Ideal conditions for shore dives

[oimate84]

Since moving to SE Florida I've been doing some great shore dives to the nearby reefs. Usually I just ask my LDS how the conditions are when i go rent my tanks. But id like to know for myself how to judge if its safe shore diving conditions? What do you look at before you even go to the dive site? And what is ideal conditions, such as wave height/wind/whatever is important to make a decision to dive or not. Thank for the help!

 

[jlegge]

I live here in Southern California and work with a bunch of surfers. If they are sad, I am diving.

I use a combination of things, most of them stemming from surfing websites. I like Wetsands and I use the Oakley surf report on my iPhone as well as Magic Seaweed. I also signed up for a mailing list that local users contribute to and there is someone almost always diving giving feedback on the vis and swell pretty much each and every day from various locations up and down the Pacific Coast Highway.

There are a lot of resources available, especially in coastal "touristy" locations.

You will look for low swell and surge and long periods (time between waves, basically). I like it less than 3 feet swell and greater than 10 second period.

 

[diver_doug]

You may be able to find a dive shop or shops that post conditions (we have a couple out here in Cali). Also, I use swellwatch.com a lot. Although it doesn't provide you with temp, it does forecast the surf and it is almost always accurate. As far as how big of surf is too big...that's a matter of personal ability. I like 0-3ft, I'll do 4ft...if it's 5ft or bigger I'm not getting in the water (frequency of waves is also important). As a side note, there is not always a correlation between surf and visibility. The best SoCal conditions I ever experienced were at Crescent Bay in Laguna...40ft vis with 3-4ft surf. Whereas numerous times the surf there has been 1-2ft and vis has been 10ft.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

There are some Web Cams that allow you to "look at conditions" your local Dive Op should be able to give you the info on the sites and the web sites they use to determine conditions.

There may also be a book around that give you information about each site and the best conditions for diving it.

Sometimes the wind going in one direction can smooth the seas coming form the other direction. Many of these things can be site specific. Often a heavy rain will "flatten" the seas but mess up Viz with run-off.

The conditions you are comfortable diving in will change as you gain more experience. One caution tho.. don't just look at entry conditions. Look ahead to see if there are changes coming .. you really don't want to have things blow up during the dive and make the exit dangerous.

You will also want to keep the tides in mind. High, Low and Slack tides can impact the entry/exit. Most boat shops or dive shops have copies of the tide charts and can show you how to read them for your area. King tides... (where there is a very big difference between High and Low) tend to indicate strong currents.

Hope this helps

Happy and safe diving

 

[OneRestlessNative]

As jlegge stated above. I listed a few links I use as well, a little more local to you. South Florida usually cleans up pretty fast after storms due to the close proximity of the gulf stream. I'm not near you but I'd say within a week of calm (1-2 ft) seas the viz should return to bearable conditions. Keep an eye on the 5 day NOAA forecast to get a decent idea of whats to come. Very light east winds are ok, but a few days of west winds are ideal. The season for calmer beaches are coming to an end, as we will have predominant north east winds and swells through winter. There are still times in winter you can dive, just not as much as summer. Keep an eye on the webcams, there are a few in more in your area I didn't have links for. You will generally be able to tell the viz just by the water color on the cams. Once you get in the groove of things you will be able to pretty much guess if the water will be clear by watching the seas and weather. Check out the Florida Conch area on the board here, lots of friendly local divers there who can help and meet up with. Check out Blue Heron Bridge in West Palm (jammin beach link) for some great high tide (only) diving when the beaches are washed out.

Marine Weather : Weather Underground (click on local area of florida)
NDBC - Florida and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Recent Marine Data (click on local area of florida)
Jupiter Inlet District
Bathtub Beach - Martin County, Florida
Blue Heron Bridge 2010 Tide Tables

 

[spectrum]

Locally I start with buoy conditions (mainly for wave height) and the marine forecast. For me 2-4 foot seas or less is usually going to be OK. You then need to filter that with wind direction/speed and the exposure of the site. Together with a little experience you can avoid most surprises.

In season I have my pulse on it all so I know if the seas have been calm for a day or 2 prior and if we have had any heavy rain that could bring silty runoff.

Pete

 

[diverlee]

www.saltwatertides.com
Just plug in the 3 choices and your good to go.
http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=forecasts/marine/coastal/am/amz650.txt
combine the two.

 

[DiveRNC]

Welcome to the wonderful shore-diving of South Florida! -As a former Chicagoan, this really is a treat for my husband and myself, but learning how to read the conditions for shore diving is a skill that we are continuously improving upon.

National Weather Service Marine Forecast is my primary resource (apparently I have to make 5 posts before Scubaboard will allow me to post the link, I'll eventually post it below). You're looking for seas 2-3 feet or less to ensure safe conditions and good visibility. Additionally, due to the frequent thunderstorms/lightening strikes in SoFla, we check the radar to make sure that storms don't seem to be heading to the beach.

Nothing beats a drive by the beach to visually check things out. -Notice which way the buoys are leaning... does there seem to be a north/south current?

Lauderdale by the Sea has some phenomenal diving and is a nice, easy swim out to the reef. I can recommend two wonderful dive shops and a local dive group that goes out quite regularly if you are interested! -Enjoy yourself, hope this helped.

 

[DiveRNC]

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[DiveRNC]

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