Beach Diving in Hollywood
The landscape below the surface is pristine and calm and the exploration is there for the taking.
(Photo by Mike Rosenfield)
Standard scuba (Photo by Mike Rosenfield)
equipment plus the
following are needed
for a beach dive:
Decent health (i.e. you can
swim for a couple hours)
Dive Buddy
Compass
Dive flag
Recommended:
Camera
Ocean State:
Calm water to light chop
of two feet or less
Hollywood Beach is a great place to start beach diving. The reef is close to the beach and water is shallow, yet there is an exciting underwater world to be explored here.
Park the car, don the equipment and march into the water; it’s that simple. Beach diving is the most convenient of ways to dive. There are no time schedules and no waiting. There is no loading and unloading boats. The dive is free and its location is by choice.
Park anywhere within the Hollywood beach boardwalk near Pierce Street. Take note of the buildings in front of your intended point of entry. This is where you need to come back to!
Begin by inflating the buoyancy compensator (BC) and walking into the water with fins in hand until it’s waste deep, then slip the fins on. It’s easy to get to the reef; a ten-minute paddle on your back will give way to the outskirts of it. Take note of the direction of current; there is usually a gentle current to the north or south. Angle your surface swim into (opposite) the direction of current to avoid being swept to far away from your point of entry.
Fifty yards east of the beach, with the regulator in-mouth, taking note of orientation (distance north or south from the point of entry) and time, coordinate with your buddy and gently release the air in the BC. The underwater adventure has begun!
Fifteen feet below is a sandy seafloor dotted with patches of coral around which fish gently glide past. Coral structures and marine life become more concentrated moving east. The goal of this dive is to reach the ledge of the reef where the seascape is breathtaking! Swim a few feet above the coral floor to avoid cuts or harming the coral. The swim continues eastward, some parts of the journey are shallow thus magnifying a back and forth current as water rushes over the reef. Don’t let that frighten you; it’s usually mild and only adds to the excitement of the adventure. Swim on and suddenly the ocean will take on a darker hue sending adrenaline through your body. It’s a heart pounding darkness whose mysteries cannot be discerned very quickly. Yet, in another few feet the ledge unveils itself.
It is an underwater city whose buildings are composed of living rock designed by DNA. Countless fish adorned in scaled coats of brilliant pastels inhabit the ledge.
Experienced divers can fine-tune their buoyancy to hover as if in space causing an insatiable curiosity amongst nearby fish. Closer and closer they dare each to come, until one fish is brave enough to touch the strange alien. After the first, many more come to inspect the being an equally close range. So odd they must think us to be. Round and round they circle, perhaps wondering what we are.
Swim along the ledge and look into the crevices where thousands of fish maybe hiding. Notice the stingrays lying flat on sandy stretches seafloor. Look at schools of fish that pass overhead like clouds on a spring day. Turtles often paddle past en route to some unknown destination. Observe nature and feel one with it.
When air pressure is reduced to 1000 pounds per square inch (psi) it’s time to think about your return. Look at the compass determine where west is and begin the swim back across the reef. When the pressure is reduced to 500 psi it’s time to ascend to begin the final surface swim back to the beach. Save the last bit of air for any crazy boaters who may not be paying attention to your flag! If boaters do look like they may hit you, dive below!
Lastly, take the fins off, stand up and walk out of the water. Sunbathers on the beach often stare at approaching divers. “Did you catch any lobster?” is a common question.