How do you time your dives at Radio Island?

[fireflock]

I've been hearing a lot about how good things are at Radio Island this year (20-30ft viz at times!), so I think I'm going to try my luck on Monday or Tuesday morning. I'm trying to decide what time I need to be in the water to spend ~1hr or so looking around.

High tide in Morehead on Monday is at 10:30am; the correction for Duke marine labs is +16, so I figure that I'm looking at around 10:46 for Radio Island, + or -.

I'm thinking maybe in the water around 10:15, out around 11:15? Can anyone with more dives at Radio Island give me some pointers on timing the tide?

Rich

 

[BigWhiteSquare]

I was there night before last and it was pretty good. Visibility was in the 30' range, and water temp was 81F. As far as timing the tides, the easiest thing to do is call Discovery Diving (252) 728-2265. Since they're right around the corner, they can usually give you a pretty good estimate.

Frank

 

[coop1]

Rich, you're right in that word has gotten out. There were probally 25 people diving there today. I just got back and the viz had dropped down to about 12'. As far as the way to time the dives, here is the lowdown:

High slack tide is best. Clearer ocean water is moving in replacing the river runoff. Tide at RIRJ is just before 11am Monday. I'd get there about 10:20 and watch see how its moving. It really depends on your comfort level but most divers should be able to handle it by about 10:45-10:50. You can actually feel it "slack" (the current stops moving in) and then turn and start moving back out. From the time it slacks you've got about 15 minutes before you start moving quick. (Caution: if drifting back out with the tide make sure you get back across the jetty before you get to the fence. It's a tough swim against the current). It's really easy once you see how things move there and you can actually make a drift dive on most of the jetty without even kicking much.

Note: today the tide didn't actually turn until later. The tide tables are just references and are not exact. Use common sense and ask someone if you're unsure. Or swim out to the jetty with just your snorkel and see how fast you're moving. If it's too much, wait a few minutes, it'll slow down. I think DDC has a class out there tommorrow so you can probally just follow thier lead. Have fun though. Maybe I'll catch you out there one of those days now I'm done with boat projects.

coop

 

[fireflock]

Thanks for the local knowlegde Coop. I'm going to pack my stuff tonight and give it a shot tomorrow. I'll stop by the shop for a fill around 10:00am and go from there.

Rich

 

[fireflock]

I made it to Radio Island this morning. The viz was down to 5-8', but it was still a nice dive. I hit the water a little after 10:40 and drifted north until the current slacked. By 11:15 the current was starting to move a little and I was past the main part of the jetty in the sand. I had to get back home, so I opted to skip the drift back to the fence and decided to head back to the car. Saw all of the usual suspects including some small tropicals and a few stone crabs.

Coop's advice on timing was right on. Thanks!

Rich