underwater Tornado

[Rooster1]

I was wondering how many of you here have seen this?
I dive in different places...Lake Erie,Lake Huron, Quarries, Caribbean, and I only see this in the St.Clair River. The current in this River is often just ripping (6-8 knots) making many dives here difficult. We always carry river sticks which my buddy made out of aluminum, they are like little gardening shovels and they help us dig our way back to the shallows. There are 2 currents here....the first one near shore and down to about 35 feet runs backwards and makes for a fantastic fast drift dive, but about from forty feet down to the 70foot bottom the current runs the opposite and often when we are closer to the middle of the river we see what looks like mini underwater Tornados. It could be 6 inches to 2 feet high sand swirling just like a tornado you would see on land.
Anyone else ever see this??

 

[jbd]

way cool to see. I did see something similar on Discovery channel or something like it. It was on whirlpools that are absolutely huge. These are due to ocean currents, tides etc.

 

[JDostal]

I've never had the chance to see it, but maybe I will this week. I've never dove in significant current but I am doing my first river dive this Thursday...maybe I'll get lucky

 

[Rooster1]

Omicron once bubbled...
I've never had the chance to see it, but maybe I will this week. I've never dove in significant current but I am doing my first river dive this Thursday...maybe I'll get lucky

Omicron not all rivers are the same, I think the River has to have a fast enough current and a reverse current. I am on the Detroit River and it does not have the same effect as the St.Clair River because it is much slower current with no reverse current

 

[JDostal]

I see. I suppose, it's kind of obvious about the reverse current once I actually stop and think about it for a second. Oh well.

Anyway, I'm still looking forward to my first current/river dive this week!

 

[Rockhound]

I was making a dive off the Ft. Pickens jetties in Pensacola, back when I was in college. We were sampling with dredges for a school project and the dives had to be made on regular intervals without regard to tides (actually, WITH regard, since some sampling had to be done during all phases of the tide).

Anyway, I had about 40 or 50 lbs. of lead on AND was holding a line attached to a boat anchor, but the current was mostly winning the battle. It was a pretty awful dive, but the little "sand devils" that went by were neat to watch.

Btw, one of those trips my "buddy" accidently let go of his anchor line (we each had an anchor). We though he was "lost" and was about to call the coast guard when he was spotted. In a short time, he was already a mile offshore and two miles down the beach. Man, what a ride....


These days, I avoid those kind of extreme currents, but I'm older now and realize I'm not immortal.....