Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III
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Force-E has posted the 2025 BHB High Tide Schedule. Always a very convenient document to download to your phone, upload to your preferred cloud storage, print out ... whatever works best for you.
www.force-e.com
Blue Heron Bridge - High Tides Table - Force-E Scuba Centers
Plan your diving adventures efficiently with the Blue Heron Bridge High Tide Tables. Access accurate tide schedules to maximize your underwater exploration.
www.force-e.com
thanks. I like the hard copy version. Great for gift giving. LOL
They should be in the stores soon. (free!.. shhh.. don't tell the gift receiver)
They should be in the stores soon. (free!.. shhh.. don't tell the gift receiver)
@tarponchik, any instructor who has properly gotten a permit from the Palm Beach County to do instruction at the bridge, can park until 1000pm for the sake of night diving. It isn't only Pura Vida and Force E. I don't think Pura Vida will extend the permit to anybody who signs a waiver for free anymore. I believe Force E still does.
Went to the bridge yesterday to maybe go diving. Arrived at 0750 for an 0805 high tide. The test for visibility, being a able to see the bottom while standing on the sea wall was a go, but just barely.
Given the air temp, and the vis it did not much put me in the mood to get into diving gear. So I did halfway, got into my wetsuit and snorkeled the trail, so I could do a REEF survey. That was survey # 377 for 2024. I try for a minimum 400 every year. The abyssal diving after the hurricane has put a bit of crimp into the total count for this year, last years count at this time was 418 surveys. If the weather/vis is just half cooperative I should be able to get to 400 anyway. The highlight of the snorkeling was a juvenile Black Drum in shallow water on the eastside next to the seawall. No camera so no images, however.....
I went diving at the bridge Nov 21 and did not do a dive report. By the looks of this thread not to many others having been diving the bridge with any regularity. So, on that Thursday I went diving on the westside. The dive was mostly unremarkable except for finding an Orange Filefish, always a good find, and finding a commensal shrimp that lives in pen shells.
Pen Shells often stick up way above the sand with the shells partially open. If one is careful you can often shine a light down inside and see the soft parts of the animal, without the shell closing tight. I did that with a pen shell, and observed some kind of shrimp I have inside the shell. There were two of them. "Interesting", I thought, never seen that before. But I did not try to get an image, the pen shell did not close up either. I continued on my way and found another pen shell nearby. And yes to my surprise there two more of the shrimp inside. Pen shell would not close, does it sense that the shrimp are inside? I have no idea. I did get images of the second set, not very good. But tentatively identified the shrimp as Pontona mexicana. Respectively, Orangefilefish, Pontona mexicana, Juvenile Spotted Scorpion, and White Grunts.
Went to the bridge yesterday to maybe go diving. Arrived at 0750 for an 0805 high tide. The test for visibility, being a able to see the bottom while standing on the sea wall was a go, but just barely.
Given the air temp, and the vis it did not much put me in the mood to get into diving gear. So I did halfway, got into my wetsuit and snorkeled the trail, so I could do a REEF survey. That was survey # 377 for 2024. I try for a minimum 400 every year. The abyssal diving after the hurricane has put a bit of crimp into the total count for this year, last years count at this time was 418 surveys. If the weather/vis is just half cooperative I should be able to get to 400 anyway. The highlight of the snorkeling was a juvenile Black Drum in shallow water on the eastside next to the seawall. No camera so no images, however.....
I went diving at the bridge Nov 21 and did not do a dive report. By the looks of this thread not to many others having been diving the bridge with any regularity. So, on that Thursday I went diving on the westside. The dive was mostly unremarkable except for finding an Orange Filefish, always a good find, and finding a commensal shrimp that lives in pen shells.
Pen Shells often stick up way above the sand with the shells partially open. If one is careful you can often shine a light down inside and see the soft parts of the animal, without the shell closing tight. I did that with a pen shell, and observed some kind of shrimp I have inside the shell. There were two of them. "Interesting", I thought, never seen that before. But I did not try to get an image, the pen shell did not close up either. I continued on my way and found another pen shell nearby. And yes to my surprise there two more of the shrimp inside. Pen shell would not close, does it sense that the shrimp are inside? I have no idea. I did get images of the second set, not very good. But tentatively identified the shrimp as Pontona mexicana. Respectively, Orangefilefish, Pontona mexicana, Juvenile Spotted Scorpion, and White Grunts.
johndiver999
Contributor
So a dive shop gets a free pass (from the local government) to use a public resource and then wants to charge (sell) - the "free pass" back to the public that paid taxes for the facilities? Is that what I am reading?
Who?
No, the dive shops have to get the same permit, they have to pay for it. Whatever entity, sole instructor or facility must be insured to get the permit. Shops pay more for the permit than a single instructor. So if a shop or instructor want to charge for night dives its up to them, there liability insurance is not free, nor is the permit, nobody is getting a free ride here.
You can read the whole park page Phil Foster Park or you can skip right to the permit part below.
Phil Foster Park Dive Instructor Permit
The point is the county does not allow parking at night for diving, unless the diver is under the supervision of somebody who has a permit, and thusly insured. So under the supervision is very loosely defined, i.e. sign a release and you are under supervision. Apparently Pura Vida does not do that anymore, you have to go with one of their guides. I believe Force E still has a policy of just signing a release and going without one their guides. You would have to ask either shop for their policy. So yeah I have a permit which allows me to conduct night dives there, as does any instructor/shop that gets the permit they required to have for any instructing at the bridge.
Pretty much what @Pipehorse said about Force E. They offer night dives, you go to the shop, fill out the waiver and go on your merry way.
Was up at the bridge on Sunday, vis was dismal, somewhere between 5-10, though the 10 is being generous. No great finds, but was good to be in the water.
Was up at the bridge on Sunday, vis was dismal, somewhere between 5-10, though the 10 is being generous. No great finds, but was good to be in the water.
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