Most dives for the $$ in Florida?

[LowVizWiz]

The bridge is tide-dependent you can look up the times here:

Blue Heron Bridge Tides Chart | High Tide | Riviera Beach | South Florida Scuba Diving | Scuba Dive South Florida | SinkFloridaSink.com

I know Force-E sponsors night dives at the bridge too which is probably the best way to do it if you're not familiar with the site.

 

[button]

The bridge is tide-dependent you can look up the times here:

Blue Heron Bridge Tides Chart | High Tide | Riviera Beach | South Florida Scuba Diving | Scuba Dive South Florida | SinkFloridaSink.com

I know Force-E sponsors night dives at the bridge too which is probably the best way to do it if you're not familiar with the site.

I had heard that high tide is the best/only time to dive the bridge.

Thanks for the info on the night diving. My husband really enjoyed the night dive portion of AOW... me, not so much! We'll see.

 

[Jon_R]

If you did AOW night dive off a boat or some remote location the bridge is a lot different. You are in a state park with a very well lit parking lot all of which is under a large causeway. It is probably a lot simpler than a traditional scuba night dive. When you surface at the bridge with a night dive you can see for miles and it is practically daylight from all the lights. Under water some times you don't even need the light unless you are looking for something small. Finding your exit point is pretty trivial and you will have clear view of you car...

I had heard that high tide is the best/only time to dive the bridge.

Thanks for the info on the night diving. My husband really enjoyed the night dive portion of AOW... me, not so much! We'll see.

 

[button]

If you did AOW night dive off a boat or some remote location the bridge is a lot different. You are in a state park with a very well lit parking lot all of which is under a large causeway. It is probably a lot simpler than a traditional scuba night dive. When you surface at the bridge with a night dive you can see for miles and it is practically daylight from all the lights. Under water some times you don't even need the light unless you are looking for something small. Finding your exit point is pretty trivial and you will have clear view of you car...

Good to know! That sounds much more pleasant. My night dive was in a remote, dark quarry with about 20' of vis. Oh, and only on my last 3 dives have I been able to see anything. My mask has been fogging up continuously since I bought it and I was clearing it 10-20 times a dive. Within a minute or two, it would be foggy again.

The folks at the last place finally cleared it up for me by burning my mask. I had literally tried everything to get the gunk off - toothpaste, dish soap, abrasive cleaners... the only thing that ever worked was the lighter trick. Now that I can actually see, I REALLY LOVE diving! So now that I can see, maybe it would be fun to try a night dive again.

 

[iluvtheocean]

a night dive in lauderdale by the sea is even better -- with a full moon it's amazing.

 

[Jon_R]

a night dive in lauderdale by the sea is even better -- with a full moon it's amazing.

Does anything need to be organized for that or can a couple people just go dive?

 

[LowVizWiz]

I had heard that high tide is the best/only time to dive the bridge.

Thanks for the info on the night diving. My husband really enjoyed the night dive portion of AOW... me, not so much! We'll see.

Generally speaking you want to be in the water 30 minutes before high tide and there are maps around that show you the dive areas.
Unfortunately tides are not always compatible with boat schedules so you may have to pick a day just to do that instead of doing multiple dives.

This book is a tad outdated but still a good resource as far as shore diving sites in SoFla goes:
Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Florida's East Coast: Including the Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale and Miami Areas (Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Guides): Susanne Cummings, Stuart Cummings: 9781559920629: Amazon.com: Books

And there's of course the SoFla dive sites bible:
Diving Guide to Underwater Florida, 11th Edition: Ned DeLoach: 9781878348395: Amazon.com: Books

---------- Post added December 17th, 2013 at 03:16 PM ----------

Does anything need to be organized for that or can a couple people just go dive?

The reason I suggested Broward county was exactly because there's nothing hindering you from hitting the water other than the weather itself. Carry a flag and you are good to go. BHB is fantastic, but you are limited by the tides and you can only dive at night with a permit (Which the local dive shop that holds the permit usually sponsor)

At Lauderdale by the Sea, as long as you can find parking you are good to go. (Do pay the meters and be generous you can easily dive the site for 90 minutes and then have to swim back another 15) If your time expires you will have a ticket waiting for you.

There's Vista View Park, Dania Beach Ledges, The Ant Hill, The Jax, Hollywood Beaches, Yellow Brick Road (Also in Hollywood), Hallandale Beach with covered parking! The list goes on...

 

[Steve_C]

Sweeting - putting sewer lines - hence construction zones

 

[uncfnp]

On the dates given for BHB, the weekend of the 17th high tide is am so on Friday could only do boat or bridge but Saturday high tide is 9:30 so with a quick lunch you should be able to do both the bridge and an afternoon 2 tank dive. High tide Sunday is 10:08 so both may be pushing it. No option for a night shore dive at BHB that week. The next weekend high tide is afternoon so you have the potential of both boat am dives and bridge afternoon dives both Saturday and Sunday. I don't see a night dive option then either. You could pick up tanks and weights, and dive flag if you need one, the night before at Force-e right by the bridge and save some time that way.

 

[iluvtheocean]

the only limitations for a night dive at LBTS is a Dive Flag, cash for the meter, and the cul de sac at Datura Avenue closes 9:00 pm weekdays and 11:00 pm Friday and Saturdays, you may need to drop your gear at the end of Datura and go find parking outside the cul de sac. -- but then again right now it's dark by what 6/6:30?

Dania Beach - watch the meters well -- but you can go to dinner afterwards at Quarterdeck since it's right there on the pier.