Viz in Ocean City MD -

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Hello -

As the new year comes to an end I am budgeting for dives that I plan on doing this coming year. As a beginning underwater photographer, one of the things on my agenda is to dive and photograph the best sites along the East coast. I was thinking whether diving in Ocean City MD should be on the agenda or not. I have heard that visibility will be so poor in MD waters that taking good pictures could be a problem. Most information found on the websites is very unspecific (vis can range from 100 to 4 or less).

I just wanted to know from experienced divers who have multiple dives in Ocean city waters ... what is the typical viz you frequently come across? This information would enable me to direct my budget to places where best photos are possible.

Thanks in advance -

Sinbad

 

[offthewall1]

Hello -

As the new year comes to an end I am budgeting for dives that I plan on doing this coming year. As a beginning underwater photographer, one of the things on my agenda is to dive and photograph the best sites along the East coast. I was thinking whether diving in Ocean City MD should be on the agenda or not. I have heard that visibility will be so poor in MD waters that taking good pictures could be a problem. Most information found on the websites is very unspecific (vis can range from 100 to 4 or less).

I just wanted to know from experienced divers who have multiple dives in Ocean city waters ... what is the typical viz you frequently come across? This information would enable me to direct my budget to places where best photos are possible.

Thanks in advance -

Sinbad

Diving in Ocean City Maryland is not for everyone. In my most humble opinion it is not worth doing at all for most people... but there are exceptions. Spearfishing in the area can be terrific. If you're into catching your own dinner... some of the wrecks produce - as well as shallower sites such as the Fenwick shoals.

The visibility in Ocean city does vary greatly... from less than 5 feet to 60 - 80 feet if all the stars align... but that is extremely rare. In my 10+ years of diving there... the best vis I've ever seen was in the 30 - 40 foot range... but I've heard the stories of a 100 foot day.

As an avid underwater videographer who has produced 15 movies to date... my personal opinion is shooting video (and photography) in the area is futile. You certainly can get an occassionally excellent and interesting shot - but it's just not worth it. There is rarely anything that exciting to shoot down there.

If you're going to shoot along the east coast - virtually everything north and south of Maryland waters has promise - depending upon how deep you're trained for and willing to go.

I'm not knocking Maryland diving just to knock it - I mean diving out of OC Maryland is about the equivelent of diving in any of the local quarries. It is cold, dark, limited visibility with little excitement... however...

As I said before, you might generate some excitement if you spearfish. We have had some cool experiences over the years where a Thresher shark or two will take interest in your catch. A good photographer may have a field day with that.

In closing... expect 5ft - 40ft visibility on virtually every dive... and be prepared to wear a 7mm suit or drysuit... even in the dead of summer if you're going deep.

Cheers and happy shooting!

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Very informative!

 

[paddler3d]

I've had 5 to 60ft vis on the same dive. Depended on where in the water column we were. There were layers of good vis and bad vis.

MD, DE, NJ, NY, VA and part of NC are all part of the same Labrador Current where vis is always a crap shoot.

With that said, MD, or Ocean City diving, is really no different that NJ or VA diving. MD just has a very small section of shoreline compared to our neighbors to our North and South.

If you would consider diving off of VA, a few miles North and your in MD waters...same water.

The Gulf Stream runs North and comes quite close to the coast off of Cape Hatteras, NC where it meets the Labrador current and turns East out to the Ocean. South of Hatteras the water is typically warmer and clearer, hence the reason the NC is well known for its wreck diving...tons of wrecks and warm and clear water.

 

[jrmiah]

The vis in OC does very and yes its not for everyone, however 90% of all my dives there Ive experienced at least 25 to 30 feet of vis. Yes, there are days that the vis can drop to less than a few feet but there are an equal amount of days that you can have 60+ feet of vis, again the average in my experience is around 25 to 30 feet. The previous poster is correct, you can have both good vis and poor vis on the same dive depending on where you are during the dive.

Not sure why one would say there isnt much to see in OC, there is a lot to see. OC has many, many wrecks, both natural and artificial. OC gets a huge variety of fish and other life. Just this last year I have seen several whales, turtles and a large school of spinner sharks that swam all around me.

Check out the picture gallery on my website if you want a better idea of what to expect.
Picture Gallery

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Nice pics man! I guess in situations where you cant go anywhere for diving, this would be better than most local quarries. it is ocean after all. The whale picture is great!

Do you do any winter diving?

 

[jrmiah]

Thanks! No winter diving this winter but we will have some winter diving opportunities this coming winter 2011. Hope to see you on the boat this summer!

 

[Gixer23]

Just started diving within the last year, and everyone has told me to not waist my money on md ocean dives but those picts really make me want to make the trip over there

 

[jrmiah]

Here are some videos, they aren't the best videos ever but you will get the idea.. this year we will be taking lots of better video.. there are about 15 videos so far..
YouTube Videos - Ocean City Diving

 

[Gixer23]

jrmiah, if we head over there this summer to do lobster diving will our 3mm be enough?