Blue Heron Bridge Trolls

[EL Pistoffo]

JahJah,


---------- Post added July 22nd, 2014 at 09:51 AM ----------

[video=youtube_share;dgdabfvr2B0]http://youtu.be/dgdabfvr2B0?t=44s[/video]

That's pretty much how my last night dive at the bridge looked like. I'll be avoiding the herd this Friday night.

---------- Post added July 22nd, 2014 at 05:29 PM ----------

How about some more parking. Maybe move some of the boat parking to automobile parking. How often does the auto lot fill vs the trailer lot?

This^

 

[djtimmy77]

I see the videographer went into the channel on that video! tsk tsk.

I can deal with the parking issues, the roto tillers, classes, photographers moving subjects, etc....but the one thing I wish there was a way to influence would be keeping boats out of the shallow areas. I can think of ways to effectively do this, but that might lead to keeping divers constrained inside those areas, which we obviously wouldn't want, as some deeper areas that we currently can go also need to be used by boats.

 

[adurso]

On that note, thought you were planning on spending some time at Coconut Creek right around now??

Yep, but got jammed up with stuff not related to diving, that work stuff.

Maybe in August

 

[T.C.]

You are probably right on this....but in thinking of the quality of the experience, and the health of the underwater life at the BHB, I would like to use the model you see in some Eco-Island type areas--no one is allowed to touch the bottom --certainly NEVER to stand on the coral bottom....they are not allowed to wear gloves( which I would omit as meaningless here), and the operators enforce this....

Yes, all these rules exist. I will use an example of Bonaire; well-known for it's park rules. But how often are they enforced? Has anyone been kicked out of Bonaire or banned since Captain Don calmed down? I think that we don't see it at these places because of the cost. How many brand-new divers, without a senior dive buddy, go to Bonaire? Or is the more experienced divers, the ones who've learned buoyancy control, who make up the larger population of Bonaire divers?

To be certain; there are bad ones. I dove with a group from Brazil who thought fins were for kicking up the bottom (and were promptly reported to Augusto) and a camera-guy who thought nothing of wrenching off a living coral head to get a place to set his camera. He was from another resort...so my solution (in anger, I admit) was to silt-bomb him, and deliver a handful of "inadvertent" fin slaps as I swam about 10 inches over him. Not the best way to handle it, but, damn, it gave me satisfaction.

So, in speaking of taking matters into one's own hands; what can the Agencies and Shops do about this? If we can record instructors and classes screwing up, silting, walking on the bottom, etc.; can we report them to their agencies? A few moments of BS'ing with them can gather their name, shop, and enough info to identify them; and a video of them, and enough complaints should generate enough interest to at least get them a warning...or perhaps their instructor card pulled.

What about a series of wanted posters? You know; "Instructor Silty McKneely wanted for the murder of 5 Nudibranchs and the destruction of visibility", and a picture of the offender, posted widely at the park?

A email and photo send back to the shop they work for? Some feedback left on their shop's and personal FaceBook pages?

The point is that I don't think that anyone at the bridge will ever take action against bad instructors. So what can the community do about it?

 

[Arubandi07]

Yep, but got jammed up with stuff not related to diving, that work stuff.

Maybe in August

As of now, not doing Aruba this summer, so I'm gonna be around ... Keep me posted.

In re to MrChen's 'parking' suggestion: How about respective volume/occupancy-based, temporary conversion of some of the trailer parking area? Of course, that would require someone in charge of assessing the situation and dealing with the logistics involved.(Thinking Fri-Sun, and possibly some of the 'bigger' Holidays).

 

[adurso]

As of now, not doing Aruba this summer, so I'm gonna be around ... Keep me posted.

In re to MrChen's 'parking' suggestion: How about respective volume/occupancy-based, temporary conversion of some of the trailer parking area? Of course, that would require someone in charge of assessing the situation and dealing with the logistics involved.(Thinking Fri-Sun, and possibly some of the 'bigger' Holidays).

Will do

I need to get at least a handful of dives in at the bridge

 

[Biminitwist]

We observed a new atrocity at BHB while making entry at the sailboat launch as a commercial boat pulled up 15 feet from shore literally between the bridge footers. They produced a very large cast net and proceeded to destroy the bottom with it. Their technique involved throwing the net and moving the boat so dragging the bottom badly. They did this all across the west side, thru nudie world and back to the swim area. I doubt a dive kiosk in the park would influence these guys. They did move when I asked them to stop trying to make me by catch. I was probably 20 feet from Kelly's implausibly tall flag.

Visibility was bizarre, about 20 feet south of the bridge but it would never push north past the second set of legs where it stayed a hazy 5 feet. Tons of cool things to image.
When the tide turned the vis dropped to 3 feet.
Hopefully it will improve for night dive.
Will try to get some pictures up from the last few dives.
John

 

[Ghetto Diver]

I missed the drag-netting, but it doesn't surprise me.

Viz was poor (I favor the West side) but plenty of critters to be seen.

How tall is this flagpole you are referring to?
Mine is pretty hard to miss.


Sent from my iPhone from my momma's basement

 

[danvolker]

We observed a new atrocity at BHB while making entry at the sailboat launch as a commercial boat pulled up 15 feet from shore literally between the bridge footers. They produced a very large cast net and proceeded to destroy the bottom with it. Their technique involved throwing the net and moving the boat so dragging the bottom badly. They did this all across the west side, thru nudie world and back to the swim area. I doubt a dive kiosk in the park would influence these guys. They did move when I asked them to stop trying to make me by catch. I was probably 20 feet from Kelly's implausibly tall flag.

Visibility was bizarre, about 20 feet south of the bridge but it would never push north past the second set of legs where it stayed a hazy 5 feet. Tons of cool things to image.
When the tide turned the vis dropped to 3 feet.
Hopefully it will improve for night dive.
Will try to get some pictures up from the last few dives.
John

Any id on the boat ????...I would love to identify this boat, and get Law Enforcement involved......and if somehow this was not illegal, then the immediate thing to do is to acquaint the Park service of this, to prevent further transgressions.

 

[DiveDivaDM]

We observed a new atrocity at BHB while making entry at the sailboat launch as a commercial boat pulled up 15 feet from shore literally between the bridge footers. They produced a very large cast net and proceeded to destroy the bottom with it. Their technique involved throwing the net and moving the boat so dragging the bottom badly. They did this all across the west side, thru nudie world and back to the swim area. I doubt a dive kiosk in the park would influence these guys. They did move when I asked them to stop trying to make me by catch. I was probably 20 feet from Kelly's implausibly tall flag.

Visibility was bizarre, about 20 feet south of the bridge but it would never push north past the second set of legs where it stayed a hazy 5 feet. Tons of cool things to image.
When the tide turned the vis dropped to 3 feet.
Hopefully it will improve for night dive.
Will try to get some pictures up from the last few dives.
John

Any pics of the offender to turn over to FWC? That really pisses me off. We clearly need bigger weapons. Surface to air missles. Thanks for the viz report. Jimw, Mr. Chen and I are going tonight. Sorry for the rant.

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2014 at 11:43 AM ----------

Any id on the boat ????...I would love to identify this boat, and get Law Enforcement involved......and if somehow this was not illegal, then the immediate thing to do is to acquaint the Park service of this, to prevent further transgressions.

Dan, I believe there is no commercial collection. Would this fall in this catagory? OMG! I am so mad.