Assessing a new dive site for independent diving.

[Lonefox]

Having recently acquired our Open Water certifications, my buddy and I are aware that this entitles us to get air fills, and head off together for dives independently of a Dive centre, however we don't intend to do this for a while, not until we're more experienced.

What I would like to know is when the time comes for us to do this, what's the best way to approach diving new areas (we're in the U.K), primarily we would like to do some shore dives, although in our area we can do an orientation dive, I don't feel this is sufficient to fully understand the areas we may wish to dive, and the effects of different types of coastline.

Some concerns are.....

Local Currents and tides.
Bottom Constitution. i.e Mud, Sand, Rock
Bottom Terrain i.e sudden dropoffs, reefs, channels.
Other Marine Traffic
Underwater Obstructions/Hazards
Local Bylaws and Excluded Sites
Boring Dive Sites.

Can anyone provide any other things that I've overlooked on this list, and advise how you would tackle obtaining information on these issues, and how best to assess a region for suitability of diving.

Are there any obvious features to look out for with regard to tides and currents, above and below the water.

Obviously local knowledge goes a long way, but myself and my buddy are rather introverted, and don't really mix well socially.

I am well aware that the first bit of advice I am likely to receive is, to go with the LDS. And we fully intend to do this until we feel a lot more comfortable. Am well aware that being newly certified, going it alone (with buddy) is not the best idea yet.

However I am still interested to know how other divers tackle this, as I'm sure there comes a point when some people just pull out a map, pick a location and head off in a car to dive it.

Would also be interested to hear about other people's experiences of diving new areas, unexpected conditions etc.

 

[String]

Currents and tides you can obtain via tide tables and tidal stream atlas however these ARENT too accurate on a very small scale as things like narrow channels and bottom topography have an impact. Its a start though. Bottom constitution again can be derived off a nautical chart.
Need to make sure its outside a port authority or other controlled area.. Again, an admiralty chart helps.

Site access, parking. If its shore diving ingress and egress from the water is an issue along with where you park you car, is it a walk, is it secure etc.

The type of site and direction and so on meaning what wind directions and other weather factors may preclude diving here.

Things like safety facilities - is there a mobile phone signal, are there medical facilities nearby if needed, telephone box, access for emergency vehicles and so on.

By far the most accurate, detailed and safe information you can obtain though is local knowledge. Information from people that have dived there before, know the dangers, whats safe, what isnt, what state of the tides it can and cant be dived and so on. You can do a lot yourself but none of it replaces local knowledge. Ask on some UK based internet forums, someone may well have done it before,

 

[dkktsunami]

Go with the LDS. At least once.

 

[spectrum]

Your punch list looks pretty good and it should only be a matter of personal comfort before you consider these dives. One thing that has been helpful to me is that I have in prior years made skin-dives at many of my now scuba sites. A skin-dive is a quick and dirty way to canavas as much of the area as vsibility will allow. It's also a nice way to get wet when you don't have a dive buddy.

We have actually started some dive day with a skin-dive followed by several tanks. It made for a nice day.

I would reinforce currents, tides and boat traffic.

Pete

 

[utnapistim]

You can also ask the LDS what sites are worth visiting, or the conditions on any site.

You also have to decide on some extra hand signals you can use (they don't usually come into discussion in LDS dives since the problems don't usually arise during LDS dives), like a particular signal for "abbort the dive", turn around, curent is too strong etc.

Also, an issue can be uw. navigation: you should be able to go from the shore and come back at the same point (or close enough). Nothing compares with a 400m surface swim at the end of the dive .

A compass becomes a necessity especially if the entrance does not have any interesting delimitation marks (if you cannot tell dirrection underwater).

Also, enquire for local dangers (like if you risk to encounter stinging jellyfish, or if anyone got entangled in that area).

 

[dpbishop]

Secong the motion on skin dives to check it out. Pick a weekend day in the summer and do a tour de dive sites, talk to the life guards, if they have them, talk to divers you see going in or out, make a quick swim to check out currents and conditions, then move on to the next site.

Also try doing searches and posting questions in the Local forums about specific sites; there are probably Scuba board members who have dove there.

 

[miketsp]

Add lobster pots, oyster bed farms & fish traps. Local fishermen make not take kindly if they think you're robbing them.
Also try to avoid military base approaches.
And in some parts of the world ask if the local fishermen use explosives to stun the fish. It's more common than you would think.

 

[TSandM]

I've found that you can sometimes find out a lot of information by Googling the name of the dive site. For example, for the Pacific Northwest, a lot of dive shops have some information on local dive sites, and there is also Shorediving.com, which has information on the PNW and on Maui, which is another place where I have looked for data.

 

[gcbryan]

I'm guessing that most good shore dives have already been done many times by others. Look for local dive publications, online forum, and use the information of others who have gone there before you. If that is not available use the list of concerns that you have already come up with and proceed with caution. It would be good if you could come up with a least one more experienced diver to explore sites with for the first time at each site.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Any time you're ocean diving off the shore, whether its a sound, harbor, or estuary, its a good idea to be extremely aware of the tides. This is because tidal movement can displace huge amounts of water, and if this displacement occurs in a semi-confined area like a harbor its either coming in the mouth of the harbor (which comparatively speaking isn't so problematic) or going out the mouth of the harbor (in which case you get swept out to sea).

One easy way to deal with this is to use tide software on some sort of Palm device or Pocket PC. You can pick these up used off Ebay real inexpensive. Here's the one I use:
http://airtaxi.net/ctide/index.htm#issues

Plan which day to go diving by noting which days have the least tidal fluctuation. (Visibility is best on days with the lowest amount of tidal movement.) Check the times of slack tide. Your goal is to do your area assessment, then unload and gear up so that you're entering the water just before slack tide. You dive the slack, and then make sure you're at or near your exit point by the time the slack turns and the tide begins moving back the other way.

Many divers have underestimated the power of currents and tides to their disadvantage. Of the criteria you listed, knowledge of currents and tides would be close to the top of my list!

(I also think that a few dives with your LDS will acquaint you with many of the more subtle and practical aspects of shore diving, e.g. where are the loos located? - did I say that correctly? )

Best,

Doc