tWO DIVERS PULLED DOWN 64M

[cdiver2]

or maybe those conditions did not make that site undiveable.

Swell doesnt always stop a dive, wind doesnt always stop a dive. Different sites have different suitability to conditions.

25kt winds may make it uncomfortable but not impossible.

I must be a bit slow as I don't understand what you are saying besides you can dive in a 25 knot wind?. Yes you can the point I was trying to make, I don't just go to a body of water and jump in. First get all the information you can on a dive site, ie tide tables and local knowledge from divers or fishermen. You can not always judge the water by what you see on the surface. I have found the more rugged the coast line the more quirky the currents, for near shore diving.

 

[String]

Yeah that point is fine but my response was meant to indicate that a 25kt wind and swell doesnt necessarily mean its a bad idea to dive a particular site. Wind direction plays as important a role if not more important then speed for example. A few replies to this thread were "why were they diving in those conditions". The answer may well be that for that site in question the conditions were fine for diving it.

Downcurrents are more a factor of sea bed topography and tide height/strength than surface weather.

 

[cdiver2]

Yeah that point is fine but my response was meant to indicate that a 25kt wind and swell doesnt necessarily mean its a bad idea to dive a particular site. Wind direction plays as important a role if not more important then speed for example. A few replies to this thread were "why were they diving in those conditions". The answer may well be that for that site in question the conditions were fine for diving it.

Downcurrents are more a factor of sea bed topography and tide height/strength than surface weather.

In your post #19 you quoted me and I had said nothing about the conditions other than maybe they did not know the area, in reference to the down current. As you know (from the above) you can have a down current with no wind at all.

 

[rockjock3]

Also an interesting point I hadn't really thought of is: that if your BC is full and you're still going down, keep inflating, since as you decend the air compresses, and it's no longer full anymore.

Terry

There would only be one problem with this part. What are you going to do at 180fsw when you got out the downswelling and have 100psi left in your tank because you kept your finger on the inflate button?

I would definitely fill by bc and start swimming to the side of the current and up. If that initial full inflation didn't lift me then I would leave it at that and continue swimming out of the DS. Once I was out I think I would have better luck ascending with more air in my tank and taking my chances with the bends versus no air in my tank to ascend at all.

Just my .02.

 

[String]

In your post #19 you quoted me and I had said nothing about the conditions other than maybe they did not know the area, in reference to the down current. As you know (from the above) you can have a down current with no wind at all.

Or maybe they did know the area and a downcurrent appeared (which can happen). Its impossible to say without more detail. The weather conditions certainly didnt mean no diving should be done qhich a few people appear to have claimed. Not you specifically but without far more detail i dont think anyone here can say they (i) were diving without local knowledge or (ii) in weather too poor for the site.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I've never been in a strong downwelling but I think I'd want to get to the wall, if there was one, and rock climb my way out. I've gotten caught in the wrong place in very strong flow in caves (the kind that will tear your mask off if you look to the side and make it wobble on your face and flood no matter where you look) and rock climbing out of the strongest flow was the answer. LOL I'd rather not have to deal with it in the open ocean.

 

[Azza]

Just curious as to how you see downswells other then aquatic life being dragged down? Can you see downward turbulance in the water column?

While you can see them to an extent ,I.E. the kelp and fish are good indicators as is plankton or turbidity moving in the water column, it's generally more that you know what conditions and topography create these downwellings, I.E. what the tide is doing, is there a "funnel" in the rock etc. If you suspect this could be the case you move cautiously into the suspect area and you can generally feel the pull before it is too late to back out.

The harder ones to pick are downwellings in mid-water (Although these are a lot rarer) however they are normally caused by big holes on the ocean floor in an area that gets a lot of current or tide, and a prelimanary scan with the depth sounder on the boat will reveal these "possible" area's.

Experience and dive site knowledge are the best ways to avoid these downwellings.