Redondo River?

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sparklehorse
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Redondo River?

Post by sparklehorse »

Greetings!
Old diver, new member here. I’m joining a group from Portland tomorrow morning to dive at Redondo Beach. I have not dived there before. I was under the impression that it was a pretty benign dive site, but I just stumbled on to an old thread at Scuba Forums where the phenomena of the “Redondo River” is discussed at length. We are meeting at 8 am tomorrow, likely in the water by 9 or 9:30 am. I am wondering if the group has unknowingly chosen a potentially risky time window as there is a 14.5 foot ebb that morning. High Tide at Des Moines is 11.13’ at 6:32 am, and Low Tide is -3.37’ (minus tide) at 1:38 pm. For those familiar with Redondo is this a morning you would avoid? Is it a safer bet to dive the shallower northern area (VW Bug, etc) when there is a chance of the tidal current kicking up? Should we just wait until late morning?
Thanks so much for the help!
Gordon in Portland
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Scubie Doo
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Re: Redondo River?

Post by Scubie Doo »

Welcome to the site. I’ve done hundreds of dives at redondo and you are correct. Pretty benign site. However, the redondo river is real. But I’ve only experienced it twice. Once on a solo dive to the VW bug. I simply hugged the sea floor and swam diagonally upslope to escape it. It was an impressive current, but one you could navigate. That exchange is huge, so there might be a strong push.

I would proceed, but just be aware of the potential downwelling. And be prepared to call the dive if you are uncomfortable. If you have new divers with you then be very careful. The key is not to panic and swim directly upslope. You could tire yourself out easily. Feel free to PM and we can talk on the phone if you want more info.



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Honudavis
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Re: Redondo River?

Post by Honudavis »

I have not experienced it yet. Yet I heard another diver tell me it can occur I think at the high tide mark.
Enjoy and savior all moments in life, above and below the water :). Kelly Davis Real Estate Broker
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Gdog
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Re: Redondo River?

Post by Gdog »

+1 to the above post. Also, remember, you can always ascend straight up. Dont try to kick directly against the down current. Ive been in it a couple times. It is also not a long event, as I remember maybe 15 minutes or so when conditions are just right. Just keep your head, and breathe, and move diagonally upslope should you be in the river. Make sure you keep an eye on your backgas and keep enough backup.
sparklehorse
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Joined: Tue May 08, 2018 4:55 pm

Re: Redondo River?

Post by sparklehorse »

Just to update, we were in the water at Redondo on Saturday by about 9:30 am. Viz was poor at 5-7 feet. Lots of snot in the water. We went north from the MAST pier along the rope toward the VW bug. The Redondo River current never kicked up. The rest of the group did a second dive, which I skipped due to the mucky viz.
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Gdog
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Re: Redondo River?

Post by Gdog »

Good to hear! Yes, vis can be really bad this time of year.
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