Weather and diving.

Here is a topic we can all relate to. While the weather is something we cannot manipulate, it is something we must accommodate, especially in diving.
OK, ave divers have much less accommodation requirements to weather than to their more popular ocean divers. Heavy rain can back up the swamp and flood the conduit with very poor visibility in most cases.
After all, Peacock Springs has been known to completely flood under dozens of feet of water.
Divers facing the ocean desire relatively calm conditions on the surface at least to get in and out of a dive. They achieve these conditions differently depending upon where they are diving.
In Hawaii, we simply go to the lee of an island (the side opposing the onset of the wind) and find relatively calm waters. The same technique is used diving off Panama City during winter conditions when the wind is from the north. Shore diving does not require the trouble of a boat, but does require entry and exit challenges, depending upon wave action on the beach.
When I was growing up in Hawaii, I took both a surfboard and diving equipment to the beach every weekend. If we could manage a beach entry, the diving was the game for the day. If not, then surfing was what we did. Either way was cool in those days.
Today we are more determined to get into the water, as the surf in Florida is not so good in the Gulf of Mexico. And the so, the weather must be better understood.
We must consider several factors while planning for and with the weather. First, what size boat and how many people are attending the dive.
Dive equipment is heavy and awkward. Larger boats can handle worse weather diving. So adjust for expected weather conditions.
Secondly, watch for weather fronts as they pass through with significant fury, not something you want to experience on the open water.
Our weather patterns usually get more complicated as the day wears on, with calmer conditions in the morning and by 4 p.m., you can predict the squalls to develop along the shore-boundary.
Throughout the day, the sun heats up the land and changes the flow of the weather. I often sit offshore and watch cloud build-up during the heat of the day on the shore-boundary in search of an opening to penetrate our as our exit.
Wind over water creates waves. It’s called FETCH. The higher the wind, the longer the fetch, and the higher the waves become. Waves make getting in and out of most boats difficult.
Once in the water during the summer, a current can challenge the diver. Yes, water quality and sea wildlife are important as we are visual creatures, but current can wear you out quickly. A period of bad weather can stir up the bottom inshore for days, so plan on traveling further offshore when necessary.
And be sure when you anchor that the current does not pull your boat around such that the stern faces the wave.
Always leave a person in the boat to help you in and out of the boat,, monitor conditions, and can recall the divers when the weather changes!
 

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