Poor viz diving

[landlocked]

I have made several local dives where I had to hold hands with my buddy to make sure that she was still there. Luckily we are good freinds. They were in a small lake with nothing scary in it. Most were made in the winter with below freezing weather outside and 95 degree water in the pond. The temperature made it nice. It was fun just to lay on the dive platform and pretend that you were in a hot pool. Most low vis dives have not been below 25 feet or so. I thought that the Puget Sound was wonderful with a full 15 feet of visibility! The low vis really has never bothered me. It was much worse the first time that I swam out over a ledge in clear water. I kept thinking that I was going to fall!

 

[sea nmf]

I trained in the Pacific NW. Most of my diving was there. As indicated, the vis is usually 5-15'. On a really, really GREAT day, we got 40' (by Gig Harbor). However, in the waters off the North tip of Vancouver Island, the viz was usually 40 - 70'.

Now I live in Hawaii and have adapted to the conditions here. If the viz is less than 20 feet is feels strange. But if it is LESS than 100', I feel it is crappy viz. I got spoiled quickly.

 

[ReefGuy]

Shark tooth diving at Venice Beach, vis averages maybe 5'-10', but I've done lots of dives where it was 6" or so, it just needs to be light enough to be able to make out the teeth (which are black and grey, usually) on the bottom.

When the vis is too good for our PSD team practice, we wear masks with masking tape over them.

 

[do it easy]

I was watching Aliens of the Deep tonight, and one scene in there jogged my memory. It's not exactly low vis diving, but it reminded me of this thead. My buddy and I were diving the Milwaukee Car Ferry (or was it the Wisconsin?). On the ascent, we were hanging out around 20' and there were divers below us on the wreck. By the time the bubbles from those divers hit us, the bubbles were small, about the size of peas, and they had scattered everywhere. I felt like I was diving in champagne. We were right around the thermocline, so I would watch my buddy as he shimmered like heat haze in this green champagne. It was quite like a hallucination where absolutely nothing looked real. Just a few breathes and it's gone...

 

[GDCB]

Dove today at Folsom Lake. 0 vis couldn't read my gauges at 25' ffw. Had to go up occaisionally to read SPG. Could read computer if I stared long enough. We had a good dive though. Came up in good spirits. Cold, 47degrees in 7mm full and hooded vest.

Carl

 

[Jafo123]

On a good day where I dive the vis. is usualy about 5-6 feet. I do remember one time the dive instructor had me take a couple of new divers on a navagation dive during there training. Once we got to depth at 48 foot we had to hold hands because we couldn't see each other a foot apart. In fact it was so bad it took a couple of seconds to read the guages and compass. That was fun showing new divers one of the many problems that you can run into under water and how to manage it buy something as simple as holding hands. One of the students comented that while he wasn't in the habit of holding another mans hand he was glad I was there this time.

 

[PAdiver93]

Having just read the accident forum about the Monterey diver, I was struck by the depth combined with such low visability (2-6ft). I get very uneasy when the viz is even 20 ft and usually call the dive if it is a deep one. Most of our wrecks are 100+. This is extremely rare anywhere I have ever been, so I know nothing about it. Any dive I remember in bad, bad viz turned into a disaster....couldn't see the divers.

I am eager to know how many of you dive in poor visabilty and ...what it is like...do you get used to it? Why do you do it? Do you get claustraphobic, ever? Is this the norm for certain areas like Pacific NW? In Baja once (la Bufadora), the viz was like chocolate milk and everyone dived but me. I was afraid of getting tangled in the kelp. What about kelp in bad viz? What comes into play?

Here in Jersey we ALWAYS call a dive when viz is 30'... We call it a great dive! 10-15ft is norm... Dove in 2-4ft viz - u do get used to it...

 

[Barracuda2]

Just about all of my low/no viz (usually no viz) dives here in Ohio are "have to" dives. I don't really see the point in doing a low/no viz rec. dive because I would feel very naked without my video camera and second, it could get risky. Being called out on a search and recovery mission for the sheriff's dept. or for a paying customer is the only way I'll purposely get in black water. It does not bother me to search for bodies, cars, weapons, stolen goods, or lost snowmobiles, tackle boxes, boat motors, glasses, or other personal items in black water conditions. However, there was one time I got freaked and aborted a dive when we were searching for a lost digging chain in a working stone quarry. When these chains (kind of like a giant chainsaw) cut, they leave trenches about 4 ft. wide and 6-8 ft. deep. While I was in one of these trenches, I became very uncomfortable knowing I was in a sort of grave that I envisioned caving in on me. When that vision came to me, I said to myself, "Self, it's time to leave this pit." Maybe the possibility was there for a cave-in because of the mixture of clay, rocks, stones and gravel. I don't know, but I didn't want any part of it. Fortunately, our dive team policy is one that allows such a move without any questions: If for any reason you don't feel comfortable making a particular dive, it's ok. The first and only time I ever felt "fear" while diving.

 

[do it easy]

The first and only time I ever felt "fear" while diving.

At one of the local quarries, there is a mannequin at 50' below one of the entry docks and it usually scares the nitrogen out of me when I happen across it on the exit. As it enters my field of vision, it looks like an inert body. Then my mind starts racing, thinking that it's a dead diver. As I get closer, I realize that it's the same mannequin that scared me the last time. D'oh!

 

[Scubar]

Up here in the North East 10-15 ft vis is concidered great in the summer. Have had many dives with ~5 ft of vis. Its a must to keep your navigational skills.