FredT
Guest
lhpdiver:
Nope. Camera height above water is about 4 to 5 feet when the marks photos are taken. Pick one mark and run out (or in) on it until the other one lines up. When the second one lines up toss the hook immediately and cut power. If you are trying to use a compass or GPS at the same time you are NOT using the marks properly. Be sure the mark you are running on is exactly right. If the mark is the Boca Raton Hotel Tower SOUTH EDGE and the other one is the north edge of end of the inlet jetty get that picture EXACTLY, then run on it until (for example) the Deerfield north water tower north leg lines up with the north side of the second set of windows on the correct condo.
The skill necessary to use the marks book is the skill to actually "see" and follow the mark. Just as some folks "see" better under water and notice the details and small fish on the reef as well as the overall reef gesalt the marks require practice to learn to "see" them in the details. Put the sounder and gps crutches away and USE the marks. You'll be surprised how fast you learn to see them. You'll also be surprised how fast you start getting on the reef. It's a LOT faster than homing in on a GPS or Loran number. If you are trying to run a compass heading the current will eat your lunch and it'll take a while to actually home in on it.
You can actually SEE the current moving you while running the first mark, so you are automatically compensating for it as you run to stay on the mark line. When the second mark lines up you toss the hook and some extra line.
The drift off the location should be limited to the movement of anchor by the current during the transit time to the bottom. At the third reef that is about 4 seconds max. Given that you can't dive with the boat on a hook in over 2 knots your max drift off of position should be about 15'.
As I said before not all marks are created equal, but all those in the book are right easy to hit once you are looking at the right water towers and condos. One of my favorite spots well north of the inlet has only one mark, and it's not a very good one to explain to someone else. Even so with that one fuzzy mark and a sounder I can drop the hook within 30' of my target ON THE FIRST PASS! Once you are used to using the book your time to the dive site will go way down.
BTW with a yak or board it's possible to drag them along with you on a drift dive. Even small boats can be used by divers as a surface float on a drift. I found many good sites by drifting along and across the top of the reef, as well as between reefs. When you find one you send up a float on a VERY short tether, then come back by after the dive and get the marks for the float before you recover it. This can be VERY effective if done a week or two before bug season opens.
It's amazing how well those little spots away from where eveyone else goes hold bugs! FT
