Tides and shore diving

[Melicertes]

Oh, there's no doubt that location plays a huge role. I did not intend to infer that tidal mechanics are all you needed to know. The best advice is always and will probably always remain to be that which you get from the local seadogs in the area you plan on diving at to give you the lowdown on the tides at that location. The best is also to go out yourself, eyeball the conditions in person, talk to the divers that just walked out of the surf or got of their dive boat to find out what the conditions look like at a specific location at that time.

The world's oceans are complex systems that takes more than a little effort to even start to yield some sense in understanding the fundamental concepts. I just felt that the OP's asking about basic understanding of tides warranted an introductory summary of the concepts.

 

[spectrum]

That was a good one,but there is one more variable,when sun and moon are in line.
Don't know how you call this in english.(we call it springtij / jump tide)
This is when you get the strongest currents in a tidal cycle.

Spring tide. The spring tide has an intensified variation known as the Proxigean Spring Tide which combines alignment and proximity.

The Moon And Tides

 

[Melicertes]

There we go! Thanks Spectrum

 

[mike_s]

So looking at this table...how much current are we talking at max ebb?

Where I dive if had exchange like this I wouldn't even worry about timing.

Believe or not when the current is ripping 13+knots at the Narrows we dive a wreck in a bay 1/4 mile away with little or no effects.

This is what is really neat about tides and current. Location...location...location

Like you said.... Location, location, location.

IN Destin, from where the tide table is from, the tide only goes up/down a couple feet max. typically less than that. (depending on the cycle, moon, etc).

Here the current isn't so much directly about depth change as it is the body of water that it affects. Choctowachee bay (spelling?) is pretty big, so it produces a big current. If you dive the inlet/pass in the current, you'll want your gloves as you'll be holding on the entire time.

diving it at high slack tide the current is pretty minimal and you can easily slide two dives in most of the time before it gets too stiff to dive in

 

[Nemrod]

There really are not but a few shore diving opportunities in Destin, the main one is the East Jetty which I have dived from time to time since I was a baby. You will do a google, get some tide tables for the East Pass, look for the high tide (some days are doubles) and then dive it on a waning or slack high tide.

There are very few shore opportunities, the Navarre Beach and Pensecola Beach pier rubbles, St Andrews Jetty, maybe a few other odds and ends.

Google MBT Divers, go to their dive location page and you can find some of these there.

You will probably want to go out on a boat, make sure they are not headed to the "Bridge Rubble" as that is just a over dived pile of concrete and rarely anything but boring.

N

 

[Melicertes]

With regards to Hawaii, the ocean is 17,000 to 25,000 feet deep around the islands and that is probably the reason our tides are only one to two feet (three is extremely rare).

It's not so much the depth that affects you guys in Hawaii as it is that Hawaii is located near one of the points on the globe where the tidal waves are least affecting the ocean. Due to the Coriolis effect the tidal waves that are traveling northward (in the N hemisphere) tend to hug the eastern ocean border and as it moves towards the south it tends to hug the western border. This creates locations around which the tidal waves seem to revolve called amphidromic points. For more detail have a look at Amphidromic Points here.

The dramatic reduction of depth as you near the shores in Hawaii however does [edit:[-]however[/-]] create those beautiful waves you get for surfing and photographing!

 

[vladimir]

I'd say get there (to the water) a little before 8:15. maybe 8am. and see what the conditions are. The earlier you are the better your parking chances are.

In destin, a good "from the car check" is to drive over the hwy 98 bridge and look and see how far over the can buoy's are leaning. IF they are leaning pretty hard, the tide table is off and the tide is still coming in.

That is local knowledge.

 

[mike_s]

That is local knowledge.

very local knowledge. SeaYoda, who lives there, taught me that trick. (I can't take credit for it).

 

[Nemrod]

FreeTideTables.com - Tide Tables, Charts and Scripts

Tides.INFO: Tide predictions from around the globe: East Pass (Destin), Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida

Another link I use:

Marine Weather : Weather Underground

There are a bunch of online tables. Google is your friend.

We will be down that way again in a few weeks with our boat.

N