How to rate visibility

[emoreira]

Yesterday, in Facebook, Leisure Pro published a question "What do you consider to be good visibility?".
Up to now there are 16 answers, and the shortest was "when you can see your hands" and the biggest was 60+ feet.
Last week end I did a 2 days dive in a small quarry. though the dives were near noon and early afternoon, the day was cold and cloudy and visibility was more or less 6 feet. My buddy and I were with lights. After 6 meters depth, the water was really dark.
We all dream with those beautiful warm water caribean dives, but reality strikes and show us ugly quarries with little to see if you can actually see something.
I live far from caribean waters and I normally dive in open cold seas or quarries with visibilities varying from 5 to 20 feet in the best cases.
The point is which is the average visibility we usualy dive ?

 

[tbone1004]

15-30 is my usual and 15 is about my limit for "good" visibility. Less than that doesn't bother me and is better than nothing, but 15-20 feet is usually adequate for most diving

 

[TMHeimer]

Ours is usually around 10 feet. I don't mind much less, but if you can barely see your hand and there is surge that's no picnic.

 

[BKP]

I guess I'm *relatively* fortunate in that I can drive to those "warm Caribbean dives" over a long (very long) weekend, so my idea of "good" visibility is >30 feet, however, more commonly I'm in the local quarries where usual visibility is between 15 and 30 feet (which is how I voted).

 

[jupitermermaid]

Being a warm water wuss, I consider good vis 60-100+'. However, one day last winter, we had really bad vis, where 10' was considered the max vis. I started ascending after a 45 min bottom time, and when I surfaced at 52 minutes and climbed on board the boat, one guy said to me (I was the only female in the 13 people on the boat), "Lady, you have more balls than any man on this boat. The rest of us came up after 5 minutes of bottom time because of the vis, and we had to wait for you." Initially, I considered calling my dive after several minutes, but then remembered that many of my friends up north dive in less vis on an average day, so decided to make the best of it. Any day of diving, no matter what the conditions, is better than a good day on land, IMHO.

 

[CamG]

Greetings emoreira normal vis for our common dive sites is usually 10'-30' depending on boat and or dive traffic.
It is not uncommon to have well over 30' in some lakes, Gilboa quarry can have well over 30' - 60' on the deep side.
On the shallow it can be stellar as long as it is not being kicked up, in the last three weekends it was NOT STUDENTS WHO BLEW IT UP!
I have witnessed some great teaching from instructors and then some certified divers trolling for fresh water shrimp!

Vis is relative to the individual diver but many are comfortable in much less.
When you are comfortable navigating with gauges and dive familiar sites low vis can be fun.
You must be aware of the added risks of your specific environment and adequately plan for them because they do add difficulty to the dive.
Not for everyone but I enjoy some dives that are really low vis with a well known buddy.
We are accustomed with touch communication and using reels for continuous guideline.

Dive safe all and train for the conditions you will find in your dive sites.
CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[James R]

Diving here in Central TX can be over 50' (Aquarena springs) and varies greatly in the lake (Travis) we do most of the local diving in. This year, I've done 49 dives out there: best viz recorded as 15' and worst was 0 (none) at depth for mission - as in couldn't even read my SPG or computer and barely could see the glow from my can light. The lake's pretty low this year, so viz is not as good as it was at this time of year last year. I am completely comfortable in 2' viz, which makes blue-water dives very enjoyable!

FYI, the 0 viz at mission depth dive was a recovery dive - known depth, following a cable and chain, and I had 100cf³ of gas. Not fun, but at least it was rewarding (financially). I would not do that dive for fun, that's for sure!

 

[Krazytomdiver]

As a dive guide,I having opportunity to dive where the viz is 60 to 100+ but enjoy mask ripping currrent even more. Judging either one is usually "the first liar ain't got a chance!" and is stretched beyond imagination.
Hook on & hold on.....

"living life without a hard bottom"
KT

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

I can say that I am spoiled to where most my dive are in the florida springs systems that allow 100'+ VIZ. I love the ocean and like it when it is 50'VIZ.

Now dont get me wrong I dive in the local lakes around here that are only 5'-10' on a good day. I just prefer the springs

 

[j yaeger]

every day you can still make your dive buddy's shape...
it's a good viz day!!!
winter diving we can get over 100'
summer 40-50 norm
the farther down the st. lawrence you go-the murkier it gets-tributaries adding nutrients etc.....
it's all good divng if you're having fun!
yaeg