August 1st - Saturday Night 9:12pm High Tide - Maclearie Park - Night Dive

[whitefang21]

i am in

 

[wrybosome]

I am out. Saw an ENT who picked up on a small perforation as well as the infection I already knew about. It's improving quickly but doubt it'll be ready on Saturday. ENT concurs.

Hope you all have a great dive Saturday. If anyone wants to go in another 2 or 3 weeks, let me know. On a bright note, I ordered the inflatable float from the gear thread I posted.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[KDAD]

An open letter to potential local night divers:

• Visibility will be what it will be, but it can be very good at times.
• Maclearie Park as the perfect location and opportunity for new night divers to experience (and start to sort out) all the issues that come along with local night diving. This isn’t your yada yada “get a night dive card” in a quarry.
  
• This is different than an evening quarry dive. You won’t have to fight current.
• Buddy pairs: You don’t need an instructor for this dive.
• Great for dialing in buoyancy too, this is shallow so buoyancy changes are magnified, keep breathing, gas lasts forever here. Learn to hover with an anti-silting kick.
• The biggest entanglement hazard is the line on your own dive flag, best if you don’t let it go slack.
• There are a few lock boxes by the entry, bring a padlock and key if you want to use one.
• Once in the water, turn around and look at the blinking yellow light. That light is the easiest way to get back home. Just surface and look for it. Everything looks the same as seen from the middle of the basin. Surface slowly and look for the beacon anytime you don’t know where you are.
• Great place for a compass, add some English for the very light current. And remember that the current changes direction.
• There is an all-night gas station nearby that has decent sandwiches for the ride back.
• Have fun.

Lowviz' letter is spot on and is a guide to night diving here. Can't really add much - I did take the liberty to condense and highlight the major points in the quote.


I will be there also. If I am running late (a half hour or so) I will text BRD and if anyone else is late as well I can buddy with them. Joe from DiveBuddy will be joining us for his first? night dive (he was up at Dutch this past weekend completing his AOW).

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Joe from DiveBuddy will be joining us for his first? night dive (he was up at Dutch this past weekend completing his AOW).

Two others from DiveBuddy will be joining as well... I posted over there to see if we could scare up some divers...

 

[KDAD]

Sounds like we may have 8 divers going. Assuming everyone shows, do we need a plan to keep us from bumping into each other and (hopefully not) messing up vis? Can any of us enter or exit by the boat ramp and some swim from the steps towards the boat ramp and some from the boat ramp towards the steps?

If we all enter at the steps, maybe a pair can head up the bulkhead and then out, another pair head straight out, and the other two pairs head down the bulkhead and then head out at different points.

How deep is the water at the bulkhead? It seems pretty shallow. I don’t know about a direct entry from the bulkhead. I haven' explored much from the middle of the bulkhead towards the boat ramp so I don't mind trying that area out.

 

[lowviz]

Sounds like we may have 8 divers going.

Wow, a ScubaBoard "once in a Blue Moon" meet-up dive. The Blue Moon is on Friday, but due to the vagaries of tides and such, the highest flood tide is on Saturday.

Assuming everyone shows, do we need a plan to keep us from bumping into each other and (hopefully not) messing up vis? Can any of us enter or exit by the boat ramp and some swim from the steps towards the boat ramp and some from the boat ramp towards the steps?

Nope. The basin is a very big place. Yes, it silts, but it also settles quickly and the light current forgives the worst of us. No harm, no foul. This isn't a reef. Stick your hand into the mud and check out the clams. Can't eat 'em, just throw them back...

If we all enter at the steps, maybe a pair can head up the bulkhead and then out, another pair head straight out, and the other two pairs head down the bulkhead and then head out at different points.

The steps are beyond adequate, they are generous. We could all enter/exit there with no issues whatsoever. Once in the basin, you have all the space you could possibly want.

How deep is the water at the bulkhead? It seems pretty shallow.

No way. Don't even think of a shallow water entry from the bulkhead. It is deep enough for first timers to dive on this tide, but don't try jumping in from the bulkhead.

I don’t know about a direct entry from the bulkhead. I haven' explored much from the middle of the bulkhead towards the boat ramp so I don't mind trying that area out.

Pass on it. We can all use the steps.

 

[njdiver1]

Found this on another SCUBA forum.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Found this on another SCUBA forum.

I think they changed the configuration on the flags - I think they are higher up now on the first step maybe? Reason I say it is - on the right side pole there is a Flashing Yellow light at night time which makes it real easy to find your exit point. Very difficult to get lost - although I have gone round and round in areas looking for seahorses...

 

[njdiver1]

Picture was posted 9/10/2014, 1:08 pm.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

All good - just a note that currently there is a yellow flashing light that comes on after dusk that helps you back to the stairs...

Not to be confused with the yellow seahorses...