Whytecliff Current on Saturday Afternoon

[Daryl Morse]

Anyone dive Whytecliff on Saturday afternoon? The current was amazing, by far the worst I've ever experienced anywhere. We were on the second dive for the ANDI CSU course, ascending from 90 fsw on the south side of the bay towards the middle of the bay while sharing air. We found ourselves in the current when we came over the wall and started ascending along the sandy bottom. We tried swimming into it, but found ourselves going slower and slower. I could almost see my gauge going down. (Both of us were on my air at the time.) We swam back towards the wall where we held on the rocks and each other to do our gas switches. That current was nuts, but there's nothing like practicing new skills in sub-optimal conditions to be sure you can do them.

 

[scubandrea]

Anyone dive Whytecliff on Saturday afternoon? The current was amazing, by far the worst I've ever experienced anywhere. We were on the second dive for the ANDI CSU course, ascending from 90 fsw on the south side of the bay towards the middle of the bay while sharing air. We found ourselves in the current when we came over the wall and started ascending along the sandy bottom. We tried swimming into it, but found ourselves going slower and slower. I could almost see my gauge going down. (Both of us were on my air at the time.) We swam back towards the wall where we held on the rocks and each other to do our gas switches. That current was nuts, but there's nothing like practicing new skills in sub-optimal conditions to be sure you can do them.

I'm not sure if it was the worst I've ever experienced, but it was CRAZY! Our second dive had us attempting to swim from the Cut around the day marker and into the bay. I SO would have made it if I'd had more air!!! We did see a baby octopus though - that was awesome.

 

[Avic7]

How was the vis at whytecliff? We dove at Ansel that day instead, and it was wonderful once you dropped down to 40 ft.
Wish I dove at whytecliff, just to see what it like to swim in such a strong current!

 

[imsharkbait]

viz was ok after 30ish ft. It got up to about 50 ft.

 

[deepdiverbc]

There was an 11ft swing that afternoon ebb to flood. I don't dive whycliffe much but is it normal to be able to dive it comfortably with that much tidal movement?

Just wondering if I should make a mental note not to dive the area when the tides are running high.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

There was an 11ft swing that afternoon ebb to flood. I don't dive whycliffe much but is it normal to be able to dive it comfortably with that much tidal movement?

Just wondering if I should make a mental note not to dive the area when the tides are running high.

If you take a look at the hourly tide changes on Saturday afternoon, the tide was coming in at about 2 ft/h. That's quite a bit of water movement. Whenever there's a tidal change of more than 1 ft/h at Whytecliff, I tend to plan the dive with current in mind and try to drift with it as much as possible.

 

[gchapman]

If you take a look at the hourly tide changes on Saturday afternoon, the tide was coming in at about 2 ft/h. That's quite a bit of water movement. Whenever there's a tidal change of more than 1 ft/h at Whytecliff, I tend to plan the dive with current in mind and try to drift with it as much as possible.

Is there a web site, or at least a publication that we can order that we can get information about the tides and their times?

Might make my dive planning less haphazard - and since I want to do more night diving, it's another thing to be more aware of.

-- greg

 

[SpawnOfZena]

Is there a web site, or at least a publication that we can order that we can get information about the tides and their times?

Might make my dive planning less haphazard - and since I want to do more night diving, it's another thing to be more aware of.

-- greg

There are 2 I use:
WWW Tide and Current Predictor

Tides, Currents and Water Levels

 

[Avic7]

Exactly what I was lookin for... thanks SpawnOfZena