Three Tree Had REALLY bad vis on Saturday

[GillyWeed]

Had a nice dive on Saturday with Enigmatic and Blacktoe (thanks Matt & Jared). But the vis was about 5' and not just low vis.. The water was a yucky brown color. There is a brownish feathery plant that I have seen on the bottom there and it looked like that was part of what was causing some of the problem. Like it was blooming or something. I don't see how the little amount of plantage there could cause all of that but what was in the water looked like parts of that plant. It was yucky though. We dropped within 5' of the cabin cruiser and couldn't see it. We knew we were just a little shy on depth so we followed the slope down a few feet and there was the boat. You couldn't see the back of the boat from the front of the boat. We cruised around it for a little while and we had brought a hula hoop and some line so that I could get video with my camera of us 'hula hooping' over the boat. Really we just were trying to get video of what we looked like, how our trim was, etc. and a little practice on the hover with the hoop.. But as it was so murky we couldn't get any video. It was too dark and the lights just made the scatter look better not us..

Still we had a good time, we came back in when Matt motioned he was getting low on air. Got to about 20' and then lost Matt in the muck (sorry Matt). But we all made it out safe and sound. There was a southerly current so we had a slight current going back, which wasn't great but it wasn't too strong so we were all ok.

This brings up a very good discussion about tides and currents. Is there a class that someone teaches on reading the tide logs for currents and also knowing when you are going to hit a big current vs. a smaller one. I can figure out slack and if there is a big exchange or not.. But there should be a class that could teach those of us who need it how to know which way the current should be running, and how much current there is going to be and when.. I know (others have told me) that typically three tree is a site that the current is going to run to the south almost exclusively but why? I would really like to take a class on this....

[peo]

If you don't find a class, the latest issue of Fifth Dimension's newsletter contains an article on tidal current planning. The newsletter can be downloaded at http://www.fifthd.com/newsletters/Issue-02.pdf

[Tom Nic]

AT 3TN on Friday the layer of murk only went down to 30 ft or so, although the viz at the boat was still the worst it's been this year. It seemed to clear up a bit below 40 ft. It will probably get worse before it gets better.

As to current direction, I know that the shore affects it's direction. I beleive the current always flows south in the bay at 3TN because it is in a bay... not much of an answer I realize. Titlow is similar because of a "back-eddy where the strong current from the Narrows hits the "back" of the inlet on the flood and swirls back around to the north when the main channel current goes to the south. Depending on where you are at Titlow the current will go very different directions. Northwest Shore Dives does a fairly good job of showing you current flows on flood and ebb at different spots in the bay / inlet. It is a good resource for lots of our dive sites, and is well worth owning if you don't already have it. I'm assuming Northwest Boat Dives is similar, though I don't own the book.

I don't know if there is a "magic-bullet" that will let you figure things out all the time. Some sites are fairly known and predictable and the information is readily available. Others are not. As always dive carefully and be prepared to adjust your dive plan as condtions warrant.

Let us know what you find!

[LCF]

Never mind . . . Adobe problem.

[Diver_C]

Sometime browsers will produce a blank page when it downloads a file. The page is a .pdf file. If the document does not show up, look on your 'puter to see if the file downloaded.

[GillyWeed]

AT 3TN on Friday the layer of murk only went down to 30 ft or so, although the viz at the boat was still the worst it's been this year. It seemed to clear up a bit below 40 ft. It will probably get worse before it gets better.

It seemed to get worse the deeper we got.. We only went to 65' but it was starting to get really really dark and with all of the gunk the lights weren't a lot of help.

As to current direction, I know that the shore affects it's direction. I beleive the current always flows south in the bay at 3TN because it is in a bay... not much of an answer I realize. Titlow is similar because of a "back-eddy where the strong current from the Narrows hits the "back" of the inlet on the flood and swirls back around to the north when the main channel current goes to the south. Depending on where you are at Titlow the current will go very different directions.

That makes sense.. I am learning!

Northwest Shore Dives does a fairly good job of showing you current flows on flood and ebb at different spots in the bay / inlet. It is a good resource for lots of our dive sites, and is well worth owning if you don't already have it.

I do have the book.. But I must not be understanding something. I might need to go back to it. I am not a very good learner if I have to just read it and then retain it.. I need more verbal stimulation typically.. That's why I want a class.. Someone to tell me in person so my light comes on.. Thanks for the info, Tom you are very helpful! Peo you too thanks!