US divers - maybe more local diving due to the CV?

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What time of year would you recommend the shallower wrecks for someone with an 8/7mm semidry?

I've spent some time in the hole at Haigh when that was around 45F but after about 5 minutes that gets a bit cold.
I'm pretty comfortable in the mid to low 50's for a 45 to 50 minute dive.

I haven't been out on lake Michigan yet and this season that is going to change.
That new CCR will warm you up a teeny bit but assuming you’ve done everything else right (day of food protocol, hydration, proper gear during surface interval, 10mm hood, etc), Marie’s suggestion of late Aug/early Sep is your best bet.
 
I've dived the wrecks wet as early as Memorial Day weekend. 7mm. But that was 43F. I do not lack bioprene and I had developed a cold tolerance from diving Haigh early and often that season (2018).

I suggest getting yourself out to Haigh as soon as they open and doing a lot of dives on the deep side (aka the Flamingo).
 
We have great diving here in SE Florida! Unfortunately all of the dive charters, parks and beaches are shut down right now. I currently have 12 tanks, 4 currently full, and would be solo shore diving at the Blue Heron Bridge if the parks weren't closed.
 
Eric Sedletzky,

When I first dove in Monterrey they asked me in the LDS the usual "how many dives have you done", followed by "how many of those were in cold water". I asked what the water temp was and was told 55. I said, "that's not cold". I was joking of course . . . . kind of.

I've been in inland lakes in Michigan mid-summer and saw 42 deg and 39 deg in June in Grand Traverse Bay.
 
Eric Sedletzky,

When I first dove in Monterrey they asked me in the LDS the usual "how many dives have you done", followed by "how many of those were in cold water". I asked what the water temp was and was told 55. I said, "that's not cold". I was joking of course . . . . kind of.

I've been in inland lakes in Michigan mid-summer and saw 42 deg and 39 deg in June in Grand Traverse Bay.
You’d be amazed at how many people come to California thinking the whole state is palm trees and bath tub water. So they automatically figure someone from out of the area may not know.
 
You’d be amazed at how many people come to California thinking the whole state is palm trees and bath tub water. So they automatically figure someone from out of the area may not know.

One buddy of mine learned to dive in southern CA. Conditions here didn’t bother her a bit!
 
You’d be amazed at how many people come to California thinking the whole state is palm trees and bath tub water. So they automatically figure someone from out of the area may not know.

The same people that come to San Francisco in the summer with shorts and tank tops and are freezing!? That warm breeze on the GG Bridge sure helps...:wink:
 
You’d be amazed at how many people come to California thinking the whole state is palm trees and bath tub water. So they automatically figure someone from out of the area may not know.

Actually, I think I learned more respect for the ocean diving a few days in Monterey than the entire rest of my diving lifetime. In what appeared to be relatively benign conditions at Lovers Point, I learned that diving in surge can be similar to what I assume it must be like diving in a Maytag. Also, had the ocean basically spit me out half way up the little beach next to the Coast Guard pier. Much to my embarrassment but the delight of the other divers watching from above.
 
When you own a boat your diving isn't limited much. Except for air fills. But I happen to own one of those too. So aside from land based travel restrictions, my local diving is not limited except for my current work schedule.

I haven't read this entire thread, but I noticed Tobermory mentioned here and there. I have a place there and that's ground zero for summer diving for me.

I spoke to the only shop owner in town this morning. "Crane Day" to drop the boats in has been postponed and not yet rescheduled. The boat ramps fall under the "non-essential" category and aren't open for use (although tough to enforce). In Tobermory, "nothing" is opening much at the moment, and the "fake locals" (i.e. the city people who moved there to retire) are making a big stink about nobody coming up. They don't even want people like me (seasonal, but not permanent) coming up. The real locals, who own the businesses will open just as soon as they legally can I think. It's a damn short season, so missing even a couple of weeks has a big impact.

Who knows when the border will open for non-essential travel to Canada from the States. Given the much higher infection rates in bordering states to Ontario, I can't see it happening any time soon.

As others have mentioned, a charter boat makes it pretty much impossible to maintain that SD thing. As much as we all hate this, the best thing is to stay home until this thing has past. Most won't have any choice, but those that so, short of a solo shore dive, really shouldn't.
 
I will be continuing my local diving in the ocean. This means about a 3 block drive while already in my wetsuit with plastic covering the car seat for the drive back to the house (I dive wet in winter). There is usually no one around or at best someone walking their dog at the site. The same can be said for the "summer spots" I frequent around here, but with maybe a couple of others diving at the same time.
In these times I would not begin to consider driving any further to dive, certainly not to FLORIDA! That would be incredibly irresponsible in these times--plus, the border is closed to non-essential traffic anyway.
Unless you are food or pharmacy shopping or are dead sure you won't be in a position to catch or spread the virus, we all should STAY HOME. Won't solve the problem until the vaccine come next year anyway, but what else can one do?

L.A. Times: Scientists Concerned over Potential COVID-19 Exposure from Beach Walks and Swimming

L.A. Times: Scientists Concerned over Potential COVID-19 Exposure from Beach Walks and Swimming
POSTED BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL @JFUMIKOCAHILL ON MON, APR 6, 2020 AT 12:35 PM
The Los Angeles Times is reporting potential COVID-19 infection risk at California beaches, not just from other people out for walks and surfing, but from the ocean and its spray.

The piece quotes Kim Prather, an atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who "worries SARS-CoV-2 could enter the ocean from sewage spills and outfalls, and then reenter the atmosphere." Prather's concern about beach exposure to the virus, about which scientists are still learning, is not just about swimming in potentially polluted ocean waters, but the particulates and "microscopic pathogens" that could wash into the ocean from rains and be delivered by spray from waves carried on the wind.
She also says, “I wouldn’t go in the water if you paid me $1 million right now.”

Another scientist, Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona, who's been studying viruses in wastewater, says it's unclear how long COVID-19 can survive in saltwater.

Humboldt local Jennifer Savage, Surfrider's policy manager for California, is also quoted, in the piece, in support of beach closures around the state for the sake of public health, though those changes have been driven by concern over maintaining social distance. While Redwood State and National Parks have closed their parking lots, beaches in Humboldt County remain open with some restrictions for parking.
 

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