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An interesting question sent by PM. I'm sure some more thoughts could be added....
What little knowledge I have, I have eagerly gleaned from boatsmen. The guys that travel into the seas on huge container ships and more often- smaller boats- even down to canoe like craft that can accomodate but the owner with some cargo.
By "settled", and I have heard this phrase (and its translations) from countless such seafarers, I believe that they mean that the weather itself is settled- meaning what you have is what you will have for an time-uncertain yet immediate future. The general reference is to weather- meaning more commodious to travel the surface. Less choppy, stormy, easy sailing. And remember- these guys think in terms of time in a very fluid manner.
This full Moon thing has a nice effect on diving. Critters gravitate towards the light of the moon. The invisble (to us) stuff, the krill, the blood worms and other tasty treats also lure the critters that we humans are more interested in- the Rays, Squid, etc. (Remember- defacto we're talking about night diving, here.
On a full Moon, point your light straight up and watch what shows up to eat and be eaten. You can do this in 3 feet of water by parking your light on the sand. You can do it at depth, attracting Manats that will swoop and spin as the eat what you have attracted. Do it in front of a Coral colony- at this phase you'll likely see the polyps extended for feeding. With your light, attract the microscopics for it to feed upon. None of this would be liklely at a lesser Lunar phase.
Currents and greater tides caused by full Moons aside, the upper levels of the water column (where we are able to dive) are not in and of themselves churned up and suffering from turbulence. It may indeed be a band of current, a laminar flow in this phototropic layer, but not turbulent once you are riding in it with the predators and prey. Your vis may be reduced, but as the Full Moon is the night diver's realm, your viz is relatively unaffected.
An additional bennefit of the full Moon is the amount of ambient light that it provides. In shallows it is a joy to cover your small light and let your eyes adjust to the reduced, but adequate light.
In summation, it might be anecdotal, but my log book shows that a Full Moon has always brought pleasant weather and a lack of storms. The information from the many old men who ply the sea might be anecdotal as well, but such anecdotes are widely held and told.
I'd go with it
scubachild:
What little knowledge I have, I have eagerly gleaned from boatsmen. The guys that travel into the seas on huge container ships and more often- smaller boats- even down to canoe like craft that can accomodate but the owner with some cargo.
By "settled", and I have heard this phrase (and its translations) from countless such seafarers, I believe that they mean that the weather itself is settled- meaning what you have is what you will have for an time-uncertain yet immediate future. The general reference is to weather- meaning more commodious to travel the surface. Less choppy, stormy, easy sailing. And remember- these guys think in terms of time in a very fluid manner.
This full Moon thing has a nice effect on diving. Critters gravitate towards the light of the moon. The invisble (to us) stuff, the krill, the blood worms and other tasty treats also lure the critters that we humans are more interested in- the Rays, Squid, etc. (Remember- defacto we're talking about night diving, here.
On a full Moon, point your light straight up and watch what shows up to eat and be eaten. You can do this in 3 feet of water by parking your light on the sand. You can do it at depth, attracting Manats that will swoop and spin as the eat what you have attracted. Do it in front of a Coral colony- at this phase you'll likely see the polyps extended for feeding. With your light, attract the microscopics for it to feed upon. None of this would be liklely at a lesser Lunar phase.
Currents and greater tides caused by full Moons aside, the upper levels of the water column (where we are able to dive) are not in and of themselves churned up and suffering from turbulence. It may indeed be a band of current, a laminar flow in this phototropic layer, but not turbulent once you are riding in it with the predators and prey. Your vis may be reduced, but as the Full Moon is the night diver's realm, your viz is relatively unaffected.
An additional bennefit of the full Moon is the amount of ambient light that it provides. In shallows it is a joy to cover your small light and let your eyes adjust to the reduced, but adequate light.
In summation, it might be anecdotal, but my log book shows that a Full Moon has always brought pleasant weather and a lack of storms. The information from the many old men who ply the sea might be anecdotal as well, but such anecdotes are widely held and told.
I'd go with it
