Another dive season coming up for RI/Jamestown/Newport
- Thread starter tkaelin
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Chip Elliott
Connecticut Yankee
Is there somewhere online you can monitor the water temps?
I use two. This one for water temps NDBC - Station NWPR1 Recent Data
This one for the weather and tide Jamestown
This one for the weather and tide Jamestown
Basking Ridge Diver
Contributor
More importantly - where can you find viz reports? Last few dives this year at FW have been really poor... 
Ah, that's the tricky one. I have been diving Ft W for since the 80s. I can't find any rhyme or reason as to the vis and when it might be good. It may change day to day and from changing tides within a given day. My preference is slack high tide with a wind from the north.
Basking Ridge Diver
Contributor
So in NJ we have a FD dive team that reports out the viz every few days of the week in the inlets. They seem to dive 2 or 3 times a week and generally will give a viz report. It is really helpful when you are deciding to dive. And of course there is a really friendly LDS that is on the Shark River Inlet and if you call them they will do a shell drop while you wait on the phone and give you a report. 5 second to 10 second viz shell drop - again just a general report but gives you an idea of how good or poor it might be...
Nothing like that in the area?
AfterDark
Contributor
I too have been diving FTW since the 1980's. Try outgoing tide just before low slack, I've had the best luck with vis at FTW at that time. The north wind is important too but not required. My guess is that because of the very fine slit on the bottom even tidal movements kick up a slit cloud. An outgoing tide moves the slit cloud away from shore while the incoming tide at slack high has brought the slit cloud closer to shore. I know several other divers that have noticed the same thing. I discovered it by accident, I misread the tide chart and dove at slack low the vis was over 10', which for FTW is outstanding. The next couple of dives I had the same experience diving at low tide, (not misreading tide charts
sometime after that another diver expressed the same experience too me.Contrast that with the bottom make-up off Newport where 10' vis or better is usually the norm. The bottom there is weed covered rocks or sand, no slit. To encounter 30' vis at Newport is rare but possible, 30' vis at FTW hasn't happen that I know of.
The final option for FTW is night diving. Divers at night diver can only see as far as their light allows if that distance is less than the vis then the diver will never know how bad the vis is.
If I hadn't damaged my hand I'd be in the water already but the MD said no submerging the wounds until he says ok. I see him today maybe I'll go diving tomorrow!
I have been using an app called Sea Status, seems to be accurate and gives wave height and tidal info.
I agree, night diving at FTW is a better option. My son has been bugging me to go there for a night dive but we will wait until the water temps go up a bit more.
AfterDark, I am in the same boat, sidelined with an injury. Blew my knee out fighting a fire, had surgery 2 weeks ago. Sucks royally. Was supposed to do some ice dives with my dive rescue team this past winter and had planned to go to Florida for an instructors class but the injury stopped that from happening.
AfterDark
Contributor
Resqdivemedic, at least you can say you where doing something worthwhile blowing out your knee! Thank you for your service. I had a full knee replacement 12-14-16 that was due to time, use/overuse and early arthritis.
This recent injury is so embarrassingly stupid and so much my fault and only my fault that I feel I almost had it coming!
Saw the MD this AM asked him when I could get back into pool he said after to leave here if you like.
I'm thinking Sat may be a good day to open up Afterdark's dive season #49.
This recent injury is so embarrassingly stupid and so much my fault and only my fault that I feel I almost had it coming!
Saw the MD this AM asked him when I could get back into pool he said after to leave here if you like.
I'm thinking Sat may be a good day to open up Afterdark's dive season #49.
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Thanks, AfterDark. Glad to see you got cleared by the MD. Have fun and stay safe. I am hoping to be back in the water by June. I have a pretty good bucket list of dives I would like to do this summer.
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