Miami area shore/boat diving, BHB

[DennisW]

Lisa,

The Miami part of the title threw me off and I never looked at this thread. Good information here and on the BHB thread. I sent you an e-mail and hopefully we can go diving.

 

[Jupiter31]

Yikes, Upstate New York is my neighborhood!

Jupiter31, thanks for all the good, detailed info on BHB and the tip re RJ's. Will Force E (I hope that's the right name) be the best place for me to rent a tank and weights for BHB?

Now I just have to figure out when I can go and meet up with some of you BHB trolls!

Yes - Force E is on the right side (south side) of the road in a small strip center just east of US1/Federal Hway You can't miss it

 

[lsorenson]

Current temps around 70. I'm wearing a 5mm full plus a 3mm vest and beanie. And a skin underneath. It keeps me comfy for the average 2 hour BHB dive. Depending on time of day and air temp you'll want a fleece or something warm to change into after you get out.

Jet, if your going in for 2 hours... How do you go about this? 2 hours before high tide, cheat high tide by an hour giving you one hour on both sides?

High tide is twice a day... any reason not to hit it twice? We will be coming down from NC and would like to spend 2 or 3 days and one dive a day, well, would rather have at least 2 if possible...

lee

 

[jet126]

Jet, if your going in for 2 hours... How do you go about this? 2 hours before high tide, cheat high tide by an hour giving you one hour on both sides?

High tide is twice a day... any reason not to hit it twice? We will be coming down from NC and would like to spend 2 or 3 days and one dive a day, well, would rather have at least 2 if possible...

lee

An hour on both sides. Some people can stretch it even longer but those are the macro photographers who stay in one place for 20-30 minutes. I'm the "spotter" for the Video Dude so we are generally moving if nothing catches our attention.

I get in the water an hour before high tide. e.g. If High Tide is 1:30 I'll enter at 12:30 and exit at 2:30. Of course all this depends on viz and currents. You can instantly tell when it's Time To Go. The viz drops to nothing and the current gets uncomfortably strong. Point your compass east and head in.

I don't know if you can do two dives in one day. I suppose it's possible. I honestly have not ever really looked as I'm heading home after my dive (50 miles to Hollywood!) and have never considered staying up there for a whole day. Phil Foster park is open sun up to sun down and they WILL ticket and tow. Check out Cool Tech's site jamminbeach.com. Lots of really useful information about the do's and don'ts of the park.

There are a lot of good dive shops very close to BHB. Another good option would be to do your BHB dive and then coordinate with a dive operator to do a boat dive for your other dive(s).

 

[Beiji]

Yes - Force E is on the right side (south side) of the road in a small strip center just east of US1/Federal Hway You can't miss it

Thanks, Jupiter.

Thanks, Jet, for the additional useful info.

 

[mntlblok]

What he said, but think about LBTS, too...it's about halfway home from BHB. Distance-wise a little more of a walk, but not much (I'm 56, so I know what you mean). Certainly different from BHB, but very cool in it's own way. Maybe a morning BHB and afternoon LBTS combo?

I'm looking at maybe doing both early morning dives at BHB Saturday and Sunday this week, and *maybe* give LBTS a go on Saturday afternoon. (Gonna give Jupiter Mermaid a call on my drive over to the east coast (lost out in my west coast tennis tournament), skirting *north* of Lake Okeechobee this time.

I'd *really* like to hear from anyone who has divven LBTS of late. I love this web cam: Windjammer Beach Resort - Live HD Web Cam Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida , but I'm just not sure how (or if) it relates to viz conditions. Might it be a day or two "ahead" of the viz? For example, if it is flat calm via the web cam on a given morning, yet was rough the previous day, does that tell me anything about what the viz will be like?

I've twice now tried rough surf there just to see what it would be like under water - and *really* wanted to test out new camera gear. I've concluded that less than ten feet of viz with a large surge is not what I'm looking for.

Bottom line, any insights for LBTS diving this weekend? TIA Think I'll copy and paste this to a new thread, as well.

Kevin
Savannah