Anyone dived at a site with no land visible in all directions?

[NAM001]

This happens all the time. I never considered it anything to note or contemplate. You don't have to go out to the middle of the Pacific.

In perfect weather, visible distance (D in NM) for an observer 8 feet above the water, looking at and object X feet high is:

D = 1.17 * sqr(X)

For example: a two story building is 20ft high, and possibly visible at 5.2 miles. Molasses Reef is about 7 miles from Key Largo. You would need an object on shore of 35 feet to spot it.

In practical terms, haze can obscure the horizon and any land at much closer distances.

been a long time since I have seen this formula. I use it a lot however.

 

[Akimbo]

In practical terms, haze can obscure the horizon and any land at much closer distances.

For sure, I carry a compass when shore diving off the North Coast of California. Fog can come in very fast and thick enough to muffle wave noise breaking on shore. I mounted a compass on my kayak and Banks Board for the same reason. It only took about three times of scaring the crap out of myself before I made the investment.

Safety sausages, mirrors, and whistles aren't help much in pea soup fog. A sausage with SOLAS Radar reflective strips is a good idea as long as the crew knows you have it AND is equipped with Radar. Not many people think of looking at the Radar for lost divers.

 

[superheavydeathmetal]

YES! A liveaboard in Australia! It so was awesome to look around and see no land anywhere!

I need to do a liveaboard again!

 

[admikar]

I've made a few dives on reefs a half mile from shore when a heavy fog bank rolled in. It might as well be miles from shore when you can't see more than ten feet.

Not fog, but one mighty thunderstorm. 300 meters from shore, waves so big, I couldn't see dive boat 20 meters away. Unfortunately, was too scared at the time to try to just step onto boat during yo-yoing around.

 

[TDiddy]

Lots of similar comments to my experience - MV Fling in the TX Flower Gardens, Bahamas liveaboard, NC wrecks... but I must say the best experience was popping up after a night drift dive in Mexico. All you could see were the stars. Not even the boat. We all turned our lights towards the surface to light up our location for the boat and just bobbed there. Shortly you could hear the engines and eventually you could see the boat. But I've not ever felt more insignificant in the world than I did in the moments before you could hear the boat!

 

[diverrex]

Cortes Bank, about 96 miles offshore the Southern California coast.

 

[Divectionist]

Maldives for me, maybe the land was just too small to see

 

[Silty Sam]

Trips to the USS Oriskany leave the Florida Panhandle about 27 miles behind, because apparently it’s not easy to hide an aircraft carrier any closer to shore.

 

[Easdem]

yes....

 

[slw105]

I dove on the Great Barrier reef. We were approximately 26 miles from shore, no land in site. Water was gin clear with at least 200 feet vis. I lied on the sand floor and could see the waves 110 feet above. Very cool.