creepy muddy water

[rockinreel]

I live on a mud bank river, brackish water (Georgia black mud). Visibility is about 1' to maybe two feet at the surface. The depth slants to 20'.

1. Would I be able to see anything at all without a light?

2. With a really good light, how many feet would visibility increase at the aforementioned conditions? My guess is one to two feet.

I plan to get certified soon and wish to jump off my dock and scout the area, but the water looks mighty creepy...!!! I'm trying to build up the courage. Any feedback or shared experiences in muddy salt water rivers will be appreciated.

 

[Mud&Rox]

I dive the brackish water of the S.C. rivers....never dove Ga brackish waters but Id say there close to the same aside from bottom composition....to answer your questions no your not gonna see anything with out light and lots of it! in the cooper ive seen viz up to 10'-12' and other dives 1'-2' your viz is gonna be based off the past & present weather, temp, flow, bottom cop, etc. if the bottom comp is thick mud at the shore there is a good chance its really soupy on the bottom so boyancy is gonna be key....Ive seen mud in our local lakes in TN that you would sink 2' in the thick muck if you do not watch your buoyancy correctly. most importantly get your certification, know and learn all your material fully and get comfortable in waters with a decent viz first.....get your boyancy perfected THEN seek others with more experience that know the waters......you could end up a statistic just jumping into an unknown brackish river.....GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CERTIFICATION hope this helps a bit

 

[irishsquid]

That's a hard one to answer. I occasionally dive the Tn. River here in Chattanooga. The water looks like there might be 2-3 ft. visibility standing on the bank. When you first start down, the water has a Mt. Dew/coffee mix look to it with not much reference. Once the bottom is reached, depending on currents (what the dam is doing upriver), visibility has been 0-15ft. It's easier to see at the bottom. Near the shore it's muddy and silty, but; going out toward the channel it gets rocky and the vis clears up a bit (20-25 ft. depth). The light helps in the channel for identifying things up close (bottles, relics, etc.) In mid-water or silty conditions, it washes out; sorta like bright beams in a heavy fog. One dive I did on the lake side of the dam, in a boat harbor (recovering some lost items), the water was so black and dark, my light cut maybe a couple ft. at best. I didn't know where the bottom was until my light beam disappeared as I darted into a ft. of mud. Your conditions may vary, but; generally I have found the heavier the particulate in the water, the less the light helps.
I don't mind diving these conditions occasionally, but you need to have your game on. There are obstacles, entrapment/entanglement hazards, current, etc. Get a bit of experience after your certification, learn and know your equipment, and have a buddy that knows the dive site. I have found these types of dives can be challenging some times, but; fun and rewarding at the same time. Good luck and WELCOME to Scubaboard!

 

[irishsquid]

I feel like I just parroted Mud&Rox. I'm a slow poster at times, but; it appears we dive the same crap sometimes.

 

[Mud&Rox]

crap divin's better then no divin anyday!

 

[rockinreel]

Mud&Rox and Irish Squid, thanks for the reply with very useful information. Both of you speak of finding the bottom by sinking a foot or more in the mud. Exact conditions I live around. (Similar to the Cooper river in Charleston).

I will gladly absorb your advice and develop experience in clear water first, especially buoyancy and learning to deal with the current And dealing with obstacles like trees/trunks, lounge chairs, coolers, sunken boats... 3 phones, 3 sets of keys...

Lot's of particles are in the water that would restrict visibility.

1. What type of lights would you use in muddy water?

2. Is the bottom current as swift as the surface current? Do you use your hands to crawl the bottom against the current, or is it not that hard?

3. Could you really get disoriented in Low Vis diving and actually not know which way the surface is?

 

[Mud&Rox]

1)I use 3 lights pushing around 1000 limens each so about 3000 limens of light total....lol that's allot more then most are running BUT the more the better I say, most do fine with 1000L of light....I started with a 10w HID..can lights work out better IMO then handheld....you will need your hands....HID lights tend to "cut" through the particles in the water better if you want distance but im only interested on seeing about 4' in front of me...I use LED due to there more reliable and durable...light failure on a "night" dive in currents with gators, bull sharks, and dolphins is not a issue I like to avoid at all costs
2a)there really is an art to figuring out what the bottom current is doing from the surface..the moon will tell ya the strength of the current....but on a good strait stretch of the river the surface current is gonna pretty much match bottom current but now get into river bends and your in as whole new ball game....Ive gone down with a outbound current only to get about halfway down and the current switches to a inbound.....this is if you are on the inside of a bend the water will flip.....you also have swirls.....these will be the most confusing as to your bearings go....without a compass heading your just guessing.......the bottom of the cooper will switch from sand fields to hard marl to soft marl to bolder fields in a heart beat.....I use nautical depth charts to gauge what the river is doing at the bottom due to the fact that im looking for a particular bottom flow pattern to find the artifacts/fossils
2b)diving in these waters are not really diving.......alot of it is crawling...start doin crunches now as your abs will be pounding by the end of a dive in ripping currents..I use spikes to dig in and pull my self against the current....hittting the bottom and going against the current allows us to surface and drift into out dive boat....on other dives I actually will go down and use one of those cork screw dog stakes anchor it in the soft marl and tether myself to that if im working on a "honey hole" I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS AT ALL highly dangerous but that's a choice I make
3)disoriented....yes......not knowing where the surface is....no...bubbles always go up....just remember that.... if you exhale and feel then on your chest your going the wrong way.....only time I've been confused was one dive I began to surface only to find my helmet hitting the bottom....of so i thought....I was in an under cut of the river bank....once I stopped and relaxed. I took my bearings and worked my way back to the center of the river with one hand on the ceiling till I found the edge then surfaced......that's why I use the rule of 1/3rds kinda....2/3rds to get to the bottom and hunt and 1/3 for who knows whats gonna happen as I begin to ascend....you dont need 1/3 for a buddy as you will have no buddy or anyway to find him if there was a problem.

 

[Reef_Haven]

I live on a mud bank river, brackish water (Georgia black mud). Visibility is about 1' to maybe two feet at the surface. The depth slants to 20'.

1. Would I be able to see anything at all without a light?

2. With a really good light, how many feet would visibility increase at the aforementioned conditions? My guess is one to two feet.

Why don't you just don a mask, snorkel and fins and find out?

 

[James R]

Growing up, we spent countless days boating on the TN river around Chattanooga. I recall that with my mask and fins I could barely see anything and soon gave that up in favor of fishing or trying to water ski. I don't expect you will find much viz in a river like that, but if you brave it you could find a bunch of lost stuff.

BTW: One of the worst things my grandfather ever taught me growing up was that it's OK to throw cans i the river as long as they sink. I used to take my BB gun so I could throw them in the river then shoot them. I wish I could undo that little lesson in life!

 

[TMHeimer]

I haven't really done any nasty river diving, but have been in very low viz. I find that if it's less than 2 feet it's probably not worth it. A powerful light helps, but not all that much. If it's 1 foot you can get right close to the bottom if you're looking for stuff, but can't see much anywhere else. Of course, unlike in a river, little or no current is a big help.