Barracuda | Video Dude Productions

Friday, July 2nd finds the Video Dude and Ultra-Faboo dive buddy “Hall of Famous” Joanie out diving at Blue Heron Bridge with a group from the South Florida Divers Dive Club. Conditions were clear and currents were manageable as we got in and began our dive. Joanie was my “guide” for this trip as she had discovered a new area to dive in on her last trip here. We began our dive directly off the beach and over to the mooring balls where I experienced a whole new dive site for the first time.

There were lots of small coral heads with juvenile fish, Arrow Crabs and Banded Shrimp and there were larger reefs made up from everything from pipes to shopping carts to submerged boats. Along the way we came across a Batfish, Yellow Stingray, Barracuda, Juvenile Angelfish, Stonefish and even a small Octopus! Joanie also showed me a submerged boat that had a mirror placed on it to attract fish. She had gotten a photo of herself in the mirror the last time she was there, so I tried my hand at getting a shot of myself with the video camera.

After over 90 minutes under water, we reluctantly had to come up and end the dive. I am definitely going back to those spots again. It was nice to explore something new and look for cool new things!

2.2.10 – Divemaster Report

February 2nd finds the Video Dude donning his Divemaster hat and working aboard Parrot Island Scuba’s “Fathoms O’ Fun” for the day. It was a beautiful day for diving with partly cloudy skies, mild temperatures and flat seas.

The morning trip had 6 divers aboard and was headed for a popular wreck site, the “RSB-1″ and “Razzle Dazzle Reef”. After getting everyone’s gear aboard and handing out whatever rental gear was needed, we get underway. Captain George gets us out to the site in no time, and I am jumping in to tie off the descent line to the wreck. Very little current on the bottom made for a nice dive for everyone and reports came back that there were lots of Barracuda and a couple of Goliath Grouper. While the divers are down, George and I begin to notice what would be the omen for the afternoon, Man o’ War jellyfish are starting to show up. Carefully, I jump in and retrieve the descent line and we head off to our next dive site.

After gear changeovers and surface intervals are complete, I get the divers divided into groups and ready to jump in for their drift dives. George positions us over the reef and the divers jump in for a nice leisurely drift along the reef. After about 40 minutes bottom time, the groups begin coming to the surface and I assist everyone back onboard. Reports of Lobster, Green Morays, and schools of various fish pass between the divers as we head back to the dock.

The afternoon trip is headed out for the “Sea Emperor” and “Lighthouse Ledge” reef. This trip has a family of 4 aboard and they are all very excited about seeing the wreck and reef. I get everyone’s gear aboard and make sure they have everything they need, then it’s off the our first dive site. Captain George gets us out to the wreck in good time and I jump in to tie off the wreck line. It’s gonna be a good dive for the family as conditions were good down below. Just as everyone began jumping in, a Man o’ War jelly got caught on the descent line and 2 of the divers caught a tentacle across the hand. The whole group proceeded with their dives, and while they were down, I was making sure the jellyfish didn’t get caught on the ladders or the dive line. Just as I had the line cleared, 2 of the divers came up and another jellyfish got caught on the line. This time the other 2 divers got minor stings. After everyone was onboard and gear secured, I administered some first aid for everyone and they began to feel the stings less.

Surface intervals done and gear changed over, George takes us out to “Lighthouse Ledge” for a drift dive along the reef. Wary of the jellyfish this time, the family jumps in and starts their dive. While they are diving, I am sitting on the dive platform with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass picking tentacles off of the dive line, so the next person to use it won’t get stung. No incidents of stings this time as they get back on the boat, and they were all excited to report the things they saw. The family had a great time on their dives and they are planning to come back again.

6.08.09 – Blue Heron Bridge – My 500th Dive!

Hello everyone.

Monday June 8th finds the Video Dude and dive buddy “Hall of Famous” Joanie diving under Blue Heron Bridge. This is my 500th (non-teaching) dive and Joanie is working on her photography skills for her upcoming trip to Indonesia (lucky duck!). The weather was very cooperative and high tide was scheduled for 9:10am. We arrived at the bridge @8:30am and began setting up our gear. After our final buddy checks, we head for the shoreline and make our way into the water to finish getting our fins on and any last-second final adjustments.

Then it’s off to the pilings on the west side to see what we can see. Visibility turned out to not be so great, maybe 10ft or so, so we had to stick close together. We right away found lots of Starfish and the ever-present Sea Urchins with their shell camouflage. We actually saw an urchin using a plastic cough syrup bottle for camouflage! I haven’t laughed like that in a while! Zig-zagging around the pilings we also came across a Batfish, Arrow Crabs the size of Frisbees, Banded Shrimp, Barracuda, Spadefish, Hermit Crabs, Lobsters, Sheepshead and Hogfish. It was definitely a full-variety day to be sure!

After close to 80 minutes underwater, we decide to head back to the beach. It was a nice leisurely swim back and we finally bumped into another couple that were just heading over to the bridge. We basically had the whole place to ourselves until then! It was a great spot for my 500th dive and having a great dive buddy along made it even better!

Here’s to the NEXT 500 dives in Paradise!!

The Video Dude

Video Dude Productions

Posts Tagged ‘Barracuda’

7.2.10 – Blue Heron Bridge Video Shoot

2.2.10 – Divemaster Report

6.08.09 – Blue Heron Bridge – My 500th Dive!

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