasant dive. Just nice to be in the water diving, didn't see anything overly awesome in the 2 hour dive.
Photos coming. at the rate I'm processing them, it might be Christmas by the time I post! LOL
Weather looks spectacular for beach diving. Finally.
 
Went to the bridge for diving today. ... trim ... Respectively, Black Grouper, Juvenile Spiny Lobster (i think), Lined Seahorse, video of Peanut Worm, video of Sailfin Blennies, and video of Bluethroat Pikeblennies.

That peanut worm looks a lot like a feather mouth sea cucumber. Is this the same animal, and just a different name?
 
Went to the bridge for diving yesterday. Arrived at 0930 for an 1140 high tide. When I arrived at the park it was not crowded, but filled up quickly. I was little surprised at the amount of people for a Monday, given that school started in Palm Beach County on August 10. Visibility was 50ft and sea temp was 86f. Snorkeled that trail first and did a REEF fish count, 57 species in 60 minutes. Entered the westside on scuba at 1055. Did another REEF fish count 63 species in 60 minutes. By the time I left the park at 1315 was not crowded at all, i.e. far more divers than beach goers in attendance. Respectively, Lesser Spotted Moray Eel, Very Spotted Moray Eel, Spotted Trunkfish, Shark Statue Wide Angle, and Flounder Duet Video.

08-15-22 Lesser Spotted Moray Eel.jpeg
08-15-22 Very Spotted Moray Eel.jpeg
08-15-22 Spotted Trunkfish.jpeg
08-15-22 Wide Angle Shark Statues.jpeg

 
Any one diving the BHB this week dont mind some company?

Came out here to see the Goliath Grouper hopefully w Jupiter Dive center. But interested in the BHB dive particularly foe Night dive. Pls pm me. Thanks.
 
My wife and I will be diving in Key Largo, Aug 25th thru the 29th. Tides are favorable, so we're making the drive up to do a night dive at the BHB next Friday night for the Force-E sponsored night dive. We're hiring a guide because we've never dove it and want to make sure we're with someone who knows what they're doing for the best chance to see "stuff", but any advice here?
 

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