Texas specifically....How do you define visibility?

[Dee]

After almost every mention of local diving anywhere, someone always asks what the viz is/was. The descriptions seem to vary from person to person, even when diving side by side. I've noticed when Beast and I fill out our logbooks we have different opinions on what the viz is.

So what perameters do you use? Let's say your buddy is 10ft away. To consider the viz at 10ft, can you just make out their shadow or do you need to be able to identify them.

Personally I need to see something well enough to identify it. Was that blurry motion a fish or a turtle? Are those fins at the end of my legs or just a yellow blurry shadow? Know what I mean?

How do you judge the viz?

 

[Scubakevdm]

I retract my statement now that the question is rephrased for Texas specifically. I don't want the secret vis calculation methods of South Florida to fall into the wrong hands. Before you know it everybody would have 70' viz.

 

[Charlie99]

Another recent thread on visibility, and a couple of definitions.

On a more serious note, I use the distance at which I can make out a reasonable amount of detail. This usually also seems to be about 1/2 of the distance at which I can see a diver's bubbles.

 

[texdiveguy]

I to estimate the distance to the farthest defined shape I can make out.

 

[Diver0001]

In the ocean I judge vizibility by looking up. At the deepest depth were I can still make out waves-ripples on the surface then my depth is equal to the viz.

In fresh water it doesn't work some of the time. Under the thermocline the viz is often quite different than on the surface. In this case I look ahead and when an object comes in view I count body lenghts between me and the object as I swim towards it. I´m about 1.75 metres long so it gives me another fairly consistent method.

R..

 

[T.P.H.]

When you and I look at each other with both hands turned up in a shrug.....its viz enough for me.

 

[Cudabait]

I usually look at something with one eye, then close that eye and look at the object with my other eye. The result is almost always "average visibility"

Regards,

 

[Walter]

Darlin',

I think we had this discussion just over three years ago.

 

[Dee]

Darlin',

I think we had this discussion just over three years ago.

Yeah...I know we did but we have a lot of new Swampers since then and those old threads don't aways get seen.

 

[archman]

Yeah...I know we did but we have a lot of new Swampers since then and those old threads don't aways get seen.

Wouldn't it be better to just resurrect those older posts? Ways to measure vis aren't something that really change with the times, so the old posts should be perfectly valid.