Minimum Dive Conditions for You?

[blewgrass]

Before you decide to abort the dive? Do you have a minimum in terms of swell, visibility, and surge? Do you have a minimum of visibility only?

I am mainly referring to Monterey area for this question. On the North Coast, shore dive locations with very few exceptions do not have the facilities or protection that Monterey area locations have.

I also realize that skill level may play into this question. I found myself today in a situation that seemed suited to much more advanced divers and I will not dive in the future in those conditions until I reach a more advanced level. I also had changed my weight distribution and trim, which in retrospect is a bad idea during challenging conditions.

I did reach the bottom of Fort Ross Cove (North, which is the most protected) to 22 feet and could barely see my fins, putting the vis at 5-6 feet. The extra weight added to my tank made me back heavy (10 lbs on tank, 20 in zeagle ranger bc pockets). At surface, conditions seemed fairly calm, but at 22 feet with large rocks on the bottom, the surge felt much stronger. Much to the disappointment of my buddy, I gave the abort call and we headed in. I was surprised at how nasty the surf was in the protected cove once near the waters edge, whereas on the cliff, it seemed quite inviting. I take away many lessons from this experience most of which is an increased respect for the ocean.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

My standard is "am I having fun?" If I'm not, abort time. But I rarely abort
a dive because I believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure. Over the years, I've learned the conditions to avoid, and set a threshold
based on the forecasts that avoids those conditions, and generates the
right number of yardwork days.

I stay home if it's NW swell bigger than 8', a W swell bigger than 10'.
A longer interval will tip me towards staying home (did on Sat.). And I
stay home on a gale warning.

I'll abort for "out of film". ;-)

 

[dannobee]

My standards are a bit more liberal than Chuck's. He's an award winning photographer and his swell interval restriction is because longer swell intervals cause surge at deeper depths. If you're not taking pictures it's not as critical.

Sometimes it's actually fun to sway back and forth in the breeze.

Vis is often a regional thing. 20 ft in the Florida Keys or Molokini Crater would be awful, but might be decent diving here. Obviously more is better, but my bottom limit is about 6-8 ft around here. If it's reported to be less than that, I'll find another site, but likely still dive somewhere.

As far as swell height, if it's forecasted to be over 10 ft NW or W, I won't go, especially if the interval is short (i.e., 8 ft at 8 seconds), not because the diving will be poor, but because the ride out and back will be rough and others will likely be seasick (personally, I could care less and don't get seasick). Big swell conditions limit diving to Monterey Bay (the rollers around Point Pinos tend to get really big and the ride is long, slow and rough if you're heading way South). One clarification regarding the forecast, I use the upper figure as my limit, i.e., 8-10 ft = 10 ft.

Short of gale force winds and huge wind chop (3-5ft or above), wind isn't much of a deterrent. Combine the wind waves and the swell (8-10 ft swells, 3-5 ft wind waves) and the actual readings at the 46042 buoy can get impressive-sometimes in the mid to high teens. You'd want to stay home those days.

I've actually had some pretty stellar diving in rough surface conditions, and once you get in the water, the conditions are often smooth as a swimming pool.

Now, if I'm shore diving, my limits are smaller than Chuck's. Big swells tend to muck up the vis exponentially. An 8-10 ft swell will generally mean very poor vis at a lot of the Monterey shore diving spots, along with getting beat up on the entry and exit.


.

 

[Peter_C]

For every dive I do in Monterey I do ten dives on the North Coast.

We have called the dive at Fort Ross when I ran my scooter into the sand. With my HID pointed at the sand I could hardly see the bottom a foot away. After writing a note to my buddy of "Why dive?" we surfaced then scootered back in on the surface. After taking a kayak around the corner towards the Pomona and seeing the vis improve we went back out and had a great dive. I have dove in less then 5 feet of vis numerous times, but would not normally choose to do so.

If the swell is around or over 8 feet we stay home. Bad vis and strong surge does not make for a fun dive. Monterey changes everything as it is more protected.

What I know about Fort Ross is that the vis is often decent right off the beach then goes to crap quickly. After turning the corner and heading towards the Pomona it improves as does the surge. There is a ridge that runs between the cove and the beach that gets pretty surgy. Anything above 30 feet of water will have surge on the North Coast. There is not much you can do about it except go deeper. Eventually you learn to just flow with the surge and avoid crashing into solid objects like say urchin covered rocks!

