Kelp should be vertical

[gsk3]

Sorry, edited to make more sense.

Jon line is a few feet of rope with a hook on the end that you can use so that hanging on to the anchor line when the line is yanking around doesn't hurt so much. Jersey upline is a huge spool that traditionally had sisal rope on it, for when you can't make it back to the anchor line. You tie into the wreck, ascend on the line so that you can't get blown too far down-current, then cut it once the boat picks you up. The sisal is so it dissolves eventually.

I've never used either personally. Considering a Jon line at some point, but we'll see.

Here's a spool for one:
http://northeastscubasupply.com/store/Dive-Reels/Uplines-Powder-Coated/285ft-Upline/prod_338.html
And an old thread:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/195030-jersey-line-up-line-use.html

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I don't think I would dive in high winds, waves and potential current without a chase boat. Maybe with a scooter, but quite possibly not. I make that decision regularly with respect to our own boat -- I won't dive off it unattended except in the most benign of circumstances. (No current, no wind, tied to a permanent buoy.)

I have to say that I did not PLAN to be picked up by the skiff, and I was embarrassed that it happened. But the current was far more than the captain had briefed, and I wasn't smart enough to pick up the cue from the kelp. That was one of the big learning experiences from this dive -- horizontal kelp is bad news.

I dont want to sound (any more) critical, but I am curious. I pretty much learned to dive on wrecks in NJ which often gave us the opportunity to do anchor dives in pretty strong currents.

When the current was very strong, it was almost impossible to jump off the bow and swim the 10-12 feet to the anchor line, plus it was extremely easy to get swept under the crashing bow and get smacked on the head which could literally be lethal.

When the current was strong we would tie a line to the anchor line, let out some more scope to pull the junction of the anchor line and the line( other rope) to a depth of maybe 15 feet where is was calmer. We would run the rope to the stern, enter the water from the side of the boat or the stern and then crawl forward on the line until we reached the anchor line.

My question is: If the current was so strong on this dive, how were you able to jump from the bow and "make" the anchor line?

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

-line-use.html[/url]

Thanks for the explanation. That sounds like a smart way to go in high currents.

I have occasinally run cave line when I really did not want to miss the anchor line on the way back due to currents. But a Jersey line sounds like a amped up line to deal with strong currents.

 

[Peter Guy]

If no chase boat -- would not have gone without a scooter, but I also can't imagine diving in an area like that without a chase boat. At least in "my world" having a chase boat come to pick you up is just a conditional part of the plan -- it would have been "nice" to come up the anchor line but certainly not critical.

OTOH, as I have written, this WAS a learning experience for us Puget Sound Wienies!

-------------------
To respond to questions:

a. This was a reef dive so there was really no specific point like there is on a wreck so tying off a line really doesn't make sense -- we either do the dive as a multi-level reef dive or thumb it;

b. The current at the surface wasn't that bad (or didn't appear to be that bad) -- it was current at depth that was an issue.

Me I'm a wienie and have zero desire to be a kite on an upline.

 

[mdb]

Well; as a boat captain in the Bahama's once told me as I was being swept back to Miami: "If you have to get picked up you f-cked up."

I had taken a clean azimuth when I dropped and surfaced midships astern, problem was I was 300-400 yards away from the boat that was anchored. I was making no headway against the strong current. I tried for awhile- The boat finally launched a Zodiac and pulled me aboard. The Skippers comments proved very accurate.

This thread is very useful with comments that divers can use to plan for their next dive, current or no.

 

[RonFrank]

IMO Channel islands is world class diving. It is cold water, but the topography, abundance of life, and kelp really make the diving incredible.

We did four days on four of the islands last year, and it was so good I am heading back to that area next week. Cold water be damned!

No doubt currents can be strong, but this is the ocean. Some great advice on this thread but no where do I read into it that diving in currents has to be dangerous, just something one must take into account.

 

[TSandM]

DD, your question about how we made the anchor line is a good one. I think it may well have been that the wind and current were at odds, making the surface not so bad. We actually did a free descent along the anchor line to about 65 feet or so, swimming a little but not actually having a bad time staying on the line without holding onto it. Then we lost it, and we descended to the structure at the bottom, and that was where the current was the worst.

I had never thought about the net effect of current and wind, until we dove off a RIB in Monterey over Memorial Day weekend. The very knowledgeable captain of the boat spent some time talking about how the wind and current was affecting surface conditions, and it was a good education. I might have been able to put it to use in this situation, had I thought about it, but again, since there was no surface kelp canopy, there really wasn't much of an indication of what the current was doing.

I don't know why this boat doesn't string a granny line. I've found them very useful elsewhere.

 

[Scott L]

According to Dr. Bill and other knowledgeable locals the dive site is known to be affected by current which in my book calls for a drift dive. Cattle boats of 15-20 divers in S. Florida manage picking-up multiple sub-groups without too much drama making the dive safe and enjoyable.

 

[TSandM]

Well, as far as I can tell, current can be an issue with all the Channel Islands sites, and the boats (which are liveaboards, so quite large) routinely anchor.

Here in Puget Sound, we have a lot of tidal current. Our dives from charters are almost all live boat, but our boats are much smaller and more maneuverable. I honestly couldn't imagine the crew of the Peace having to run that boat around trying to pick up multiple groups of divers. I would imagine they could do it, but I wonder if it wouldn't put more people at risk than it would reduce problems.

We did, I think, 13 dives off the boat in three days, and this site was the only one where there was an issue. There was one site on the previous trip as well, but at that one, only one team was unable to get back. Some of us surfaced quite far from the boat, but surface conditions were much kinder and we were able to do the swim.

The bottom line is that the dive was planned as a return to the line dive, but the boat had procedures in place to deal with it if we couldn't get back. All the teams that got blown off were experienced and calm, and dealt with the situation as seemed good to them, and everyone was picked up without incident. The reason I wrote about the dive was that I thought there were some good learning points for me, regarding anchored boats, current, and what the kelp can tell you.

 

[Rainer]

Drift diving in kelp beds isn't really all that realistic. SMB/float lines are just going to become a mess in short order depending on the kelp canopy (nevermind the fact that if the canopy is thick enough, SMBs might not be visible *at all* if they're sitting underneath it).

Add to that the fact this is cold water diving. I know people in FL that have waited for over 45 minutes to be picked up on cattle boat drifts. That would be HORRIFIC in 50F water with a flooded dry suit.

CA diving means learning to navigate UW. Descending *to* the anchor really is a must if you want to come back up that way.

According to Dr. Bill and other knowledgeable locals the dive site is known to be affected by current which in my book calls for a drift dive. Cattle boats of 15-20 divers in S. Florida manage picking-up multiple sub-groups without too much drama making the dive safe and enjoyable.