Predict Sea Conditions - East Florida Specifically

[Jon_R]

First year being a diver. Having issues predicting what sea conditions will be.

For example today I checked the marine forecast and this is what it showed.

NORTHEAST WINDS 11 TO 16 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO
4 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL SEAS AROUND 5 FEET. DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS.
INTRACOASTAL WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. ISOLATED SHOWERS.

Then I sit at work watching all the boats post about 1 ft seas and just beautiful diving.... This is happening all the time as I try and setup dives for my GF and I. She is pretty sea condition effected right now, and I am not a big fan of 5 foot waves, so we want to go when it is looking really good.

Is it because the marine forecast is up to 20 NM out? Is there anyway to determine what it is likely going to be 2-3 NM out which is how far out I think the boats go. I have 4 weeks vacation available and need to get in the water.

How do you figure this out.

 

[DiverAmy]

Read the reports (wind direction can sometimes be handy, like E or NE, seems to cause the most waves), LOOK at the ocean, trust your eyes. Plan the best you can. Looking forward to hearing better responses.

 

[Jon_R]

Thanks. Just to hit a 9am boat I have to take schedule vacation and leave the house about 630 in the morning. That is also not taking into account reserving a spot on a boat ahead of time. If I lived real close to the boats I could just keep my gear in my truck and if it looks good on the way to work take a detour...

The other issue that concerns me does a boat usually have a minimum divers to go out. I would be really annoyed if I took the day off got up at 6am drove a hour or two to just have to turn around and go home because 2 divers is not enough to take out the boat. Not sure if that is something to be concerned about and how you avoid that. I understand the boat does not want to run in a condition they lose money but I also don't want to burn a vacation day to not dive and just drive around the state..

 

[Chugwhump]

Swellinfo.com
Magicseaweed.com
Windguru.com
And of course........
Scubaboard.com.....FLORIDA Divers, about three or four days out.....we rarely miss.
DO NOT...
DO NOT....
Go by the NOAA forecast.
Those forecasts will say 5-8 foot seas with a hard west wind.
West means FLAT!
Unless, there is a giant swell coming in.

Chug
Does not not pay attention to NOAA very often, unless there is a Hurricane close.

 

[drinksfromtap]

I look at swellinfo.com, magicseaweed.com, and a local beach cam the day of the dive. If you start to see whitecaps on the beach cams, it's an indication that things are starting to get sporty. On swellinfo, if you're looking for the calmest days you probably want to shoot for knee high surf or less. +1 on the higher waves with east winds.

 

[iluvtheocean]

+1 for swellinfo & magicseaweed. i got an RSS to NOAA -- but only the National Hurricane Center -- also check with the dive shops in the area you plan on diving for conditions.

 

[uncfnp]

Not only can the forecast be wrong but the seas themselves can change hour to hour. You can go down with 1 foot waves and come up to 3 - 5+ foot waves. Its just the nature of the sport. Where do you typically dive? Many of the boats in WPB go out at 10 am during the week. That may give you a little more time to check the above sites and make a spur of the moment dive trip decision. Also during the week dive boats are rarely if ever full (friday is an exception) so a reservation is less critical.

 

[Jon_R]

Not only can the forecast be wrong but the seas themselves can change hour to hour. You can go down with 1 foot waves and come up to 3 - 5+ foot waves. Its just the nature of the sport. Where do you typically dive? Many of the boats in WPB go out at 10 am during the week. That may give you a little more time to check the above sites and make a spur of the moment dive trip decision. Also during the week dive boats are rarely if ever full (friday is an exception) so a reservation is less critical.

I am up in brevard county so west palm mostly. Could do Jupiter or boyton beach area. It is 1.5 hours to west palm. Only have 6 boat trips to date. 4 on little deeper and 2 with south florida diving headquarters. Then some shore dives.

Was certified in May.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[dumpsterDiver]

First year being a diver. Having issues predicting what sea conditions will be.

For example today I checked the marine forecast and this is what it showed.

NORTHEAST WINDS 11 TO 16 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO
4 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL SEAS AROUND 5 FEET. DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS.
INTRACOASTAL WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. ISOLATED SHOWERS.

Then I sit at work watching all the boats post about 1 ft seas and just beautiful diving.... This is happening all the time as I try and setup dives for my GF and I. She is pretty sea condition effected right now, and I am not a big fan of 5 foot waves, so we want to go when it is looking really good.

Is it because the marine forecast is up to 20 NM out? Is there anyway to determine what it is likely going to be 2-3 NM out which is how far out I think the boats go. I have 4 weeks vacation available and need to get in the water.

How do you figure this out.

you need to look at the period!! That is as important, probably more important than the wave height! A long period means the wave was generated far away, and the travel over a long distance has affected it. It is NO problem to go up and down 5 or 6 feet, if you do it SLOWLY over a looong period of time while sitting in deep water on a boat.

 

[uncfnp]

you need to look at the period!! That is as important, probably more important than the wave height! A long period means the wave was generated far away, and the travel over a long distance has affected it. It is NO problem to go up and down 5 or 6 feet, if you do it SLOWLY over a looong period of time while sitting in deep water on a boat.

DD. I am not familiar with period measurements in regards to waves. I've learned something new today! What is considered short verses long?