 

[DocWong]

With Monterey and Point Lobos, if it's obviously going to be not divable, I'll stay home which means a storm or gale warnings and such. Other than that, if I have the time off, I'll drive down and take a look. Point Lobos is usually pretty well protected and my biggest criteria is whether or not it's safe to enter and exit the water.

It also depends on the buddies I'm with and what their comfort level is. The only way to get experience with varying conditions is to dive in not ideal conditions as long as it doesn't go beyond your comfort or skill level. If the conditions are bad, I just think of them as "training or experience" dives. I'm happy in just about any conditions as long as I feel it's safe to do so, but when the viz get's good, I'm extra happy!

When conditions are bad, it's even more important to do a group briefing on the plan of the dive and it's details, protocols and the "what if" scenarios. It can make a big difference between a poor dive experience and a fun one, in the not ideal dive conditions. Also, if and when conditions change unexpectedly, which is not uncommon, you're better prepared for it.

 

[diveguy1]

I started diving in Oregon, dove some lakes using the Braille system, and did some horrendous ocean dives with faceplate visibility and swells that left me rocking long after exiting the water. I admit I made the mistake of "Well it took us 2 hours to get here, let's dive" even when the conditions didn't warrant it.

I'm older now. And a bit wiser (I hope).

I now look for less than 8 foot swell, and will abort the dive if the entry/exit area looks too rough, visibility reports are really bad, or if I'm just not having a good time. Luckily there are some great online resources to be able to check conditions from my sofa before heading out, but if all else fails, there's usually a nice little restaurant somewhere close by that I can get a nice cup of coffee and sandwich at while I formulate my dive story...

- Chris
.

 

[gonphishing]

looks like were all on the same page. anything over 7 foot and I start looking at location seriously. interval and wind play a big part in it as well. esp when kayak or boat diving.

I like the color chart here. http://www.lajollasurf.org/nocal.html

any time you see light blue or green its in question. the green just reminds me that I just might get sick.. LOL,,

up here in the north coast. we brail dive all the time.

nice whaler. I have a little skiff as well the sport model. 13'6" its a nice ltl boat. love whalers!!
cheers

 

[blewgrass]

Thanks gonephishing. My whaler is a real "work boat"! Ask Chuck..
I find the characterization endearing though! She started as a 1971 Katama which is an old school runabout design. I ripped the console out and set her up for salmon fishing out of Bodega Bay. Something about a good old fishing boat that is not meant to be a creampuff. Dive boats however, are a different story. Technology and toys are necessary and should be abundant. I will try to convert her from a fishing vessel to a dive boat this spring. I plan to do some boat dives in Monterey and the North Coast this spring/summer.

I guess this weekend is an abort? Serious face mask conditions!

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

I tend to pretty much ignore rain in the forecast. Sometimes it gets big
when it rains, sometimes, esp. when we get a Pineapple Express, which
today ain't, it lays down. That shows up in the other numbers, so rain is
mostly a containable nuisance when suiting up.

 

[gonphishing]

Thanks gonephishing. My whaler is a real "work boat"! Ask Chuck..
I find the characterization endearing though! She started as a 1971 Katama which is an old school runabout design. I ripped the console out and set her up for salmon fishing out of Bodega Bay. Something about a good old fishing boat that is not meant to be a creampuff. Dive boats however, are a different story. Technology and toys are necessary and should be abundant. I will try to convert her from a fishing vessel to a dive boat this spring. I plan to do some boat dives in Monterey and the North Coast this spring/summer.

I guess this weekend is an abort? Serious face mask conditions!

yes. its a sad thing about that salmon fisheries go south. and all that it affects . It breaks my hart really. I have bun most of my salmon fishing out of mendo. but giving the severity I'm a very selective hunter and gatherer. with respect for the environment. and only spearfish while ocean fishing. no by catch and such.

Im sure you already know but. North coast divers meet once a month for a club dive on our coast line. sonoma and mendo. I think I have seen your name a member? and I see your a local. dont overlook us. its a good group of guys and gals, some of us have boats. as well as kayaks and scooters. some of us have knowledge of the reef systems and dive locations for boat diving. Eric built his own boat is a wonderful source of information. you should join us for a dive some time. its a friendly bunch. I have been diving with them from the start. camping and cooking on the coast. and there is aquite a few of us right here in the north bay. Im in Glen Ellen. good times...

cheers.