Pepper Park Ft Pierce Beach Dive - Down to 60

Pepper Park is a nice simple shore dive in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The park and beach access are FREE, open daylight hours YEAR ROUND, with covered pavilions, restrooms, and rinse showers. This park is excellent for scuba divers just wanting to get a dive in, nav or rescue training, and teaching open water courses.
It’s some of the first “good viz” for beach diving in Florida, if coming from the North. The visibility gradually improves as you get further South on Florida’s East coast. Since the shore gets closer to the Gulf Stream current, this is where it begins to transition into the good stuff.
However, it can still be pretty finicky here, so check the weather forecasts before going, and call a local dive shop in the area for condition reports! Avoid strong winds and waves. It’s usually best between May and August, but learn to read the weather and you might score a good dive year round.
LOOK FOR: Winds from the East for a few days leading up t the dive, then just look for calmer, low winds. *This is not always the case, as there may be residual turbidity from previous events getting blown in from elsewhere. In general, calm and East or SE for a few days are beneficial.
For best visibility, start the dive about 30-40 min before high tide, assuming you’ll dive for about an hour. Not a hard rule, but viz and even wildlife tend to both be more abundant around this time.
Temps are bathwater warm in the summer with no wetsuit required, and a 3mm - 5mm full wetsuit is sufficient in the colder months.
Walk down when you first arrive to make sure conditions are good, and check the current if possible. Then, suit up at the park, grab your dive flag, and walk to the water with your gear on. Fin & mask up once you're waist deep if the waves aren't too bad. Be sure to turn and look at the beach for a landmark, so you can find your way back.
Swim straight out and you'll find three reef lines that run parallel to shore, the first 100 yards out at around 10 feet of depth, the second around 15 feet and third around 20 or so feet deep. You’ll see lots of reef fish, critters, and some decent coral considering the proximity to shore.
This is a great location for a scuba class, rescue diver class, advanced (navigation) training, and just an easy, free dive.
The large covered pavilions, bathrooms, grills, rinse showers and ball courts make this place great for spending time before and after the dive (and of course classes).
Google Map Link: goo.gl/maps/m5...
Address: 3375 N Hwy A1A, Fort Pierce, FL 34949
Information: 772-462-1522
Pavilion Rentals: 772-462-2110
Saint Lucie County Park official website: www.stlucieco....
Video produced by sweetwaterscub...
Voiced by Jonny Green
Special thanks to Dive Instructor Katie Reich
Also a big thanks to Jim and Mary Mincy - who were becoming certified divers during this trip!
Written and edited by Kenneth Dyal

[@NeuburgerEnterprise]

Happy to see someone enjoying my hometown!