Many of us that visit the BHB, have cute little kids run up to us at the water's edge, and ask us what we are seeing....we can feel their excitement, and we get asked if they can borrow a mask, etc.....we want to do something, but in the age of Liability, and with many of these kids actually being non-swimmers, there has never been anything we could really do....
Projectseahorse-BHB.org has it's first event June 26th and 27th in the mornings with high tide. This is a Thursday and Friday. The concept is, this community has a World Famous Dive Destination in it's backyard, and they have been mostly unaware of it---this special place should be something that is good for their lives too....and so with Project Seahorse, the kids that can't swim, will get swimming lessons. The kids that can swim, will be taught to snorkel and gain free use of gear....the kids that are good with a snorkel, will get Discover Scuba or Tooka. Barracuda Bay will be handling the swimming instruction, and Florida Freedivers, teamed with Jim Abernethy Scuba Adventures, and NASE, is handling the free training. Manufacturers like Mares are donating free gear.
This is a full court press by Government Agencies....the Palm Beach Film Commission helped get the ball rolling, then the Sports Commission jumped in to help, then the City of Riviera Beach and Barracuda Bay, and now even the Arts Council!
As to the inconvenience for Scuba Divers on the mornings of June 26 and 27....You are going to be limited to the East side of the BHB those two monrnings...the Snorkel trail and the West Bridge will be in use by the kids, and Sheriffs units will be directing divers to the East side, and keeping boaters out of the area. This will be a heavy News Media event, and the objective is to fix something that is badly broken. On any given weekend, it is hard to count how many little kids are standing in waist deep water, and are doing this as non-swimmers....Often their parents are nearby watching--and they are non-swimmers too. We will be showing them the life changing excitement of the Underwater world in their back yard, and we will be making it hard for them to avoid learning to swim
We apologize for messing up the two dive mornings for some scuba divers, but hope everyone will share in the desire to increase the safety of all these kids, and to improve their lives.
If you want to help in this effort, there will be a way via the
Project Seahorse website and the sponsor section.
There will also be a major Marine Life Presentation between 6 and 10 the 26th and 27th at the Ocean Mall Singer Island, in the park on the beach side....This will include Tropical Island Arts and crafts, photography, etc. If you are and artist, you should contact us about this show !
