Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

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Yea, it's getting to be wet suit season again. The water north of Cuba is no longer warm enough to add significant energy to hurricanes, & that means that board shorts season is coming to an end for me. It's something that I both look forward to & don't. Thanks for the report Jenny.

...Of course, not that I said that, the one last storm that is coming up from south of Cuba will probably find a way to prove my forecast wrong.
 
I'm doing my first dive at Blue Herron Bridge Saturday November 16 with some friends. I'm a newly certified open-water diver (this is my 3rd scuba dive following certification!) with a few years freediving experience. They said it should be a relatively easy dive with a lot of opportunity to see many species of lot of fish and a vibrant reef ecosystem and I'm excited to experience it!

Is there any advice from more experienced divers have as to what I should expect from this dive? Any safety concerns beyond the obvious I should keep an eye out for? Any recommendations for a good place to grab lunch after? Thanks in advance!
 
As for safety concerns, stay out of the boat channel & mind the tide/current

If your friends do not know the area, get a local to show you around. The dirty finned scuba goddess that frequents this thread is a good option.

Be in the water at least half an hour before high tide, & more like an hour is better. Mind the current that reverses after high tide passes.

A few blocks east of the little bridge, on the right, there is a little shopping center with a few restaurants like Johnnie Longboats, Castaways, and Two Drunken Goats or you can go west to Broadway, then turn north & look for PA BBQ, or The Brass Ring. You can turn left on Northlake & find a Vietnamese place and a dock side seafood place.

Just about a block & a half west of the bridge on the south side of Blue Heron is a little pizza place, but the prices have gone higher than the gourmet shops in the area & unless you want delivery to a boat, they offer nothing special. If you just want a quick sandwich to go, there is a Publix supermarket with a deli counter just west of the bridge on the north side.
 
If your friends know the area, you should be good. Be aware that the vis has not been good lately and you might be able to practice low vis diving! Dive on the high slack tide. Tide chart here: https://tides.net/florida/2157/
Be aware that the bottom, unlike the sandy ocean, is considered "live," and many critters make their home in the sand, rubble, and sea grasses. Please be courteous of those inhabitants and of other divers.
Grabbing lunch? Oh my, lots of places. Two Drunken Goats on Singer Island, a half mile away. Brass Ring north on US 1 a couple miles, PA BBQ little further north on the left. There's a good mexican restaurant, at least it used to be, on Northlake near the Costco. I'm sure there's others that are favorites for the trolls
 
How are the conditions recently? I am staying in Pompona and trying to think if it is worth the drive. Should I go with a guide/group, e.g., Pura Vida, or doable on our own? I understand diver flux is required - all the time or just before ascending? One per pair of buddies or one for each? Can these be rented? Finally, any scuba-boarders thinking of diving next Monday high-tide by any chance? Are any scuba-boarders thinking of diving next Monday at high tide?
 
You mean diver flag? Yes, each group is required to have a dive flag and it must be towed the duration of the dive. Yes, they can be rented. If you have never dived there, I recommend a guide the first time. You don't have to have one, but locals know the terrain and tides, and know where to go when to avoid getting sucked or pushed one way or another. There are signs at the site and a ton of info on the youtubes that can be helpful if you choose to go it sans guide.
Sorry, no can do on Monday. I am working.
 
You mean diver flag? Yes, each group is required to have a dive flag and it must be towed the duration of the dive. Yes, they can be rented. If you have never dived there, I recommend a guide the first time. You don't have to have one, but locals know the terrain and tides, and know where to go when to avoid getting sucked or pushed one way or another. There are signs at the site and a ton of info on the youtubes that can be helpful if you choose to go it sans guide.
Sorry, no can do on Monday. I am working.

@Scuba_Jenny is one of the best guides for this location as I was told by few people.
 
You mean diver flag? Yes, each group is required to have a dive flag and it must be towed the duration of the dive. Yes, they can be rented. If you have never dived there, I recommend a guide the first time. You don't have to have one, but locals know the terrain and tides, and know where to go when to avoid getting sucked or pushed one way or another. There are signs at the site and a ton of info on the youtubes that can be helpful if you choose to go it sans guide.
Sorry, no can do on Monday. I am working.
Are you available Tuesday pm? We flight back Wed PM, so that's cutting it close, but that's not a deep dive, so it's likely we'll be fine.
 
Wish I could. Unfortunately I have a previous commitment.
 
We had also been out of the water for too long due to a variety of reasons. We decided to try our luck on a Saturday and were pleasantly surprised to find a parking spot .. Even more excited when we could actually see the bottom when looking over the fishing bridge. For sure, there are a lot more divers kicking up sand and more anglers, kayakers, and boaters on the weekends but ... the BHB was still a treat! Sharing a few screen shots of Nat's pics for inspiration. We had about 15 ft at times ...


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