Keystone currents

[DaleC]

Some of us did Keystone yesterday (a lot of life there!) but the currents confused me. We dove right on the slack in the morning and encountered the fastest current (near the end of the jetty) that I've ever experienced (horizontal kelp). In the afternoon we dove an hour before slack and there was no current at all in the same location (vertical kelp).

Any locals have an explanation?

PS. I also posted this in the western canada section (in case someone thinks they're two seperate threads).

 

[dwashbur]

That jetty plus the point of Admiralty Head causes a massive eddy on the east side that is almost impossible to predict. The note in Mischi Carter's book says this:

Admiralty Bay: Current is rotary and erratic. Current sets west most of the time except for the beginning of the flood cycle when it flows east into the Bay (this applies to Keystone Jetty)

All I know to do is try to time it for slack, hop in and hope for the best. And be prepared to skedaddle, especially if it's a high exchange day.

 

[DaleC]

Thanks Dave.
I also wanted to check out the old pier that is just south of the jetty but did not have time. Is it a worthwhile dive and is it similarly effected by the current?

 

[TSandM]

It can be a gorgeous dive, if Jan Kocian's photos are any indicator, but the one time Peter and I tried to do it (on a low exchange day) we were getting blown all over. Which we though was a good omen for being able to drift to the jetty, but about halfway there, the current died and we had to swim home.

There are so many buffalo sculpins under the pier, you have to be careful if you put your hands down for stability against the current, because the rock you're reaching for may be alive!

 

[dwashbur]

The pilings are incredible. Inside them the current tends to ease off because the pilings deflect a lot of it. The last time I was there we didn't get below 25 fsw but I found a giant pacific octopus out in the open, and the snails were laying eggs all over the place. It's a treasure trove for a critter-hunter like me, so definitely check it out. Like the rest of the bay, you have to try and gauge the currents, but it's not that bad most of the time.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Dale keystone is actually the easiest dive there is and you stayed the day to see how it performs, kinda like day island, it is the simpelest dive there is, you just have to hang out in the water and see how it flows or know how a current chart works. My dive on sunday worked great, I knew when current was movin and when slack hit.

Keystone is an easy dive and you have to know the whole dive and how it works.


Happy Diving

 

[gcbryan]

Hey Dale, it would also help to know exactly what times you did the two dives just in case mistakes were made regarding slack.

 

[DaleC]

Sorry for the non reply - busy at work/school. I'll check my computer later tonight.

Aug. 29th. Dive 1 8:33am and dive 2 1:52pm

 

[gcbryan]

Sorry for the non reply - busy at work/school. I'll check my computer later tonight.

Aug. 29th. Dive 1 8:33am and dive 2 1:52pm

It looks like the timing was fine and the exchange was moderate to low and predicted current was less than 1 knot for the surrounding hour.

That's all that you can do other than go there on a very low exchange day. When there's current it usually starts to get intense about midway down the jetty. Before that you can dive it during most any conditions. After that if it's too intense we just usually turn around.

I think the mid-jetty current is caused by the shape of the jetty (gets wider and therefore not protected after that) and by the blocking effect (maybe) of the piling to the left.

At the high current sites around here at any time other than the lowest of exchanges you always have to consider that it's just a "prediction".