HELP! Forecast interpretation!?!

[sarita75]

See, this stuff confuses the pants off me. I can easily get to the shore and say - eh, looks bad - i am not going in. But being in SF, that's a heck of a drive and so I would love to have CT lecture on understanding WHAT I am meant to be looking at, what fares good, etc.

 

[mikeguerrero]

See, this stuff confuses the pants off me. I can easily get to the shore and say - eh, looks bad - i am not going in. But being in SF, that's a heck of a drive and so I would love to have CT lecture on understanding WHAT I am meant to be looking at, what fares good, etc.

Sarita,

When my buddy and I dove BW last month the red tide was horrible yet we got in and managed to get our fins stretched.

When we got out some divers told us that lovers was really nice, word had traveled really quickly in just 1 hour elapse time from our dive.

Eager to dive a new location and the fact that the red tide was horrible, like diving in tea we packed our gear and left to lovers.

When we arrived some divers were leaving lovers and told us how great the visibility was. When we approached the beach my jaw dropped at how clear the water was.

When we got in it was even better 30+ visibility and this is with the red tide being just around the corner at BW.

I took lots of pictures and of course lots of video. This was the day we filmed a school of leopard sharks that arrived on shore as we were approachng our exit out of the water. I almost wet my wetsuit with you know what, it wasn't saltwater !!!

I'll never ever forget that day at Lover's point, all the land lovers were in aaahhh viewing the school of leopard sharks feeding in their natural habitat from ashore.

So I too live on the edge living in Castro Valley your neighbor, wondering if Monterey is going to be nice for my beach dives.

I usually post like you and many other divers start to give lots of valuable feedback.

I'm eager to try out my new VT3 and two new XSscuba HP 100's... I need to dial in the right weights, I'm a little nervous...

MG

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Sarita: Again: Where was that forecast from? A URL, anything. It doesn't look anything like recent
Monterey forecasts for the weekend, so I suspect you are looking in the wrong place.
And if you want to understand the forecasts: Monterey Bay Sea Conditions - Some Examples

MikeGuerreo: Do you homework on tank buoyancy. The difference in empty buoyancy is the
difference in lead. But also do your homework on who really made the tank. XSScuba didn't make
those tanks. They just marketed it. AFAIK, NONE of the name SCUBA gear manufacturers has
made tanks. They buy them from a small set of companies, and stick their decals on. What
counts is what's stamped in the tank. The real manufacturers:

Luxfer (AL tanks)
Catalina (AL tanks)
Pressed Steel (Steel tanks, duh)
Faber (Steel tanks)
and a few others (anybody want to expand the list?)

There can be very big buoyancy differences between similar (say, HP100) tanks from the different
manufacturers. Faber HP100s are a LOT more negative than Pressed Steel HP100s. And even
from the same manufacturer, there can be differences. Pressed Steel has had at least two
generations of HP tanks. There are small differencs in buoyancy (< 1 pound) and max pressure
(< 100 pounds).

 

[mikeguerrero]

Thanks Chuck,

I know my two new HP 100's tanks are made by Worthington steel just that XS scuba distributes them. I forgot to mention that on my post, sorry.

I've been diving very heavy Faber LP 100's that have a + rating. Those suckers are super heavy and after I walk up the beach I'm tired.

Chuck you know what, XS scuba is literally engraved in the steel on the neck of the tank; so what gives? I didn't see anything that said Worthington yet on their website they claim they are from them.

Thanks,

MG

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

There's a code stamped in the neck of the tank that will tell you who really made them. Do some
homework on it. I learned that it existed in OW class, and figured how to read it before there was
an internet. You have it easy.

And the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall by the garage door reminded me: an other tank
manufacturer from long ago: Kidde.



Chuck

 

[dannobee]

Asahi also makes steel tanks under their name and under the Genesis brand.

Norris also makes steel tanks.

 

[yangnome]

Provided these are the worthingtons, here's the bouyancy:

Worthington HP X7-100 : Buoyancy: Full -10 Empty -2.5

As Chuck said, the difference in bouyancy (empty) is the difference in lead.

 

[Gombessa]

Gombessa: Speak for youself about beach dives. I do 130 dives a year in Monterey, and typically
four are from the beach. The rest are boat dives. All things considered, I'd rather get on the
boat in 100' of water off the beach than crawl out on that beach.

Hey Chuck,

One of these days I'm gonna have a kickass boat of my own, and then you watch out!

 

[skynscuba]

You can't always believe the tank manufacturer specs, either. I bought my GF a new pair of Worthington 3442 80's last year, and they were almost 2 pounds heavier than the data sheet. Since they are also nearly 2 pounds more negative (I measured it), she's happy, since she just drops 2 pounds of lead to compensate, and weighs the amount expected when walking down the beach.

Lighter gear, easier entry/exit in rougher conditions (back to the thread )

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Genesis tanks used to be made by Pressed Steel. In fact, IIRC, they (Sherwood then) were the
first to market Pressed Steel HP tanks around 1990.