April 13th McAbee

[Chuck Tribolet]

Not sketchy enough to keep me away from the water.

.SAT...NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 7 FT. NW SWELL
14 FT.
.SAT NIGHT...NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 7 FT. NW SWELL
13 FT.
.SUN...NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 KT. WIND
WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. NW SWELL 10 FT.

That ain't sketchy, that's WAY WAY WAY over my limits on Sat., Just WAY over my
limits on Sunday. Keep an eye on the forecast, it might get better, but if it doesn't,
by a LOT on Sat., I'm doing yardwork,

It ain't about diving all the good days, it's about diving none of the bad days and
celebrating New Year's Eve.

 

[Gombessa]

I've got my fingers crossed for Sunday.

But this just looks like Nature waiting until Friday night and flipping the bird to all the anxious weekend divers:

It even looks like it'll drop back down by Monday. What a jerk!

 

[Ben_ca]

I've got my fingers crossed for Sunday.

But this just looks like Nature waiting until Friday night and flipping the bird to all the anxious weekend divers:


It even looks like it'll drop back down by Monday. What a jerk!

Don't you hate when that happens..... Wait till you get 4 weekends in a row...
(That was last year I think...)

 

[dhammer]

I like this one better...

PZZ535-191015-
/O.CON.KMTR.SC.Y.0037.080419T0700Z-080420T1300Z/
MONTEREY BAY-
808 PM PDT FRI APR 18 2008

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT PDT
TONIGHT THROUGH LATE SATURDAY NIGHT...

TONIGHT
W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT...DECREASING TO 5 TO 15 KT BY MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 3 TO 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

SAT
NW WINDS 15 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 4 TO 7
FT AT 10 SECONDS.

SAT NIGHT
NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 4
TO 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

SUN
NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT...INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 KT BY AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. NW SWELL 5 TO 8 FT.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Dhammer, that's the in the bay forecast. I don't use it because of there's almost always a wide
range in the swell height becuase someplace in the bay usually has some protection. Better to
look at the offshore forecast and see what Neptune is throwing at us. Here's the corresponding
offshore forecast from last night (and it's even worse this morning -- a gale warning):

Friday, 18 Apr 2008 at 22:00:01
PIGEON POINT TO POINT PINOS TO 20 NM-
808 PM PDT FRI APR 18 2008

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE SATURDAY
NIGHT...

.TONIGHT...NW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 KT LATE
TONIGHT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. NW SWELL 6 TO 10 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
.SAT...NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 7 FT.
NW SWELL 8 TO 12 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
.SAT NIGHT...NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 7 FT.
NW SWELL 8 TO 13 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
.SUN...NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 4 FT.
NW SWELL 8 TO 10 FT.

 

[cmburch]

We have a charity freediving event this morning in Monterey/Carmel. I may be chumming instead of hunting. I will try for a fish or two, may but be a spectator and stay for the charity auction. I may break out my board after if I get bored.

Monterey Bay

The vidcam does not look too bad now for freediving this morning.


The buoy looks like 15' seas.NDBC - Station 46042

 

[alibi 2]

DH, you got the advantage that you live here and can take a look...you've got a good head, if conditions are not good for diving don't...go visit everyone at del monte beach and see the dry suit demo day...The conditions at the bouy is way out there and really is not usually what hits inside the bay...I personally have had better luck check the bay the night before a dive but if the bouy is calling for bad conditions then I will usually plan on staying inside the bay to dive....the swells don't look too bad at 4-7 with a 10 sec. and comming from the NW...but if that 10 decreases or the swell height increases ...yuck!...even if its diveable the surge may make the vis. bad...just use your head...if I was driving a long distance I agree I would probally stay home this weekend..

 

[dhammer]

Notice I said it wouldn't keep me "away from the water", not "out of the water". I definitely rely on that definitive eye-witness assessment of conditions. I did meet the group from MBSO at Monastery for a planned dive at Pt. Lobos. The surf there was tremendous, at times splashing over the high berm. The sad thing is, ...we actually saw a couple people who looked like they were going in! We may see what's left of them on the news tonight. Anyway, from the looks of that, we scrubbed the Lobos dive and descended on the Black Bear Diner instead. It should be better tomorrow, so I may get wet after all.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

DH, you got the advantage that you live here and can take a look...you've got a good head, if conditions are not good for diving don't...go visit everyone at del monte beach and see the dry suit demo day...The conditions at the bouy is way out there and really is not usually what hits inside the bay...I personally have had better luck check the bay the night before a dive but if the bouy is calling for bad conditions then I will usually plan on staying inside the bay to dive....the swells don't look too bad at 4-7 with a 10 sec. and comming from the NW...but if that 10 decreases or the swell height increases ...yuck!...even if its diveable the surge may make the vis. bad...just use your head...if I was driving a long distance I agree I would probally stay home this weekend..

What's happening at the buoy is what's coming into Monterey in about an hour and a
half. Now, some parts of the bay get some protection from some swells. The specifics
of "some" depend on the direction the swells come from.

A LONGER interval makes for more and deeper surge, not shorter. As the interval gets
longer, wave scales up, so the surge reaches deeper and moves the diver farther.
A SHORTER interval makes for a snotty boat ride or surface swim.

It's not about diving all the good days in the year, but rather about diving none of the
bad days and living to see New Year's Eve.

Me? I got a ton of yard work done today. And lubed the dry suit, did some ba_diving
website maintenance, sent a bunch e-mails I've been trying to find time to do, ordered
a new prop for the whaler and 100 hour service parts, ordered some woodworking toys, and
a ton of other stuff. Tomorrow? The forecast is still over my maximums, so there's
the open house at Moss Landing Marine Lab:
http://www.mlml.calstate.edu/news/eventsdetail.php?eid=49

 

[saf1]

Odd question - just wondering how the bouy and 10 day weather forcast work together, or if they do, to try and plan dives. I know the bottom line is visual, etc, but for planning I was trying to get an idea what is the best source of information to use.

Driving from Elk Grove can be a bit of a let down when it appears to be ok using one forcast yet the next morning visual is 180 degrees different Safety first - but a let down never the less