Got a question about the incoming tide at da bridge. I *think* I've read (and it would make sense, I reckon, as I look at Google Earth) that the current is running northwardly under both spans heading up to high tide time. As I have run into some of the strongest current at the bridge just as I round the end of that block of concrete at the furthest west entry point - and it's heading mostly to the west at that point (I think) - then I'm guessing that over near the east span, which I've never diven, that the current must be doing something different - maybe just the opposite (going mostly eastwardly, parallel to the beach).
I also suspect that it might be doing something completely different out in the channel that parallels the beach. I've also been told by some that one may often successfully dive the area off the beach during most any tide, but with the visibility being much more hit or miss. I'm thinking that poor visibility at the bridge is still about a million times better than (to me) bothering with anyplace else - especially if all I'm doing is trying to fill up the memory card in my camera and learn more about supermacro photography. LBTS is nice, but I seem to have sorta stopped running into much "new" stuff - that, and I keep getting lazier and lazier.
Anyway, I seem to often be the "last out" on bridge dives and very often suck the last bit of air out of the tank in the region off the beach near the west entry. Whilst the visibility might have gone down a bit, had I had another tank handy, I could have happily spent a couple more hours peeking around, assuming conditions didn't worsen significantly.
So, I'm kind of wondering if there might be something like sort of a "sweet spot" between the two spans of the beach where the current can't decide in which direction to flow, so just kind of sits still. I can also envision some kind of eddy in the area that might really stir up the silt and send me through a time warp or something.
Sorry for the long missive, but I'm addicted and would love a chance at larger fixes after the long slog down from Savannah. TIA for any info.
As I think about it, my next likely opportunity for spending several days in the area would have me attempting a "second" dive *prior* to the usual times, that is, a morning (maybe not long after *low* tide) and an afternoon dive. **AND**, I see that my usual hotel haunt is down to 39 bucks a night for that week. Does a BCD double as a flak jacket?
BTW, just wasted a bunch of time at Wikipedia's entry on "tides". *Way* more interesting than I would ever have guessed. I always love learning about stuff that Gallileo had wrong.
Kevin
