Tidal flow was incoming when we got there and peaked while we were there before running out. Most of the time the longshore current deflects the tidal flow away from the Bart, which is directly offshore from the direction of the channel. Generally the vis is better there than on the USS Strength which is the same distance from the channel only further East and closer to the beach. Frankly I think it is too far most of the time to be directly affected although we have run over the dirty "tideline" on the surface a few times within 1-2 miles of the Bart. The boat that was out there in the morning (Better Bottom Time) report 10-15' of vis there and 15' on span 14, a mile further back nearshore! So the clarity actually decreased as the tide came in. The Gulf stream has been doing wierd things lately and there has been some nasty outflow from the Mississippi that could be part of this, as could beach re-nourishment dredging, the liberal agenda or George Bush.
Moral of the story is that the sea is unpredictable, vis is better in general offshore but not always! My guess is that this is part of the same nasty water we saw 40 miles offshore over the last weekend between 50-80'. It went from clear water to puke and back to clear (but very dark) out there.
