Surface Interval November 12th

[mwpowell]

They are famous for going out when it is to rough, getting to the dive site then calling it off and wont refund any money. If the boat goes out, you often end up paying for just a boat ride.

I've seen it where we went out, 3 people decide to give it a try... get in the water for 10 minutes, come up saying it's too bad down there, then everyone on the boat gets charged full fare... never again... can not recommend.

If the boat leaves the dock you're not getting a refund no matter what. Even if you decide not to go out with them... if they go and you were scheduled... no refund.

The diving itself is adequate when the weather is good. The shoals and wrecks are great for spearfishing. Vis can range from 3 feet - 30 feet and seasonal temps vary but the bottom temps at 100 feet don't vary much between 40 - 55 F year round. It is always cold water low vis diving. The typical vis is 10 -15 feet. 30 is rare and 3 is a really bad day...

Surface Interval generally won't leave the dock if seas are 3 to 5 feet or greater. It is the mid-Atlantic, however, and conditions can and do change during the trip. I dive with Surface Interval several times a year, and haven't had a bad experience yet.

Mike

 

[cmalinowski]

I'm thinking about it. What wrecks would you guys want to dive?

Mike

I have yet to dive off of the mid-atlantic coast, so I am up for anything. If you have suggestions, I am game.

Chris

 

[Hoyden]

They are famous for going out when it is to rough, getting to the dive site then calling it off and wont refund any money. If the boat goes out, you often end up paying for just a boat ride.

I've seen it where we went out, 3 people decide to give it a try... get in the water for 10 minutes, come up saying it's too bad down there, then everyone on the boat gets charged full fare... never again... can not recommend.

If the boat leaves the dock you're not getting a refund no matter what. Even if you decide not to go out with them... if they go and you were scheduled... no refund.

This doesn't match my experiences with the Surface Interval or their stated policies. It is their policy that if you sign up for a dive and the boat goes out without you on it, you must pay for your spot. You may cancel 14 days in advance and receive a full refund - if you cancel after that, you pay or replace yourself with another diver. (For comparison, OC Diver, the other local boat has a 3 week advance cancellation policy) I have been on the boat once where we left the dock and returned without diving - we all received refunds. In essence, Darryl, Trish and Clay provide a taxi ride to the site - if they get you to the site and you chose not to dive when others did... well, you still got to the site. It is not possible to guarantee vis or anything else about the conditions. When I have been on the boat and gotten to a site that had conditions so poor as to be undiveable, we went to another site. For sure, midatlantic diving isn't the carribean, but I think that it beats the heck out of the local mudholes. There really aren't any reliably easy dives out there. People make the mistake of signing up for Fenwick Shoals because it is shallow, but it usually has current, surge and can have poor vis - of the 13 or so different sites I've been to with them, it is my least favorite and has usually been the most challenging. IMO, the only possible reason to sign up for it is that they don't leave the dock until 9AM when they dive it. Okay, that and the fact that on the FS dive I missed this summer, my regular dive buddy saw two stargazers and got to swim with a green sea turtle.

If I could go this Saturday (have to work), I'd be there in a heart beat. As far as water temps this is what my computer log shows: May - 52 degrees at 45';June - 54 degrees at 45' and 49.6 degrees at 101'; July - 71 degrees at 40' and 53 degrees at 80'; August - 55 degrees at 105 - the thermocline was around 40' and it was 73 degrees above it; Sept - 56 degrees at 100' and toasty above the thermocline. I did all of those dives wet through August - only my September dives were dry.

So you guys enjoy the saltwater for me this weekend - I'll be at a local mudhole somewhere on Sunday.

 

[mwpowell]

I have yet to dive off of the mid-atlantic coast, so I am up for anything. If you have suggestions, I am game.

Chris

Cool! As you may have heard, the mid-atlantic can be a little rough and cold, but if you can get past that the diving can be good.

The Washingtonian is probably the most dived wreck, and would be good introduction to the mid-atlantic. The shoals are great for marine life.

I just checked the marine forecast, whcih shows a small craft advisory until Friday evening, and is forecasting 2 to 4 ft seas on Saturday. I'lld say that it's iffy whether or not Saturday will be blown out. I'm gonna wait until tomorrow to decide whether or not to sign up.

Mike

 

[Hoyden]

I thought they were a little conservitave in calling the conditions. But then I am used to 4-6'

The first time I went out with them, I thought that too - we left the dock 4'-6' seas and about 15 minutes out, Darryl and Clay decided to come back in. I thought they were way too conservative - heck, I did my OW check out dives in bigger waves than that off of Ft Lauderdale. After going out a bunch this summer, I have rethought my position on this - In Lauderdale, you are rarely even out of sight of land and can make a run for the shore if needed - off the DE/MD coast the wrecks can be 10-20 or more miles out and if the weather turns bad, that can be a pretty miserable boat ride, especially if one of the diesels throw a prop, for instance, while you watch a thunderstorm gaining on you.

Anyway, I have really enjoyed diving with them and hope y'all have good weather this Saturday.

Jackie

 

[dive2deep]

Come on guys, weather forecast looks great. Lets go diving

 

[dive2deep]

OK, the as of this morning the Surface Interval decided to go out Saturday Nov 12th. The weather looks promising, and there are at least 6 spaces available on the boat, if anyone else wants to come.

Szymon

 

[mwpowell]

I'm not going to be able to make it out tomorrow. Hope you folks have fun.

Mike

 

[dive2deep]

Thanks Mike, hope to dive with you in the future. Maybe next summer on the Surface Interval.

Szymon

 

[cmalinowski]

Well, we ended up going out on the SI on Saturday, 11/12/05. And, while some people may have had problems with this boat in the past, we had a great time and absolutely no problems. It was a gorgeous day. The dive was fun and the people on the boat were great. It was very much a guys day out. I had no problem with the boat or the crew and can't wait to dive them again next season. It looks like this season is over as it looks like a probable blowout on sunday which was schedule to be the last trip of the season.

Chris