Diving new and unknown site - considerations?

[jponline77]

My father just purchased a waterfront home on the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. His property has an outdoor shower, a boat launch that goes into the water and some gorgeous rock walls that have a slow grade to about 200ft. The place looks like the perfect dive spot and has me edging to get in the water.

I want to do a dive along the rock wall to about 60 ft on the first dive. Scope out the wall and try to map out the area. I would like to see if there is anything interesting to see on the wall or in the surrounding area.

My wife and I have about 25 dives under our belt with AOW certification and are pretty comfortable in the water.

What considerations should I have for diving in a new area? It doesn't feel to me that this is an unsafe practice but would like to solicite advice from experience divers.

Thanks,

JP

 

[rawls]

I would find a shop who has divers who have been to the spot...or around the spot you want to dive and get them to go with you on a local orientation dive. If there are none then get an experienced diver to go with you. With 25 dives I would strongly suggest that you or your wife definitely not go it alone for the first time. I am assuming when you say coast you are on the ocean. Here are some considerations...You are in the ocean, you are near shore. You need to consider waves, currents and the rocks you speak of. A 60 ft dive along a coastline with waves, currents and rocks can get you into a load of hurt. You also need to consider entry and exit points, tides, etc...Even if it is not an ocean dive you may still have tides and currents to deal with as well as other hazards you may not be aware of. It is always suggested that a diver get a local orientation before diving a new area.

You may not see this as an unsafe practice but IMHO you are asking for BIG trouble if you go without someone VERY experienced with this area and this kind of diving. I have alot of dives under my belt and would not think of doing this kind of dive without a local orientation and a very experienced guide to go with me...probably more than once. Believe me...It is an unsafe thing to do. Plus...a 60 ft dive is a relatively deep dive...especially in an area you are not familiar with....Hope this helps

 

[Goose75]

I'd start by asking local divers and or shop to list potential local hazards for you. That will give you an idea of what you are facing before you get into the water. An experienced local diving it with you, will be even better. They will give you insight into finding criters as well as safety.

I haven't dived in Vancouver but I've dove the Puget Sound. I would point out some things I found.

-Visibility varies. A silty bottom may be past the rocks. If you stir it up you may loose your vis.
-Cold water. I hope you were certified there so you understand.
-Tide changes can be very rough. Find a tide table chart. Take a look at how much water receeds to get a rough idea.
-Currents can be rough. Look at the surface to see if you can see one is there. Sometimes you can spot the pattern.
-Wear a compass. Distances are decieving underwater. Always burn the way home into your memory.
-Keep the dives short. Cold water. You don't want to start having problems with your core temperature and find out that you have a long swim home.

I could probably come up with a bunch of others but you can hang around the Orca Bait forum for some good tips and look for a local to help out. In the PNW I found alot of experienced divers were ready and willing to bring someone into the fold.

 

[spectrum]

jponline77,

First, is it safe to assume that you and your wife are active local divers accustomed to cold water? If not this is not the place to make the transition.

If so then you want to understand the currents including slack tide. Depending where you are in a region slack will not always coincide with high or low published tides.

Next you need to appreciate the changes in entry and exit points that may occur during the course of a dive. What nice walk into the water ledge entry may be a 3-4 foot cliff by the time you exit on a falling tide.

Since currents and exit points are variables you need alternates should you find yourself surprisingly up or down stream when you surface.

Depending on the tides and exposure you may have times when natural light will be brighter, especially as the sun is getting lower in the sky now.

With some careful consideration there is probably no reason not to dive the site. Some of my favorite dives are odd spots that are off the beaten path. Being off the beaten path you need to be on your toes since divers have not been grooming the place. For instance the prior owner may have been an avid fisherman with bad luck. The place could be riddled with mono filament fishing line. Be sure to have sharp buddy skills and to each have several cutting tools. This is all good general practice stuff but if you are not there yet now is the time to add the cutting tools.

Be sure top bring a catch bag for bottles, golf balls and other interesting artifacts that may have accumulated on this greenfield site. Go slow and explore.

Dive safe, have fun.
Pete

 

[Meng_Tze]

What considerations should I have for diving in a new area? It doesn't feel to me that this is an unsafe practice but would like to solicite advice from experience divers.

Thanks,

JP

Sounds like you need a diver to do that for you. There could be dragons or seamonsters lurking in the deep. For the cost of boarding and food, I think i can do it summer 08......

If that is not an option, you will have to do it yourself. Be careful and aware of your surroundings.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Heh.....Meng, thats a generous and humanitarian offer! I think he should take you up on it!

jponline77, as the others have already said, aside from the normal range of issues to prepare for, one of the biggest problems you could have with a new site in that area is the tides. They can ruin your entire day. Rawls, Goose, and Pete are right - study the tide tables and determine slack tide, but take a cup of coffee out there one day before you dive and time the slack also. Knowing whether you have 45 minutes or 1 hour and 10 minutes is important. Take a minute and study tide charts. Notice that some weekends there is relatively little variance, while other weekends the variance can be many feet. Obviously, on the weekends with larger variances the tides will be more powerful and often the vis suffers as well. If you were to have some other difficulty and then got caught up in the tides it could complicate things significantly.

It sounds like a beautiful new home, and I wish you happy diving there.

Doc

 

[diver 85]

small steps is my recommendation.........go down to 30' or so(you said it's a wall).......next time, go deeper...Before you know it, you'll get 'on down there'.....About 10 years ago my 2 sons & I had a similar experience in front of our place on Roatan(@ 7 Sponges Cut--out of the sanctuary where no ops. dove)..We asked Tino Monterossa for a little info & made the dive......a dive I will remember for a long time......

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

The more experience divers have covered this well. I would suggest if you also have a boat at this location, why not have someone stand by to pick you up if you do run into a nasty tide. It might be worthwhile the first time you dive there and are learning the area.

 

[scarefaceDM]

Sounds like a great place to live and yes to dive.

The advice is sound...I would add however. Hook up with a local fishing outfit. They have a good understanding of the area. Ask alot of Questions based on the info that was mentioned above. A nautical chart, tide charts etc are a good place to start. Rent a boat and check out the wall and area you want to dive. Get depth readings temps etc. A drysuit is a must in that area. If it is possible I would snorkel the wall with a boat ready for pick up if the current is too strong and you either get dragged out or swirled around and find yourself in a little trouble.

It rains alot in the BC area..so weather changes and sometimes without notice...

I would also contact the local coast guard to get a heads up aswell. As mentioned. Dive clubs/shops in the area are your best bet also. And as also mentioned. Hook up with a more experienced buddy. Based on your profile, it woudl be wise to dive with a guide the first few times.

Have fun, safe dives.

 

[jponline77]

Thanks for all the help!

It's an oceon dive but it's in the Juan De Fuca straight so it's sheltered from the surf of the open ocean. I had a chat with a local dive shop. They've done many dives in close proximity to that area (although diving off public land in the area has been banned for some time). They seem to think that the dive site is safe indicating that there are only light currents and very few hazards.

I will be checking the tide charts just to be safe but I don't expect too much problem. I will take the advice of a shallow dive first (approx. 30ft) to check it out but my experience diving on the BC coast is that the visibility doesn't start getting decent until below 40ft, so I'll probably do my next dive a bit deeper to make sure.

I will also have surface support for the first dives. I don't know if I'll be able to get a boat but definately people watching from shore. I'll look into a boat... I don't know if my father will have his boat there yet or not.

Thanks for the considerations!

JP