I'm planning my first post-cert, I'm-a-big-boy, rent-my-own-tanks dive. The plan is to return to Cove 1, where my class was, and just look around and practice skills. Cove 1 isn't he most exciting area, but I want to minimize unknowns for now.
However--one of the things that my class did not cover well was dive planning with regard to tides and currents. I can look up tides onlinebut how do they translate to actual dive conditions on Seacrest Beach? Are there any times when there are bad currents, or is it always pretty mild?
(Oh, I found a tide/current tutorial too... Neat.)
I was also wondering about dive flag usage at Seacrest. My instructor planted one, but I thought I saw a lot of other divers around Cove 2 who did not seem to be using one. I've got one to carry around if I need it, in fact, learning to manage the buoy and its line would be the one new thing I try on this dive.
TIA for any tips...
Local tide/current charts? Flag use? (specifically Cove 1)
There are areas more affected by tides and some less/not at all. I believe one of the great parts of "the office" (usually cove 2, but also could extend to cove 1) is that it's minimal if any. That's one reason there are dives there "every Wednesday after work" - sometimes it's a longer hike back up the hill than others.
There are better people to answer your question here than me, but I didn't see any other posts yet so I thought I'd try to help. There is a new buoy in cove 1 that says something like "caution, divers below" which is nice, and while I'm sure most everyone here has dove there without a flag, nobody here will fault you for having one. This is a group of safe divers.
It's also good to go with experienced divers as much as possible - they'll "show you the ropes" and the rope (the boundary line where the fishermen and water taxi roam). Stay shallow, & enjoy your dive. Then let us know how it went!
If you want critique on your dive plan, create it and then post it here. I'm sure our senior (with respect to experience and certs) members will happily give you helpful advice and ensure your plan is good. Then you should be in good shape so long as you STICK to your plan! I know surrounding myself with very experienced divers has really helped and continues to help me a lot.
My 2 psi.
There are better people to answer your question here than me, but I didn't see any other posts yet so I thought I'd try to help. There is a new buoy in cove 1 that says something like "caution, divers below" which is nice, and while I'm sure most everyone here has dove there without a flag, nobody here will fault you for having one. This is a group of safe divers.
It's also good to go with experienced divers as much as possible - they'll "show you the ropes" and the rope (the boundary line where the fishermen and water taxi roam). Stay shallow, & enjoy your dive. Then let us know how it went!
If you want critique on your dive plan, create it and then post it here. I'm sure our senior (with respect to experience and certs) members will happily give you helpful advice and ensure your plan is good. Then you should be in good shape so long as you STICK to your plan! I know surrounding myself with very experienced divers has really helped and continues to help me a lot.
My 2 psi.
GUE Seattle - The official GUE Affiliate in the Northwest!
cove 2 isn't current intensive but there are still high and low tides. The common mistake people make is mixing tides and currents up. some places may not be current intensive so the time of day you dive isn't as important as if it were current intensive you need to plan on diving when the exchange is minimal and at slack tide. I dont know how to explain it much but cove 2 is a great place to start out at, its a non-current intensive site. you should check out the dive site forum. it has a few site descriptions on it.
~cups
~cups
One good thing about picking Cove 1 over Cove 2/3 as a new diver is that you don't have to worry about the boundary cable. Although now that the water taxi isn't running its probably a better time to be doing Cove 2/3 since you don't have to worry about political issues and propellers as much if you make navigation errors...
I don't know what to tell you about the dive flag... I tend to assume that dive flags will attract rather than repel boaters, and tend to treat dives in the sound as soft overhead dives and always plan on surfacing in water which is 20 feet deep or less (unless its a boat dive in which case the boat flys a flag and can ram anyone trying to cut across the upline). On the other hand, you're a newer diver, so a dive flag would probably be good since you may need to do a direct ascent from depth. On the gripping hand, towing a dive flag adds complexity to the dive and a line to manage which can get very interesting underwater...
I don't know what to tell you about the dive flag... I tend to assume that dive flags will attract rather than repel boaters, and tend to treat dives in the sound as soft overhead dives and always plan on surfacing in water which is 20 feet deep or less (unless its a boat dive in which case the boat flys a flag and can ram anyone trying to cut across the upline). On the other hand, you're a newer diver, so a dive flag would probably be good since you may need to do a direct ascent from depth. On the gripping hand, towing a dive flag adds complexity to the dive and a line to manage which can get very interesting underwater...
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H20doctor